This updated edition brings the study of the family into the era of Barack Obama. A hallmark of Families in Contextremains the well-researched, data-driven nature of the text. Beyond thoroughly updated statistics, a new chapter explores the family and public issues under the leadership of President Barack Obama. Another new chapter explores questions of bias in the study of the family, in public debates, and in textbooks. These new chapters are ideal for spurring classroom discussion or student papers. The underlying presentation remains balanced, theoretically grounded, and accessible to a wide variety of classes, allowing students of all ages and family backgrounds to draw their own conclusions about controversial topics.