Two major social science perspectives on wife abuse have emerged in the last decade. One is a family violence perspective; the other is a feminist perspective. The purpose of this article is to compare the basic premises, methodology, and conclusions of these two perspectives with respect to their views of women and gender. The perspectives differ in the priority that they assign to gender as a factor in the abuse of women by husbands and male intimates, and these differences have (...) implications for research and policy on wife abuse. I argue that the feminist perspective portrays the realities of battering more accurately, and I conclude with directions for future research. (shrink)

How are parents in America doing? Are they “helicopter parenting,” micromanaging the lives of their children? Failing to spend enough time with their children? While Americans raise questions about today’s parents, the challenges of parenting are not well understood. Based on numerous interviews with a diverse group of mothers of teenagers and young adults, Letting Go moves beyond popular views and offers a new understanding of parenting that demonstrates the challenging situations parents must navigate today as they guide their children (...) through adolescence and young adulthood. Parents are expected to supervise the lives of their teens on an ongoing basis and ensure that they safely transition to young adulthood and on to adulthood and gain the credentials they need to succeed in an era when reaching adulthood has become more demanding. At the same time, parents must pull back and “let go” so their teens and young adults learn to take more responsibility for their lives. The negotiations with teens and young adults over control, trust, and letting go that mothers describe in this book offer an invaluable portrayal of the uncertainties and questions that underlie the day-to-day lives of contemporary parents. At a time when the transition to adulthood has become longer and more challenging, Letting Go offers a nuanced, candid portrayal of the real dilemmas parents face at this time, the deeply emotional dynamics involved in raising adolescents and young adults, and the ways social policy can play a key role in helping young people ultimately succeed. (shrink)