Bringing together the work of 60 contributors who represent both leading voices in family communication scholarship and an inspiring new generation of scholars shaping the field’s future, this third edition is a comprehensive and accessible overview of the theories that form the foundation of the family communication field.

Each chapter is dedicated to a single theory and follows a consistent structure, allowing readers to engage deeply with individual theories and draw comparisons between multiple theories. Changes to this third edition include two new sections on (Meta)Theoretical Perspectives, including critical feminism, discourse dependence, systems theory, social constructionism, and natural selection and Looking Ahead, with a multi-authored chapter that addresses emerging developments in the study of Black families, Indigenous perspectives, the Global South, Latina/o/x perspectives, and quantitative criticalism. This third edition features 22 theories, nine of which are new to this edition, including five approaches developed within the discipline of communication studies.

Ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying family communication, this text is also relevant for scholars and students of personal relationships, interpersonal communication, and family studies.

Theories from the second edition that are not included in this third edition can be downloaded from the book’s website: www.routledge.com/9781041013181.