Should We Worry about Family Change?

'Lewis has a vast understanding of the historical development of the family during the last century and the social policies which have attempted to meet certain familial concerns ... This is a highly important work which stretches our thinking about the nature of current family structures and what that means for today's social policies. I look forward to using this book in my classes to provoke thoughtful discussion about one of the key questions facing our society.' -- Margaret Little, Department of Women's Studies, Queen's University 'Lewis's analysis and interpretation are informed by her extensive knowledge of both 'mainstream' and feminist studies of demography and family dynamics ... Should We Worry about Family Change? is intelligently written and discusses the main debates about family. Furthermore, it interprets family trends and debates with clarity and insight.' -- Maureen Baker, Department of Sociology, University of Auckland

Drawing on a wide range of literature, cross-national data, and policy approaches, Lewis engages her readers in a highly public and timely debate.

Over the past quarter-century, the pace of family change in most Western countries has been extremely rapid; we have witnessed the substantial erosion of the traditional male-breadwinner, two-parent family form. This change inherently makes obsolete those laws and policies that assume the breadwinner/homemaker family structure.

Should We Worry about Family Change? unpacks the current controversies and larger issues surrounding family change: the nature of family change; the impact of family change on the lives of women; and the need for amendment to our social policies and laws to reflect today's diverse family patterns. Drawing on her vast understanding of the historical development of the family and the social policies that have attempted to meet familial concerns, Lewis comments on such pivotal topics as absent fathers, the increasing economic independence of women, and the effects of the rise of cohabitation.

Lewis ultimately suggests that there are policy options available to increase the choices men and women make about their contributions to family life and to promote family responsibility. Drawing on a wide range of literature, cross-national data, and policy approaches, Lewis engages her readers in a highly public and timely debate.