Transitions and Problems in Families
Families go through many transitions and experience u wide variety of problems, ranging from high rates of divorce and teen pregnancy to domestic abuse and family violence. These all-too-common experiences highlight two important facts about families: (J) for good or ill, families are central to our existence, and (2) the reality of family life is far more complicated than the idealized image of families found in the media and in many political discussions, Although some families provide their members with love, warmth, and satisfying emotional experiences, other families may be hazardous to the individual’s physical and mental well-being. Because of this dichotomy in family life, sociologists have described families as both a “haven in a heartless world” (Lasch, 1977) and a “cradle of violence” (Gelles and Straus, 1988).
