Examines families - their challenges and successes - as they move through the life course. Family Interaction takes a family systems and a multigenerational, developmental framework. This text looks at the major conceptual models used to understand the patterns and interactional dynamics that operate in families. It provides readers with an overview of the basic tasks that all families must execute regardless of their particular composition or living situation and, at the same time, offers readers an appreciation of the variety and uniqueness in the ways in which each family develops its patterns of interaction.