| Ch. 1 | Overview : the expanded family life cycle : individual, family, and social perspectives | 1 |
| Ch. 2 | Self in context : the individual life cycle in systemic perspective | 27 |
| Ch. 3 | History, genograms, and the family life cycle : freud in context | 47 |
| Ch. 4 | Culture and the family life cycle | 69 |
| Ch. 5 | Social class and the family life cycle | 88 |
| Ch. 6 | Women and the family life cycle | 106 |
| Ch. 7 | Men in transition : the "new man" | 124 |
| Ch. 8 | The Latino family life cycle | 141 |
| Ch. 9 | Siblings through the life cycle | 153 |
| Ch. 10 | Migration and the family life cycle | 169 |
| Ch. 11 | Death and the family life cycle | 185 |
| Ch. 12 | Creating meaningful rituals for new life cycle transitions | 202 |
| Ch. 13 | Becoming an adult : leaving home and staying connected | 215 |
| Ch. 14 | Becoming a couple | 231 |
| Ch. 15 | Becoming parents : the family with young children | 249 |
| Ch. 16 | Transformation of the family system during adolescence | 274 |
| Ch. 17 | The launching phase of the life cycle | 287 |
| Ch. 18 | Families in later life : challenges and opportunities | 307 |
| Ch. 19 | The family life cycle of African American families living in poverty | 327 |
| Ch. 20 | Lesbians, gay men, and the family life cycle | 346 |
| Ch. 21 | The single adult and the family life cycle | 362 |
| Ch. 22 | The divorce cycle : a major variation in the American family life cycle | 373 |
| Ch. 23 | Divorce : an unscheduled family transition | 381 |
| Ch. 24 | Single-parent families : strengths, vulnerabilities, and interventions | 399 |
| Ch. 25 | Remarried families | 417 |
| Ch. 26 | Coaching at various stages of the life cycle | 436 |
| Ch. 27 | Alcohol problems and the family life cycle | 455 |
| Ch. 28 | Violence and the family life cycle | 470 |
| Ch. 29 | Chronic illness and the family life cycle | 492 |
| Ch. 30 | Interactions between the therapist's and client's life cycle stages | 512 |