Beyond white and middle class: cultural variations in families--assessments, processes, and policies.

The goal of this special issue on cultural variations in families--assessments, processes, and policies--is to increase our understanding of families of different ethnic, racial, and class backgrounds. Articles in this issue represent a range of cultural groups, illustrate a pattern of both similarities and differences across groups, and reflect the recent emphasis on processes that account for variation in families of different ethnic backgrounds. The articles focus on strengths of families of different ethnic backgrounds in contrast to earlier deficit models. Finally, theoretical models that recognize within-group variability of different ethnic, racial, and cultural groups are illustrated in these articles.