Family and society hold together different genders and generations. That which occurs within families is the result of specific multigenerational events (family history) and an exchange among social generations. This text addresses two fundamental issues: identity (what is a family, how is it defined) and change (how does it evolve). The first part of the book discusses these topics at a theoretical and historical level; the second part deals with the crucial stages of family evolution (relationships with spouses and parents, detachment of offspring, transmission of material and moral heritage); the third part addresses operational aspects (spouse enrichment and parent training programs, psychosocial operators' new tasks in network and community assistance).

Contents: Part One: 1. Families: Identity and Change - 2. Identity and Family Change: The Relational-Symbolic Paradigm - Part Two: 3. The Family and Its Transformations - 4. The Conjugal Bond and Its Transitions - 5. The Parental Bond and Its Transitions - 6. The Detachment of Offspring and the Long Transition to Adulthood - 7. Coping with the Final Transition - Part Three: 8. Research on Families: Problems and Perspectives - 9. Forms of Family Assistance - Bibliography.

Eugenia Scabini teaches Family Social Psychology in the Faculty of Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan, where she also directs the Family Research and Study Centre.

Raffaella Iafrate is a researcher in Social Psychology in the Faculty of Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan.