Originally published in 1969, this introduction to the social study of the family was designed both for students of sociology and for students of related subjects requiring familiarity with a similar approach. It is therefore written in language as simple as possible; technical terms are only introduced when indispensable and are always defined.

While the book is focused on European and American family systems, the author believed these are intelligible only when placed in a wider context, and so the first part is concerned with kinship, marriage and the family in general. He does not attempt to provide a descriptive account of all the empirical studies available but concentrates on what he considers the chief theoretical problems. In consequence this book is argumentative and critical in approach, and never strays far from the central issues of sociological theory; it is, therefore, of value to both students of sociology and to others interested in the perspective which the discipline can give to the study of the family.