Families, Relationships and Intimate Life is a lively and comprehensive introduction to the sociology of the family. It provides a thorough exploration of the controversies, contradictions and broad patterns that characterise contemporary relationships and families. Beginning with the conceptual scaffolding of families in their historical and cultural context this text includes the key cultural differences of ethnicity, class and sexuality. Theoretical perspectives including functionalism, feminist approaches and reflexive modernization are also clearly outlined. Once the groundwork has been established the book delves into examining the complexity of contemporary family life, covering key elements in the life course - childhood, youth, partnering, parenting and ageing and both the positive and negative sides of family life including intimacy and violence.