Research on the family has expanded considerably across Asia but studies tend to be fragmented, focusing on narrow issues within limited areas (cities, towns, small communities) and may not be accessible to international readers. These limitations make it difficult for researchers, students, policy makers, and practitioners to obtain the information they need. The Routledge Handbook of Families in Asia fills that gap by providing a current and comprehensive analysis of Asian families by a wide range of experts in a single publication.
The thirty-two chapters of this comparative and multi-disciplinary volume are organized into nine major themes: conceptual approaches, methodological issues, family life in the context of culture, family relationships across the family life cycle, issues of work and income, stress and conflict, family diversity, family policy and laws, and environmental setting of homes. Each chapter examines family life across Asian countries, studying cultural similarities and differences and exploring how families are changing and what trends are likely to develop in the future. To provide a fruitful learning experience for the reader, each chapter offers examples, relevant data, and a comprehensive list of references.
Offering a complete interdisciplinary overview of families in Asia, the Handbook will be of interest to students, academics, policy makers and practitioners across the disciplines of Asian Studies, Sociology, Demography, Social Work, Law, Social Policy, Anthropology, Geography, Public Health and Architecture.
Part 1: Introduction
1. Families in Asia: A Kaleidoscope of Continuity and Change
Part 2: Conceptualizing 'Family' in the Asian Context
2. Family Theories in the Asian Context
3. Feminist, Constructionist and Other Critical Theories
4. Ascertaining Family Phenomena: Measuring Family Behaviour
5. Challenges of Longitudinal Family Studies in Asia
Part 4: Family Life in the Context of Culture
6. Singlehood as a Life Style in Asia
7. Dating and Courtship
8. Marriage Practices and Trends
9. Fertility Trends in Asia: Prospects and Implications of Very Low Fertility
10. Motherhood and Childbirth Practices in Asia
11. Fatherhood in Asian Contexts
12. Early Childhood Socialization and Well-being
13. Adolescents and Transition to Adulthood in Asia
Part 5: Family Relationships Across the Life Cycle
14. Married Couples and the Marital Relationship in Asia
15. Parent-child and Sibling Relationships in Contemporary Asia
16. Ageing and Grandparenting in Asia
Part 6: Family, Work and Income
17. Working Couples: The Dual Income Family
18. Breadwinning, Family and Time over the Life Course
19. Social Class, Poverty and Family Life: Asian Perspectives
Part 7: Uncertainty, Stress and Conflict in the Family
20. Preventing and Managing Conflict in the Family
21. Spousal Violence and In-law Conflict in Asia: The Case of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong
22. Divorce Trends and Patterns in Asia
23. Remarriage and Stepfamilies
24. Illness and Caregiving in the Family
Part 8: Family Diversity
25. Cohabitation in Asia
26. Cohabitation: The Case of Thailand
Part 9: Family, Policies and the Law
27. Divorce, the Family Court, and Family Lawyering
28. Legal Protection of Minors: Experiences of Four Common Law Jurisdictions in Asia
29. Legal Protection of Aged Parents and Inheritance Laws in Asia
30. Family Welfare and State Policies in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan
Part 10: Space and Environmental Settings of Family Life
31. Making a Home: Architectural Features
32. Working from Home: Redesigning Internal Space Use in Homes
Biography
Stella R. Quah is an Adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, National University of Singapore.
The most comprehensive--and the most detailed--examination of families in Asia published to date. A major achievement that significantly advances our understanding of how cultures, structures, and kin dynamics intersect. Particularly impressive is the skillful combination of comparative analysis and multidisciplinary perspective, making for a volume that has both substantive and methodological value. Essential reading for family scholars across the globe.
Ralph LaRossa, Georgia State University, USA
This book is remarkably revealing about both modern Asia and present-day family life in an unfamiliar cultural setting. The articles, by eminent family sociologists, all deserve close attention. The articles on dating, courtship, and the marital relationship by editor Stella Quah were especially fascinating. I also learned a lot from Susan McDaniel’s article on the family life course and Chin-chun Yi’s article on adolescence and the transition to adulthood..
Lorne Tepperman, University of Toronto, Canada