Families in Context is a distinctive text for students with the premise that families are best understood in their social, historical, economic, religious, and educational contexts. This sociological approach explores various kinds of families and societies through the lens of social science theories and methods. Readers will learn to integrate their personal family experiences and expectations into a broader social world. Families in Context includes extensive coverage of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, but is diverse in other ways as well. Several theoretical perspectives are explained, applied, and critiqued. Relevant materials from anthropology, psychology, and other fields supplement the sociological core. Macro, meso, and micro level analyses assist students in developing their sociological imagination. The second edition of Families in Context includes updated data and research. American families, still the primary focus, are contrasted in broader global context. More sociological content replaces some of the more psychological material but the new edition continues the balanced theoretical approach that made the first edition unique. Compared to other families texts, this book transcends polemics, providing a cogent introduction to the best research findings on families and their relevance for students" lives.