Summary
Contents
Subject index
Advancing Family Theories explores two contemporary theories of the family - rational choice theory and transition theory. These diametrically different approaches illuminate what differing theories reveal about families. The book also discusses how meta-theories can assist in building and refining theory and offers insight on the "understanding versus explanation" debate. Advancing Family Theories gives students a precise notion of what a theory is and how theories work in research. The book not only looks at philosophical realms but also examines particular substantive theory to explain and predict family behaviors.Advancing Family Theories Family Theories, Second Edition (SAGE, 2002), or is effective on its own. The book helps students with the task of taking abstract and very general theories and reducing them to a level of specific research models and hypotheses.
Advancing Substantive Family Theories
This section examines in some depth two substantive theories about families: rational choice theory and transition theory. Although it might seem that these two theories bear little resemblance to one another, our previous discussion in Section I will assist us in seeing many common problems and issues.
You may wonder why these two theories were selected rather than some others. The answer is complex. First, I believe these two theories represent two of the best developed theories in the area of family studies. The only other one that comes close to these is role theory (e.g., Burr, Hill, et al., 1979); however, it is not a theory that necessarily deals with the family as a group. A second reason ...
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