Family trends and changes / edited by Justin Healey

The concept of a 'traditional nuclear family' has been changing in recent decades. Trends in divorce and remarriage have contributed to more one-parent and re-partnered parent families, while the number of couple families in Australia without children is projected to overtake couple families with children to become the most common family type during the next decade. More young people are also choosing to stay at home and live with their parents in their early adulthood. Multigenerational household living arrangements are quietly emerging in Australia. Mum, dad and two kids is no longer the norm in the changing Australian family. Family processes such as parenting quality, parental wellbeing, and relationship satisfaction within the family - rather than traditional family structures - appear to meaningfully impact more on children's wellbeing and positive development. This book explores family trends, changes and diversity, featuring a range of family types including single parent families, step and blended families, rainbow and same-sex families. It also examines the quality of family relationships, and the challenges families face in the modern age.