It is the authors contention that satisfying relationships are central to healthy families and, despite the school of thought that income, jobs and housing are the key factors in family policy, this is a focus which should not be lost. Their paper discusses challenges facing family practitioners and researchers in identifying factors involved in satisfying family relationships, and identifies priorities for research. The authors believe that the following areas are key research priorities: changing expectations in couple relationships; relationship issues for young adults; effects of family separation and re-formation on children's well being; the impact of society's management of violence and abuse; adolescents and families; and extended families.