Academic

Huntington on Happiness & Family Law

By Lawrence Solum

Clare Huntington (University of Colorado Law School) has posted Happy Families? Translating Positive Psychology into Family Law (Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, 2009) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Despite the well-documented finding in the field of positive psychology that close interpersonal relationships are significantly correlated with subjective well-being and thriving communities, scholars have yet to bring together positive psychology and family law. And what is family law if not the law of close interpersonal relationships? Positive psychology and related work have the potential to inform the what, the why, and the how of family law, but realizing the potential of positive psychology as a guide for family law involves challenges. In particular, it requires translating the descriptive science of psychology into the prescriptive policies of family law. This Essay addresses this translation question by exploring the indeterminacies inherent in positive psychology and identifying productive ways forward.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on July 02, 2009 (boomark / email).