This collection of seven abridged symposium papers discusses contemporary social conditions which affect the nuclear family and suggests directions for intervention. The introduction declares that the family remains the single most important unit in civilized society. Its destruction is seen to be the destruction of society as we know it. The papers (1) forecast family-related socioeconomic developments in the 1980s. (2) criticize supervisory functions of legal institutions which interfere with family supervisory functions, (3) advocate nurturant medical support services for young parents, (4) suggests ways to involve families in medical decision making, (5) survey the response of organized religion to issues related to family living, (6) criticize media influences on family attitudes and behavior and media exploitation of children, and (7) probe influences of the traditional family role of women on women's creativity. (The entire symposium was videotaped and is available for rent in segments of two hours each.) (Author/RH)