THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Human Ecology
Department of Human Development and Family Science
HDFS 560--Advanced Family Development
Autumn Quarter, 2006

Instructor:		Dr. H. Eugene Folden, Jr.
Office:			129 A Campbell Hall
Telephone:		292-5676
E-Mail Address:	Folden.1@osu.edu
Office Hours:		Wednesday, 10:00 to 11:00 (and by appointment)

TEXTS:		Anderson, S. A., & Sabatelli, R. M. (2003).  Family interaction: A multigenerational developmental perspective. (3rd Edition).  Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

			Skolnick, A. S., & Skolnick, J. H. (2005).  Family in transition.  (13th Edition).  Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
 
COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is an advanced study of family development over the lifespan with an emphasis on family research and theory.  Particular attention will be paid to the development of relationships, ideas and values from an intergenerational and systems perspective.

The course will cover a broad range of topics including cultural and historical influences on family life, family theories, transitions in families, intergenerational relations, and diversity in families.  In addition, we will consider the effects of social policy on the American Family.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

	1.	To examine major theoretical approaches used to study families;

	2.	To examine the empirical research in the field;

	3.	To identify adaptations in family structure and interaction patterns during times of transition;

	4.	To consider diversity in families as influenced by gender, ethnicity, and structure;

	5.	To gain an understanding of intergenerational family dynamics;

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1.	EXAMINATIONS:  There will be two examinations in this class, a midterm and   a final.  Format of the examinations will be a combination of essay, true/false and multiple choice questions.  Examinations will cover lectures, readings, and other media presented in class.  Make-up examinations will be offered only in the event of a documented emergency (A doctor's excuse is required for all medical emergencies).  The instructor must be notified before the examination when the student is unable to be present.  All make-up examinations will be in an essay format and will be given at the instructor's convenience.

2.		PAPER:  Each student must write a paper on one of four issues EFFECTING the family (marriage, birth, illness, or death) from a SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE.  For instance, you might investigate how and in what way the death of a family member changed the identity, boundary, maintenance, and nurturant strategies of your family of origin. 

	3.	ATTENDANCE:  Class participation is expected, including, but not limited to, class discussion, written responses and occasional class summaries.  Students will be awarded a total of 30 points if they attend and participate in each class session (you may have 1 unexcused absence without having it negatively effect your grade).  NOTE: This is an “all or nothing” policy--miss no more than 1 class and participate in class, you earn 30 points; miss more than 1 class, you earn no points.

GRADING SCALE:			GRADING SYSTEM:

	313-330 (95%-100%)	= A		Midterm 				100 points
	297-312 (90%- 94%)	= A- 		Research Paper			100 points
	284-296 (86%- 89%)  = B+		Final 					100 points
	274-283 (83%- 85%)	= B	 	Discussion				030 points
	261-273 (79%- 82%)  = B-		TOTAL				330 points
	251-260 (76%- 78%)  = C+	
	241-250 (73%- 75%)  = C			
	228-240 (69%- 72%)  = C-
	218-227 (66%- 68%)  = D+
	208-217 (63%- 65%)  = D
	below 207 (62% or less) = E

CLASS SCHEDULE

DATE					TOPIC	READING

WEEK 1

	Sept. 22		 	Go Over Syllabus
					Introduction	

WEEK 2

	Sept 27			Myths	S & S Introduction
					The Changing Family	S & S #3 & #4

	Sept. 29			Introduction to Family Systems	A & S Ch. 1 & 2

WEEK 3

	Oct. 04			Structural Models of	A & S Ch. 3
					Family Functioning	S & S #6

	Oct. 06			Intergenerational Models of	A & S Ch. 4
					Family Functioning	S & S #7

WEEK 4

	Oct. 11			Contextual Models: Cultural Diversity	A & S Ch. 5
		S & S #34 & #35

	Oct. 13			Mate Selection & Marriage	A & S Ch. 7 & 8
S & S #14 & #15
WEEK 5
		
	Oct. 18			Communication & Intimacy		A & S Ch. 9
		
	Oct. 20			Conflict in Marriage	A & S Ch.10
					Power & Violence in the Family	S & S # 38

A & S = Anderson & Sabatelli	S & S = Skolnick and Skolnick

WEEK 6

	Oct. 25			MIDTERM	

	Oct. 27 			Adolescence to Adulthood	A & S Ch. 6
S & S #36
WEEK 7

	Nov. 01 			Families with Young Children	A & S Ch. 11 & 12
					Parent/Child System	S & S #21 & #25

	Nov. 03			Families in Midlife	A & S Ch. 13
					Intergenerational Relationships	S & S #27

WEEK 8

	Nov. 08			Families in Later Life		A & S Ch. 14
					RESEARCH PAPER DUE!

