This volume brings together contributions on the study of sexual affairs in committed personal relationships. The editors enlisted colleagues with varied theoretical and methodological perspectives from Britain, the United States, and other countries. Together, their contributions provide a broad, cross-national perspective on affairs. Grounded in theoretical discussion, the chapters in this book introduce data collected by a broad range of methods, including attitude surveys, large statistical cohort studies, case studies, depth interviews, and group discussions. A number of contributors locate the theoretical discussion of affairs within the broader contemporary ordering of committed relationships, contrasting the liberating and empowering aspects of affairs with the damage they may inflict on society as a whole and on the lives of individuals and families. The themes of passion, transgression, secrecy, lies, betrayal, and gossip are common to a range of chapters throughout. The volume provides broad literature reviews and theoretical discussions concerning particular aspects of affairs, such as communication and jealousy. In addition, case studies are used for the more detailed exploration of heterosexual affairs and contemporary developments in gay male and lesbian relationships. The State of Affairs will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and students in social psychology; communication; sociology; family, social, and clinical psychology; and for practitioners in couple counseling.

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Recent decades have witnessed remarkable changes in family patterns and household organisation. In particular, contemporary family and household relationships have become far more diverse than they were previously. This book examines the character of these changes, providing a systematic overview of the ways in which domestic arrangements have been altering. Moreover, it places these developments in family and domestic life in their wider economic, social and demographic contexts, showing how family patterns can be understood only by linking what happens inside families with the broader environments in which they operate. Particular attention is paid in the text to the growth of new forms of solidarity and fragmentation within families and households, including cohabitation, divorce, lone-parent households and step-families. The book also focuses on the dynamics of family and household organisation, emphasising the changes that occur in people's domestic relationships as their life course position alters. Thus, in addition to examining the contemporary organisation of marriage, including the domestic division of labour and patterns of resource allocation, it also analyses the household and family circumstances of young adults and people over retirement age. In focusing on diversity and change in domestic relationships the book reflects the revitalisation evident in the sociology of family life in recent years, a period in which new research questions and fresh understandings have emerged about the ways in which people organise their lives as members of households and families.Graham Allan is Reader in Sociology at the University of Southampton. His interests include sociology of the family, community and friendship.Graham Crow is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Southampton. His interests include the sociology of domestic life, community, sociological theory and comparative sociology. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Designed for undergraduate courses in social policy, social anthropology and sociology, this book looks at the sociology of community in contemporary Britain. The book surveys the growing literature on the nature of local social relationships, drawing on a range of recent empirical and theoretical work to illustrate topics ranging from economic change and geographical mobility to the relationship between social policy makers and community organizations...read more

Product Description: Examining the role of home and family in the latter part of the 20th century, this book covers such subjects as the single parent, institutions and homes, the role of the mother in the family, and domestic architecture and domestic life.

Product Description: Who does what in the family, and how far do the divisions and inequalities which occur in a family context reflect those in society as a whole? This introductory text to the sociology of the family combines recent feminist interpretations of domestic life with the traditional concerns of family sociology to offer a fre4ash treatment of a topic of importance not only for students of sociology but also for those engaged in professional training for such careers as social work or health visiting...read more