This book is concerned with the question of how families matter in young people's development - a question of obvious interest and importance to a wide range of readers, which has serious policy implication. A series of key current topics concerning families are examined by the top international scholars in the field, including the key risks affecting children, individual differences in their resilience, links between families and peers, the connections between parental work and children's family lives, the impact of childcare, divorce, and parental separation, grandparents, and new family forms such as lesbian and surrogate mother families. The latest research findings are brought together with discussion of policy issues raised.

"...the breadth and clarity of its coverage is unique and edifying. ...with its incisive analyses and abundant references, Families Count is a must-have reference for all who are concerned with the factors in children's development. It would also be an excellent starting point for graduate, or upper division undergraduate, seminars in psychology or sociology courses concerned with children, families, or both. Certainly, the contents would provide an overview and multiple ideas for further investigations. Finally, the volume should be required reading for all those in academic considerations of public policy affecting children and families, as well as all those involved in the pragmatic development and implication of such policies."
--Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books

"The first essay will be an excellent resource for courses on child development: it provides and excellent, readily understood orientation to the various models of influence, and it is an essential guide to the other essays. The last three chapters offer a satisfying wrap-up to the valuable research in this densely packed volume."
--Choice