THE FA

MILY

CH

AP

TE

R 1

2

THINK ABOUT IT

The social institution of the American family is undergoing so much change that the institution might eventually cease.

• Write a few sentences agreeing or disagreeing with this

• Family is most universal social institution in the world•What constitutes a family varies around the world

FAMILY SURVEY 1) Do you plan on marrying?

2) Do you plan on marrying your high school sweet heart? (If you have one)

3) Do you plan on having kids? How many?

4) Would you give up your career to have children?

5) Do you plan on moving out of Charlotte?

6) Do you believe there is an acceptable reason for divorce?

7) Would you change your religion to get married?

8) Do you need to marry someone in order to remain a life partner?

9) Would you accept your child if he/she was gay?

10)Is an interracial marriage a possibility?

11)Would you live with your partner before marriage?

12)Is there a justifiable reason to disown a family member?

13)Do you believe in love at first sight?

14)Would you marry someone just for money?

15)Would you marry someone who’s previously been married/has kids?

FAMILY SURVEY 1) How old do you think you’ll be/want to be when

getting married?

2) Do you expect to live with/near your nuclear/extended family?

3) Would you like to have children? How many children?

4) At what age would you like to have children?

5) How long would you like be married before having children?

6) Do you plan to get married in a church?

7) Small or big ceremony for the wedding?

8) Are you willing to sign a prenup?

9) If you are unable to have children, is adoption a possibility?

10)Would you let your child choose their own religion

11) Do you believe men should be the breadwinner of the house?

FAMILY SYSTEMS

• Family: group of people who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption (usually share econ. Resources)

• Nuclear family: 1 or both parents & the children

• Often occupy 2 dif. Nuclear families • Family of orientation: nuclear family you’re born into• Family of procreation: after you marry, your spouse/children

• Extended family: consists of 2 or more generations

KINSHIP

• Kinship: network of people who are related by marriage, birth, or adoption • Categorized into: primary, secondary, tertiary

MARRIAGE/KINSHIP PATTERNS

• Nature of family varies society-society and even within

• 4 questions help answer the organization • 1)How many spouses/partners can I have?• 2)Who lives with whom?• 3)How is family membership determined?• 4)Who will make the family decisions?

• Marriage: norms that est. the relationship between married individuals

MARRIAGE PARTNERS

• Monogamy: one spouse

• Polygamy: multiple spouses • Polygyny: male allowed multiple wives• Usually preindustrial, more land, more children to work

• Polyandry: female allowed multiple husbands (RARE)• Occurs when there is a shortage of women (infanticide)

RESIDENTIAL/AUTHORITY PATTERNS

• After marriage, couples have to choose were to live…

• Patrilocality: living w/ or near husbands parents

• Matrilocality: living w/ or near wife's parents

• Biolaclity: choice of whom to live w/ or near

• Neolocality: choosing neither and moving freely

• Patriarchy: father holds authority

• Matriarchy: mother holds authority

• Egalitarian: both share authority

DESCENT PATTERNS

• Tracing linage through father/mother

• Patrilineal: through father-son

• Matrilineal: through mother-daughter

• Bilateral: through both• Important to see who/what you’re inheriting

• Preindustrial was patrilineal • Matrilineal is very rare

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIETY • Regulation of Sexual Activity • Forbidding of incest• 26 states allow marriages between 1st

cousins

• Reproduction • Need to replace dying members

• Socialization• teaching children cultural norms

• Economic and Emotional Security• Division of labor between sex/age

SECTION OVERVIEW

1. What norms in societies or groups influence marriage patterns?

2. LIST and DESCRIBE the basic functions of the family.

3. Explain the functions of the family you find most important in modern societies.

Consider the various agencies in modern societies that perform functions of the family and the life experiences in modern families compared to traditional ones

2.3 THE AMERICAN FAMILY

MARRIAGE • Why do we marry?• Generally emotionally/physically attracted to someone•Homogamy: marrying an ind. With similar social characteristics to their own (age, SES, religion, race)

• Race is the strongest factor out of characteristics• Only 2.4% marriages are between a white/black couple

• Increasing numbers of couples practicing heterogamy: marriage between ind. w/ different social charac.

FAMILY DISRUPTION

FAMILY VIOLENCE

• Considered most devastating family disruption• Occurs in all classes, racial, and

ethnic groups

• Originally thought to be a lower class problem

• Women are as likely to commit violent acts• Not as devastating to the child/spouse

FAMILY DISRUPTION

DIVORCE

• Varies with age, education, religion, and race• Younger=more likely, more

educated=less likely

• Greater economic effect on women

• Emotionally women handle divorce better• Higher suicide, drug, alcohol, and

depression rates in men

• Strongly affects children• More likely to have emotional/learning

issues

Provisional number of marriages and marriage rate: United States, 2000-2011

Year Marriages PopulationRate per 1,000 total population

2011 2,118,000 311,591,9176.8

2010 2,096,000 308,745,5386.8

2009 2,080,000 306,771,5296.8

2008 2,157,000 304,093,9667.1

2007 2,197,000 301,231,2077.3

2006 2,193,000 294,077,2477.5

2005 2,249,000 295,516,5997.6

2004 2,279,000 292,805,2987.8

2003 2,245,000 290,107,9337.7

2002 2,290,000 287,625,1938.0

2001 2,326,000 284,968,9558.2

2000 2,315,000 281,421,9068.2

FAMILY DISRUPTION

DISRUPTIONS LATER IN LIFE

• Disruption of empty nest

• Death of a spouse• Greater affect on women (typically live longer)• Identity problems• Economic problems

TRENDS IN AMERICAN FAMILIES

• Dual-earner families: both partners have jobs• moving away from male being breadwinner

DELAYED MARRIAGE • Getting married at later ages

• Becoming acceptable again to delay marriage• Finishing education and starting careers first

• Cohabitation~ couples living together out of marriage• ½ of all 1st marriages precede in

cohabitation

TRENDS IN AMERICAN FAMILIES

DELAYED CHILD BEARING

• Similar reasons like delayed marriage

• Delaying having kids leads to some issues• Sandwich generation: aging parents raising young children (caught between the needs of kids and their parents)• Work, kids, assisting parents leads to stress

• Eventually some couples wait too long/can’t have kids• Those who can and consciously choose not to are labeled voluntary childlessness

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Do you think couples are happier without children?

• Do you think having children makes a couple happier?

• We'll see

ONE PARENT FAMILIES

• Several reasons for 1 parent families• Most result from divorce or births to unwed mothers• 8/10 one parent families are headed by women

• 3 unique stresses for single parents families• 1)Responsibility overload• 2)Task overload• 3)Emotional overload

• Finance is also a major source for stress

• Affects children greatly as well• 2 to 3 x more likely to have negative life outcomes than

those who are raised in a 2 parent family

REMARRIAGE

• 43% of current marriages include 1 or both partners previously being married • ~75% of divorced people get remarried

• Increased numbers of step families or blended families• Studies suggest it takes roughly 4 years for a child to

accept a stepparent the way they would their biological parent• Also a period of adjustment for new siblings