Book excerpt: Families and Economic Distress depicts the economic, psychological, and familial consequences of unemployment, reviews political responses to economic hardships, and provides policy recommendations. Interdisciplinary scholars offer divergent approaches and perspectives, providing a multifaceted yet well-integrated discussion of what unemployment means for families and how policies could alleviate the hardships these families experience. Individual sections consider: the effect of economic dislocation; coping with economic distress; understanding unemployment; political responses to economic distress; the sources and impact of federal policy. Reliance on sophisticated methodologies, incorporation of r