Books
CREATING LOVE AND RESPECT IN FAMILIES: FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
Creating Love and Respect in Families reports findings from a 40-year research project which involved studying families in the U.S. and Japan. A total of 246 families were involved. This book is about the author’s journey to learn about more and less healthy families, how those families affect the development of children, and the degree to which those influences persist into adulthood.
The book was envisioned as a supplemental text for undergraduate research methods courses. The research focuses on affection and respect in families, and how family patterns are reflected in the lives of family members, particularly children. Cultural similarities and differences between the U.S. and Japan are explored.
Healthy families demonstrate both affection and validation, both love and respect for individuality. Children are allowed to express their own ideas and feelings. Love doesn’t have to mean agreement. Family patterns affect friendship patterns. The influence of family health during adolescence can be seen in the personal maturity of the adolescents. Family influence is still apparent in the lives and personal well-being of the grown children, in their relationships with their elder parents, and even in the families they create as parents.
LIFELONG MARRIAGE IN THE GREATEST GENERATION
Lifelong Marriage in the Greatest Generation reports findings from a 40-year project studying marriages and families. The book provides a snapshot of long-term marriages in the "Greatest Generation." These are couples who grew up during the depression and married after World War II. The book is primarily about more and less healthy long-term marriages.
The research focuses on affection and respect in couples. Healthier couples demonstrate both affection and validation, both love, and respect for individuality. Couples say in their own words what it was like growing up during the depression, the importance of their relationships with their own parents, and how they met and married. Couples also talk about what kinds of supports and challenges they faced living together and raising children.
Finally, couples talk about what they think is important in a successful long-term marriage. They cover topics like commitment, integrity and trust, similarity and complementarity, communication, compromise, and humor. They also talk about friends, family, faith, and finances.