You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The author, who is a Professor of Education in the University of Toledo, has written this book 'for the student of college age who is interested in obtaining an improved perspective on life in a family group'. She hopes the text will contribute to self-understanding and makes a point of stressing the mental hygiene aspects of family behavior. She has divided her material into four general headings: Orientation, which gives the historical background of the modern family and methods of studying this subject; The Social Setting, which deals with socio-economic questions; Old Problems in New Settings, which discusses work and income, the use of leisure, adaptations to community life and current influences; The Nurture of Personalities, which sets forth some of the fundamental concepts of mental hygiene, careers for parents, relationships to children, adolescent problems, and the need for a program of education for family life of tomorrow. The author does not attempt to describe the ideal family of tomorrow but rather encourages her readers to 'better the lives of families of the future by finding a workable philosophy in the suggested interpretations' throughout the text.
The book was first published in the spring of 1936, the current edition appearing in 1940. The author's purpose in revising the text is to separate for the reader those problems which are fairly constant from those which are particularly acute because of immediate social trends. One new chapter is added providing the historical background of the modern family and several new subjects are introduced. Reading references are given at the end of each chapter and the second edition brings some of these up to date. However, the section pertaining to mental health remains the same as given in the first edition. It does not include any references to the works of psychiatrists but is confined to books by sociologists and psychologists.
Family Behavior is written from a philosophical and sociological appr