Emerging Methods in Family Research

I. Family Development and Change.- Latent Growth Curve Models with Random and Fixed Effects.- Families as Coordinated Symbiotic Systems: Making use of Nonlinear Dynamic Models.- Representing Trends and Moment-to-Moment Variability in Dyadic and Family Processes Using State-Space Modeling Techniques.- The Benefits and Challenges of Modeling Intra-Family Variability.- II. Family Systems.- Anatomies of Kinship: Preliminary Network Models for Change and Diversity in the Formal Structure of American Families.- Emerging Methods for Studying Families as Systems.- Families as Systems: Some Thoughts on Methods and Theory.- III. Approaches to Measuring Families.- Studying Family Transitions from a Systems Perspective: The Role of Biomarkers.- Ecological Momentary Assessment [EMA] in Family Research.- Why Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods are Essential for Understanding Family Life.- Approaches to Measuring Families.- IV. Family Programs and Policies.- Multiple Levels and Modalities of Measurement in a Population-Based Approach to Improving Parenting.- Multiple Comparisons and Truncation Bias in Family Policy Research: Strategies from the Building Strong Families Evaluation.- Optimizing Family Intervention Programs: The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST).- Methods in Multi-site Trials of Family-based Interventions.- Capturing the Complexity of Families Using Innovative Methods.