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Methodology influences every facet of scientific inquiry including the processes of framing questions, operationalizing constructs, sampling individuals within populations and observations within persons, analyzing data, and bringing meaning to the results. This introduction to the special issue on methodology emphasizes the recursive interaction of research methodology and theories underlying family science. Because the science of family psychology is richly complex, so too must the methods for examining couple and family phenomena be equally diverse. Articles comprising this special issue vary in their emphasis on research design versus data-analytic techniques and on confirmatory versus discovery-oriented strategies. The special issue is intended to advance not only the conduct of family science but also the understanding and integration of an increasingly complex research literature by those engaged in education and clinical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family psychology, at its heart, is about context and the importance of relationships as the nexus for growth and development. Families are complex and diverse, they encompass the life span and interface with multiple systems that reciprocally influence well-being. The well-being of individuals is rooted in families. There is a large literature across the life span that pertains to the mental and physical health and well-being of family members, along with a more specific literature that evaluates the impact of mental and physical health concerns in a more targeted fashion. The society is ethnically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse. It is crucial for family psychology to reflect this diversity and promote an understanding of the heterogeneity of families. An ongoing emphasis on major normative and unexpected contextual transitions across the life span, including marriage, couplehood, separation, divorce, remarriage, children, death, relocation, and employment, among others, is critical to comprehensively reflect the concerns of family psychology.