Family Relationships in Later Life, 2d ed. - book reviews

Family Relationships in Later Life

Edited by T. H. Brubaker

London: Sage Publications. 2nd edn. 1990. 320 pp. Price [pound]19.50 (paperback).

Forms of marriage have long been one of humankind's chief answers to the provision of a base for work and the raising of children. Increasingly, a novel dimension--a form of marriage in which couples are thrown back upon themselves, without the mechanics of vocational and familial activity to determine their relation--is upon us. There are signs of the strain that new challenge offers. Marriages now continue well into the Third Age, that is, beyond the more normal marital phase which is occupied with work and child-rearing. In turn, the chances of partners' interests and needs altering inevitably grows, and there are already fears of much more divorce and separation in this phase. Thus an American source book, such as this, which summarizes and comments upon the literature of family relationships in later life, is of great value to students and professionals.

As the advertisement for the News of the World used to boast, 'all human life is here': family systems, marital quality, sibling behaviour, the adult child, gender roles, widowhood, the unmarried elderly, elder abuse, family support in ill-health, ethnic differences, the effect of 'catastrophic' illness, and perceptions of stress in family care. It is all accomplished with worthy clarity and completeness. As with much voluminous research, the insights are sometimes in inverse proportion to the quantity of evidence: for instance, few would argue with the conclusion about 'the importance of economic resources for successful coping and adaptation to widowhood'. Perhaps that uneasy feeling that we are being told home-truths mathematically proven is the price we must pay for an assurance that home-truths are recognized and acted upon responsibly.

ERIC MIDWINTER

Visiting Professor of Education, University of Exeter

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