1. Introduction -- 2. Defining families -- Describing our own families -- Intersecting families -- Families change over time -- Criteria for defining families -- 3. Families in different cultures -- Aboriginal families -- History of the family in England -- Family systems in different parts of the world -- What determines family systems? -- 4. The family beyond the household -- Idealised family morality -- Extended family as a unit of cooperation and exchange -- 5. Households in Australia -- Couple families -- Married and de facto couples -- One-parent families -- Natural parents and step-parents -- Transitions in family households -- The way ahead -- 6. Leaving the parents' home -- Leaving home: changing patterns -- Staying longer in education -- The way ahead -- 7. Forming relationships -- De facto relationships -- The proportion who never marry -- Marriage ages -- Delayed marriage and living together -- The way ahead -- 8. Families and the labour force -- Married women in the labour force -- Full-time and part-time work -- Women with dependent children -- Couples with dependent children -- One-parent families -- The individual perspective -- The way ahead -- 9. Having children -- Being childless -- Numbers of children -- Larger families -- The total fertility rate -- Ages of mothers -- Births to unmarried women -- International trends -- The way ahead -- 10. Ending relationships and repartnering -- Widowhood and divorce: 100 years ago and today -- The empty nest -- The modern rise in divorce -- Length of marriages ending in divorce -- Children's experiences of divorce -- Second marriages and de facto relationships -- Interntional levels of divorce -- Repartnering -- The way ahead -- 11. Ageing -- Implications of ageing -- Income and services -- Families and their aged members -- Housing for the aged -- 12. Can the family survive?, confidential
