International Family Change and Continuity

Abstract

INTRODUCTION To look forward, as the crossroads metaphor of this volume suggests, we must consider the forces that brought us to the present. Also, we live in a globalized world and should take an international perspective, which requires national and subnational perspectives. This is an impossibly difficult task, but the advantages of an international perspective are well worth the downside associated with falling short. With both historical and international perspectives, I must describe things in very general terms, and examples and details must be limited. Many material and ideational forces have produced current marriage and family patterns, and many forces will shape the future. I focus on ideational or cultural factors, with an emphasis on developmental idealism, because these factors are important and have not received adequate attention. My focus on the ideational does not suggest that I believe other factors are not important, as I believe that a full understanding of family change requires consideration of a broad range of ideational and material factors and their intersections.

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