A Neo-functionalist Synthesis of Theories in Family Sociology
Swenson (behavioral sciences, Mount Royal College, Alberta) constructs a theory of familial phenomena he calls A Neo-Functionalist Family Theoretical Framework, and tests it with social-familial data. The framework is general enough to include all theoretical families of the phenomenon of the family, he says, yet specific enough to address the major research problems of the many dimensions of the family. He acknowledges that Parsons' notion of functional structuralism has been criticized to near extinction, and seeks not to revive it, but to revisit and revise it to address past and recent criticisms and make it a useful tool in family sociology. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).