African Families and the Crisis of Social Change

This volume studies global and national transformation from the point of view of African families. The essays explore contemporary change in African families, and consequences for children and parents, the elderly, gender roles, moral values, fertility, health and economic development.

African families face serious crises today. They are under economic, demographic and political pressure of all kinds; yet, families are not mere hapless victims of global change. They are proactive, resilient agents and creators of change. This volume studies global and national transformation from the point of view of families in local communities. Contributors are from Africa, North America and Europe, and provide socially and historically based, culturally rich, multigenerational and comparative perspectives on family life in Africa today. The essays explore contemporary change in African families, and consequences for children and parents, the elderly, gender roles, moral values, fertility, health (HIV and nutrition), and economic development. Ultimately, despite desperate economic, sociohistorical, demographic and political circumstances, African families remain vitally important for social and psychological support throughout an individual's life span.

Introduction - Crisis in the African Family, Candice Bradley and Thomas S. Weisner. Part 1 Human Development, Values and Family Change: Psychological and Institutional Defence Mechanisms in Times of Change, Joshua Akong'a
Support for Children and the African Family Crisis, Thomas S. Weisner
Morality and Change - Family Unity and Paternal Authority Among Kipsigis and Abaluyia Elders and Students, Carolyn Pope Edwards
Gender, Status and Values Among Likuyu and Appalachian Adolescents, Susan Abbott. Part 2 Health: HIV/AIDS Risk Factors and Changing Sexual Practices in Kenya, A.B.C. Ocholla-Ayayo
The Social and Cultural Contexts of Food Production in Uganda and Kenya, Michael A. Whyte
Malnutrition and Gender Relations in Western Kenya, Susan Reynolds Whyte and Priscilla Wanjiru Kariuki. Part 3 Aging: The Discourse of Neglect - Family Support for the Elderly in Samia, Maria G. Cattell
Pronatalism and the Elderly in Tiriki, Kenya, Walter H. Sangree
Stigma, Role Overload and Delocalization Among Contemporary Kenyan Women, Philip L. Kilbride and Janet C. Kilbride. Part 4 Gender and Reproduction: Why Fertility is Going Down in Maragoli, Candice Bradley
Gender and Life Course Strategies Among the Gusii, N. Thomas Hoakansson and Robert A. LeVine
Resource Allocation and Polygyny in the Lake Victoria Basin, Joseph W. Ssennyonga
Changing Women's Rights over Property in Western Kenya, Ruth Nasimiyu
Logoli Childhood and the Cultural Reproduction of Sex Differentiation, Robert L. Munroe and Ruth H. Munroe. Part 5 Culture, Family and Economy: Right Values and Good Fortune - Bukusu Responses to Ecological Opportunity, Jan J. de Wolf
Changing Roles in the Bukusu Family, Simiyu Wandibba
Modernization, Family Life and Child Development of Kokwet, Charles M. Super and Sara Harkness.