THE BOOK SHELF

• Date: 01 September 1975
• Author: E. Ronald Hulbert
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.174-1617.1975.tb00752.x
• Published date: 01 September 1975

THE

BOOK

SHELF

E.

Ronald Hulbert, Ph.D.

FAMILY ROLES AND INTERACTION: AN ANTHOLOGY

Edited by Jerold Heiss, Chicago: Rand McNally Publishing Co.,

1976

This revised anthology presents updated material of interest to counselors, particularly those

in

a

court related service.

In

the

section on "Premarital Interaction" several articles deal with ethnic

values pertinent to our work with couples from Black cultural backgrounds. The issues raised

need

to

be considered by

all

counselors who

are

not ethnically

of

the Black experience. Other chapters reflect

the role changes that

are

faced, especially by women, currently entering the work world.

With

more

women

as

working mothers,

the

changes in life style and the role-sharing that male spouses are being

confronted with, often causes radical change in the premarital and early-marital stereotypes

of

hus-

band/wife roles. The need for focus to restore balance

in

the

relationship

is

stressed. This area of con-

cern for

the

counselor and the couple

is

covered

as

well

as

the area of the socialization and interaction

of parents and offspring. The current influences of womens' liberation and the unisex concept in

marital roles and their influence on raising children

are

also covered by the authors. Finally,

the

anthology deals with the

area

of "Family Dissolution." This

is

particularly pertinent and delves into

the processes of alienation, role problems of the divorcee and how the broken home affects the

emerging self-concept of the adolescent. This volume

is

good in

its

entirety, however, the

areas

of

cross-cultural concern and especially the chapter dealing with the dissolution of the family reframes

areas

that we,

as

court-counselors deal with continually and for which we need continually updated

input. For keeping in touch with the current research and role changes within subcultures,

as

well

as

for questioning the accepted stereotype of the "broken home"

this

anthology

is

a

very valuable

resou rce for counselors.

TEACH

IN

G

MU LTI-CULTU RAL POPU LATl ONS: FIVE HER ITAGES

Edited by James

C.

Stone

&

Donald

P.

DeNevi, New York: D. Van Dostrand Co.,

1971.

Although published for the first time five years ago, this volume, which focuses on education,

very deftly describes the cultural heritages of the Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexican-Americans, American

Indians and Asian-Americans. The authors thrust

is

to

raise

the consciousness

level

of the

average

American educator and focus on the cultural heritages of these groups

so

that in interacting with both

the children and their parents, the positive values be preserved and the cultural persuasions that pre-

sent resistance to total incorporation into the American scene be dealt with creatively and pro-

ductively. Preserving

the

positive aspects

of

their cultures and encouraging ethnic pride requires an

awareness of the particular culture. This

is

of

great

importance for the counselor, especially one

working in

a

metropolitan

area

having continued contact with clients from

all

cultural backgrounds.

Considering the emphasis in Marriage and Family counseling on the family

as

a

system, with

its

own

rules and mores which dictate roles and interpersonal responses, an awareness on the part of the

counselor of the unspoken cultural faboos, prejudices,

is

primary. A knowledge of the process of

socialization and assimilation that each cultural group experiences

is

also vitally important. Preserving

the good aspects of cultural heritage

as

a

means of enriching American life requires that the counselor

be aware of the values and positively reinforce the client

so

that negative assimilation into the general

culture does not take place. Culturally enriched segments of the population should be guided

so

as

not

to

''sell

their

birthright" for the sake of being the same

as

everyone

else.

From sad past experience,

this type of misguided assimilation produces inter-generational conflict and seriously impairs the func-

tion of the family (especially the extended family) which acts

as

an important support system for the

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