Table Of Contentebook
THE GUILFORD PRESS
Normal Family Processes
Normal
Family
Processes
GrowinG Diversity anD Complexity
F o u r t h E d i t i o n
Edited by
F W
roma alsh
tHe GUilForD press
New York London
© 2012 The Guilford Press. Preface to the Paperback Edition © 2016.
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001
www.guilford.com
All rights reserved
Paperback edition 2016
No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the Publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Normal family processes : growing diversity and complexity / edited by
Froma Walsh. — 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4625-0255-4 (hardcover: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4625-2548-5 (paperback: alk. paper)
1. Families—Research. 2. Family assessment. 3. Families. I. Walsh, Froma.
HQ728.N83 2012
306.85—dc23
2011041949
A e
bout the ditor
Froma Walsh, MSW, PhD, is the Mose and Sylvia Firestone Professor Emer-
ita in the School of Social Service Administration and the Department of
Psychiatry at the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. She
is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of the University- affiliated Chicago
Center for Family Health. Dr. Walsh is a past president of the American
Family Therapy Academy and past editor of the Journal of Marital and
Family Therapy. She has received many honors for her distinguished con-
tributions and leadership in the field of family therapy, including awards
from the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological
Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, the American Asso-
ciation for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Orthopsychiatric
Association, and the Society for Pastoral Care Research. Her books include
Strengthening Family Resilience, Second Edition; Spiritual Resources in
Family Therapy, Second Edition; Living Beyond Loss: Death in the Fam-
ily, Second Edition; and Women in Families: Framework for Family Ther-
apy. She is a frequent speaker and international consultant on resilience-
oriented professional training, practice, and research.
v
C
ontributors
Carol M. Anderson, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Edward R. Anderson, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family
Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Deidre Ashton, LCSW, Princeton Family Institute, Princeton, New Jersey
Leah Bloom, MSMFT, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Nancy Boyd-Franklin, PhD, Graduate School of Applied and Professional
Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
Carrie Capstick, PhD, private practice, New York, New York
Carolyn Pape Cowan, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute of Human
Development, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Philip A. Cowan, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute of Human
Development, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
David S. DeGarmo, PhD, Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, Oregon
Janice Driver, PhD, Eastside Parenting Clinic, Inc., Bellevue, Washington
Malitta Engstrom, PhD, LCSW, School of Social Service Administration, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Marina Eovaldi, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
and Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego,
La Jolla, California
Mona DeKoven Fishbane, PhD, Chicago Center for Family Health, Chicago, Illinois
Marion S. Forgatch, PhD, Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, Oregon
Peter Fraenkel, PhD, Department of Psychology, City College, City University
of New York, New York, New York
Chelsea Garneau, PhD, Family and Child Sciences, School of Human Sciences,
the Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
vi
Contributors vii
John M. Gottman, PhD, The Gottman Institute, Inc., Seattle, Washington
Robert-Jay Green, PhD, Rockway Institute for LGBT Psychology, California
School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University,
San Francisco, California
Shannon M. Greene, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
E. Mavis Hetherington, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, Virginia
Evan Imber-Black, PhD, Ackerman Institute for the Family, New York,
New York, and Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s Program, Mercy College,
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Melanie Karger, MA, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
Carmen Knudson-Martin, PhD, Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda
University, Loma Linda, California
Jay Lebow, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Cassandra Ma, PsyD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Monica McGoldrick, MSW, PhD(Hon.), The Multicultural Family Institute,
Highland Park, New Jersey
Kay Pasley, EdD, Family and Child Sciences, School of Human Sciences, Florida
State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Cheryl Rampage, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
John S. Rolland, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Family Health,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Gina Miranda Samuels, PhD, School of Social Service Administration,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Alyson F. Shapiro, PhD, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State
University, Tempe, Arizona
Tazuko Shibusawa, PhD, Silver School of Social Work, New York University,
New York, New York
Erica L. Spotts, PhD, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute
on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Catherine B. Stroud, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Amber Tabares, PhD, private practice, Bellevue, Washington
Froma Walsh, PhD, School of Social Service Administration, Department of
Psychiatry, and Center for Family Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Catherine Weigel Foy, MSW, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
P P e
refACe to the APerbACk dition
Since the publication of the fourth edition of Normal Family Processes in
2012, families worldwide are continuing to become increasingly diverse,
complex, and fluid in composition and living arrangements. “New normal”
families vary in structure, gender arrangements, multicultural makeup, socio-
economic conditions, and life-cycle patterns. Many strains in family life are
generated by larger societal forces and by disruptive transformations in the
global economy. Vast social and economic disparities affect marriage pros-
pects, family stability, and wellbeing, especially for racial and ethnic minori-
ties and others facing marginalization and discrimination. Yet, as research
in this volume documents, most families raise their children well and show
remarkable resilience in surmounting their challenges and forging creative
new pathways forward.
There is increasing recognition and normalization of the wide spectrum
in human sexuality, including gender identity, sexual orientation, and rela-
tional bonds for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons. A growing
body of research finds that children of lesbian and gay parents function as well
as—and often better than—those of heterosexual parents in terms of mental
health and parent–child relationships (Fedewa, Black, & Ahn, 2015; Green,
Chapter 8, this volume). Most noteworthy, in June, 2015, the United States
Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality for same-sex
couples in Obergefell v. Hodges. This landmark decision will help same-sex
partners clarify their mutual commitments and obligations, and improve their
ability to take care of and provide for one another and their children in times
of illness or death. And yet, serious barriers persist. For instance, many states
lack legal protections against discrimination in employment and housing.
Many same-sex couples (especially those in conservative religious groups) face
rejection, discrimination, or violence from their families and communities.
Thus, challenges remain ahead.
viii
