Using a down-to-earth support group format-as well as a generous supply of ice cream-this video can help young people cope with situations and surroundings that often result when two families merge. The program acknowledges feelings that children can experience when their parents remarry, including resentment and hostility toward new stepsiblings and half-siblings and a loss of privacy and trust.but it provides a clear strategy for improving relationships...

An institution supported by religious and civil authorities, marriage bestows both freedoms and restraints designed to promote social stability. But as divorce rates continue to soar, is marriage getting a bad name? In this program, author Sabine Da Costa and anthropologists Helen Fisher, of Rutgers University, and Peter Lovell, of the University of New Brunswick, track the development of marriage, from ancient times to the current day. Specific topics...

Can the American family be defined? Today's isolated nuclear families, some with unmarried or same-sex parents, challenge traditional notions. This video explores the evolution of new family types and what they mean for the future.

Anthropologist Helen Fisher studies gender differences and the evolution of human emotions, but she may be best known as an expert on romantic love. Her beautifully penned books - including Anatomy of Love and Why We Love - lay bare the mysteries of our most treasured emotion. In this TEDTalk, Fisher describes how she and her research team took MRIs of people in love - as well as people who had just been dumped - to learn more about our very real,...

From prehistoric extended families to today's double-income and single-parent families, the family as an institution has undergone dramatic change. This program examines the concept of family as viewed around the world and down through time. Historians Andre Burguiere and Pieter Spierenburg; authors Beatrice Gottlieb and Helene Tremblay; Henri Leridon, of the Institute for Demographic Studies; and Egyptologist Florence Maruejol discuss family structure...

In an era where dual-career couples and single parents have become the norm, mothers and fathers are getting caught in a work-family conflict that pits the "ideal worker" against the "ideal parent." In this timely documentary, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith examines the impact and implications of a massive shift in our workforce that has buried the traditional father-breadwinner/mother-housewife family model. Incisive case studies,...

In 2003, the Beaudry family left their comfortable middle-class home to backpack across the world. A year after their adventure, Samuel Beaudry took another journey-one that left his wife, Maryse Chartrand, with shocking questions. How could a life-loving person take his own life? When mourning exhausts itself, what comes next? Can a family survive suicide? This documentary, originally planned as a record of the global trek, is Maryse's quest to understand...

Is polygamy a degrading and harmful practice that only benefits men, or a misunderstood aspect of American subculture that deserves a break? This ABC News program gives the subject careful attention by interviewing women with widely varying polygamist experiences. Some practitioners portray it as a healthy institution that eliminates jealousy and isolation. Another woman condemns it, recounting a barrage of abuses from her polygamist past and epitomizing...

Topping a million per year, the number of divorces in the United States has tripled since 1960, and one in three babies in America today is being born to single parents. A growing body of evidence suggests that these trends are threatening the very fabric of society. Is it too late to infuse new life into a time-honored relationship? This program spotlights the efforts of those committed to saving and promoting the institution of marriage.

Joy, fear, wild pleasure, a sense of danger-these emotions are at the core of almost any coming-of-age experience. Multiply them by a thousand, and maybe throw disgust or boredom into the mix, and you have a fleeting glimpse of the thoughts and sensations surrounding a young woman's first sexual encounter. This program collects stories and reflections on that very subject from ten unique women, all of whom speak candidly about their backgrounds, their...