	Nov. 10			Death, Loss & Bereavement	A & S Ch. 15

WEEK 9

	Nov. 15			The Single-Parent Household	A & S Ch. 17
S & S #37

	Nov. 17			NO CLASS– NCFR MEETING

WEEK 10

	Nov. 22			Divorce	A & S Ch. 16
S & S #18 & #19

	Nov. 24			NO CLASS– THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

WEEK 11

	Nov. 29			Remarriage & Stepparenting	A & S Ch. 18
S & S #20

	Dec. 01			FINAL

A & S = Anderson & Sabatelli	S & S = Skolnick and Skolnick
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:

I strictly uphold the academic misconduct guidelines requiring that "Each instructor shall report to the committee on Academic Misconduct all instances of what he/she believes to be academic misconduct."  Details regarding what constitutes academic misconduct are in the Student Handbook.  Please contact me if you have questions.

DISABILITY SERVICES:

Anyone who feels he/she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.  At the appointment we can discuss the course format, anticipate your needs and explore potential accommodations.  I rely on the Office for Disability Services for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies.  If you have not previously contacted the Office for Disability Services, I encourage you to do so.

		DIRECTIONS FOR PAPER

DATA FOR THE PAPER WILL COME FROM TWO SOURCES.
 
   Source 1:	will be primary data that the student will gather by interviewing ONE member of his or her family.  For this exercise, open-ended questions will probably glean the most amount of information.  Creation of questions will be left to the discretion of the student.  I think 8 to 10 questions will be a sufficient number of questions to gather enough data for the purpose of analysis.
  
   Source 2: 	will be extant data from THREE articles found in scientific journals.  Also, you must select only articles that contain the author (s) own data (you will know this by looking for a “methods” section in the article).

TOPICS FOR PAPER

		Marriage; Birth; Illness; Death; 

LENGTH OF PAPER, Etc.

Your paper must be 8 to 10 pages in length, typed and double spaced, with 1 inch margins, NOT including your title page, Appendix A, or the Reference page.  APA style of referencing MUST be followed.  If you are unfamiliar with APA style you will find a copy of the guidelines (entitled, Publication Manual) in the EHPS Library. This paper is worth 100 points.  However, five points per day will be deducted for late papers.  No papers will be accepted past one week of the due date.  

GUIDELINES & FORMAT FOR WRITING THE PAPER:

(03 points)	Title Page: Center the title, your name; class; date

Section 1:	Introduction

(10 points)	Briefly describe and explain the issue you will be researching, for example, “death impacts everyone in the family system . . .”   SUPPORT your issue with research from the textbook (and other sources if you wish).  Also, briefly describe the systems perspective.  This section will likely be about two pages in length.

(02 points)	Create (and UNDERLINE) a purpose statement.  In other words, tell the reader what you intend to do.  For example, “The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the death of my grandfather changed the identity, boundary, maintenance, and nurturant strategies of my family.”  Be sure you ask questions and find articles that will assist you in understanding and analyzing this purpose statement.

Section 2:	Demographic Data on Subject Participant 

(05 points)	Briefly describe the interview candidate.  Explain why you chose this person.  Be sure to include demographic information  (e.g., race, socioeconomic status, age, locale, family of origin make up, etc.).  I imagine this will be about one page.
 
Section 3:	Interview Data

(15 points)	In this section you must give an overview of your interview data.  Do NOT give question and answer, rather write in discourse.  Summarize the main points to all the responses of all the questions.  This section will be about one to two pages.

Section 4:	Compare/Contrast Interview Data with Extant Data

(45 points)	This is your discussion section.  Here you will compare and contrast the data you gathered (from the interview) with the extant data published in the articles you have selected.  In other words, does the extant data support, or not support, what you found in the interview?   Does it strengthen or weaken your conclusions?   Use APA referencing.  This section will be three to five pages.

Section 5:	Conclusion

(05 points)	Conclude your paper with a brief summary of your findings.  BE SURE YOU HAVE ATTENDED TO YOUR PURPOSE STATEMENT.   Also, make recommendations concerning the topic and what you would do differently in a second interview.  Elaborate on your response.  Two paragraphs will likely be sufficient.  
		
(05 points)	Appendix A 	(On a separate page.  List of your interview questions).
		
(05 points)	References 	(On a separate page.  Use APA style of referencing).

(05 points)	NOTE:  Be sure to INCLUDE the underlined Section Headings in your paper.

SUGGESTED JOURNALS

Below is a listed of possible Journals out of which you are likely to find excellent articles on the topic of your choice.  Other Journals you may select need to be cleared with the instructor.

American Journal of Psychology
American Journal of Public Health
American Journal of Sociology
American Psychologist
American Sociological Review
Child Abuse and Neglect
Child Development
Developmental Psychology
Family Perspective
Family Process
Family Relations
Family in Society
Family Science Review
Gerontologist
Human Development
Journal of Adolescence
Journal of Alternative Lifestyles
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Journal of Divorce and Remarriage
Journal of Family Issues
Journal of Family Violence
Journal of Gerontology
Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy
Journal of Marriage and the Family
Journal of Research on Adolescence
Journal of Social Issues
Marriage and Family Review
Sage Family Studies Abstracts
Sex Roles
Social Forces