The Expanding Family Life Cycle, gives readers a solid understanding of human development and the life cycle. Featured are a groundbreaking integration of individual development within a systemic context discussion of the increasing racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity across the life cycle in the United States today; life cycle perspectives on LGBT issues, alcohol, sexuality, migration, social class, violence in the family, and assessment of "home place" as fundamental to clinical work. This edition moves from society's general orientation of nuclear families to consider a more diverse and inclusive definition of society's rapidly changing family patterns, one that considers, among other things, that the life cycle time frame itself has been expanding as people live longer and the patterns of coupling and child rearing continue to change. Also explored are the impact of issues at multiple levels of the human system and the individual, family households, extended family, community, cultural group, and the larger society. Included are new chapters on sexuality over the life course, mental health as well as physical health in life cycle perspective, and friendship through the life cycle.