Four chapters report studies on the family and describe activities of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations system. Discussed in chapter I are United Nations declarations, resolutions, and plans of action regarding the concept of the family; activities of United Nations bodies; activities of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; violence in the family; and social welfare strategies relevant to changing families. Studies discussed in chapter II concern the role of the family in the developmental process; national family policies and guidelines for the design of national and subnational programs; African perspectives on the family and development; and internal studies focusing on the family and development, development processes, sub-Saharan Africa, Africa as a whole, Qatar, the Indian family, instability of the family in development, and the family in socialist society. Chapter III briefly reports activities of the Organization of American States and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, while chapter IV reports those of the Centro Internazionale Studi Famiglia, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Social Security Association, and the International Union of Family Organizations. Also included are a 22-page bibliography and the text of the Economic and Social Council Resolution 1983/23 on the Role of the Family in the Development Process. (RH)