Chapter 12 Marriage and Family. Composition: What is the Family? █ Family: Set of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption (agreed-upon relations)

Chapter 12

Marriage and Family

Composition: What is the Family?

█ Family: Set of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption (agreed-upon relations) who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society

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█ Nuclear family: A family composed of one or two parents and their children█ Common to industrial societies

█ Extended family: Family in which other blood relatives live in same household as parents and children█ Common to agrarian societies.

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█ Monogamy: Form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other

█ Serial monogamy: When a person has several spouses in his or her lifetime, but

only one spouse at a time

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█ Polygamy: When an individual has several husbands or wives simultaneously

█ Polygyny: Marriage of a man to more than one woman at a time

█ Polyandry: Marriage of a woman to more than one husband at the same time

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Diversity in U.S. Families

• One-Parent Families

• Couples Without Children– While most married women give birth, about

one of five do not

• Blended Families

• Gay and Lesbian Families– Adoption by Gay and Lesbian Couples

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Authority Patterns: Who Rules?█ Patriarchy: Males are expected to

dominate in all family decision making

█ Matriarchy: Women have greater authority than men

█ Egalitarian family: Family in which spouses are regarded as equals

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Figure 39-1: U.S. Households by Family Type, 1940-2010Module 39

Trends in U.S. Families

• The Changing Timetable of Family Life: Marriage and Childbirth– Postponing Marriage and Childbirth

• Cohabitation– Does Cohabitation Make Marriage Stronger?– Children of Cohabiting Parents: A Surprising

Finding


Changes in Households

█ The number of married couples has decreased

█ The number of married couples with-out children has increased

█ Single parent households have increased

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Changes in Households

█ The number of non-family household have increased

█ Opposite sex cohabitation

█ Same sex cohabitation

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Functionalist View

█ Family serves six functions for society:

1. Reproduction

2. Protection

3. Socialization

4. Regulation of sexual behavior

5. Affection and companionship

6. Provision of social status

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Conflict View

█ Family reflects inequality in wealth and power found within society

█ In wide range of societies, husbands exercised power and authority within the family

View family as economic unit that contributes to social injustice

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Marriage and Family: Conflict Perspective

• Struggles between Wives and Husbands– Housework– Child Care– Money– Attention– Respect– Sex


Interactionist View

█ Focuses on microlevel of family and other

intimate relationships█ Interested in how individuals interact with

each other, whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples

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Feminist View

█ Interest in family as social institution

█ Urge social scientists and agencies to rethink notion that families in which no adult male is present are automatically cause for concern

█ Feminists stress need to investigate neglected topics in family studies

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Marriage and Family

█ Over 95% of all men and women in U.S. marry at least once during their lifetimes

– Internet is second to friends as a source of romantic partners

– Process of mate selection is taking longer today than in past

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Courtship and Mate Selection

█ Aspects of Mate Selection

– Endogamy: Specifies groups within which spouse must be found; prohibits marriage with members of other groups

– Exogamy: Requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually family or certain kin

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Courtship and Mate Selection

█ Aspects of Mate Selection

– Incest taboo: Social norm commonto all societies prohibiting sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relationships

– Homogamy: Conscious or unconscious tendency to select mate with personal characteristics similar to one’s own

(continued)

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What is Marriage?

• Until Recently…Taken for Granted

• Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriages

• Even sexual relationships don’t universally characterize marriage

• Must be Alive?


Common Cultural Themes

• Families Establish Patterns of…– Mate Selection– Descent– Inheritance– Authority

• Patriarchy; Matriarchy; Egalitarian



Who Makes the Decisions at Home


In Two-Paycheck Marriages, How Do Husbands and Wives Divide Their Responsibilities?

The Family Life Cycle

• Love and Courtship in Global Perspective

• Marriage– Social Channels of Love and Marriage– Homogamy

• Childbirth – Marital Satisfaction Decreases– Ideal Family Size


The Family Life Cycle

• Family Transitions– “Adultolescents” and the Not-So-Empty Nest– Adolescents, especially the young men, used

to leave home after finishing high school– Widowhood

• Women are more likely than men to become widowed


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Family SatisfactionFamily Satisfaction

Stage One: Young couples without children exhibits a high degree of satisfaction for both husband and wife with the wife initially more satisfied than the husband.

Wife

Husband

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Stage Two: Young couples preschool-age children exhibits a high degree of satisfaction for the husband but the wife has a significant decrease in satisfaction.



Couple who become parents reported lower marital happiness, more tension, and more frequent conflicts after the transition to parenthood than before.

Parents were found to report higher levels of psychological distress and anger than do couples without children.

Children increase anger level more for mothers than fathers, and each additional child in the household increased the level of anger.

Why?


For Women:

The majority of women have jobs prior to pregnancy, but most leave the job as the pregnancy progresses.

On 1 in 5 women remain employed in the month that their child was born.

Many of these mothers return to work, but by two years after the birth, their rate of employment is only 60 percent.

Wages are significantly affected by the presence of children.


For Men:

Fathers are more likely to be employed and work more hours than their male counterparts.

On the other hand, a working wife/mother requires the father to sacrifice work time in order to contribute more time to the family.

One model suggest that fathers work more while the other suggest they work less.

Wages are significantly affected by the presence of children.

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Wife

Husband

Stage Three: Young couples with school-age exhibits a declining degree of satisfaction for both husband and wife with the wife still exhibiting lower level of satisfaction than the husband.


The egalitarian ethic

A wife's dominance in decision making, which is relatively rare, is associated with the lowest level of satisfaction for both partners.

A husband's dominance in decision making may be more frequently associated with satisfaction for the husbands than for the wives.

Equal sharing is associated with the highest level of satisfaction for the wives.

When measures other than marital satisfaction are considered relative equality is the most beneficial for the relationship



• Doing Laundry• Preparing Meals• Grocery Shopping• Cleaning House• Washing Dishes• Caring for Children• Disciplining Children• Yard Work• Minor Home Repairs

79% 27%78% 26%72% 26%69% 22%68% 31%72% 12%42% 28%21% 63%16% 74%

Women MenHousehold Task

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Wife

Husband

Stage Four: Couples with adolescent children both exhibit a declining degree of satisfaction.


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Husband

Stage Five: Couples with children who are young adults who are getting ready to leave the household. This period is called the launching period


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Wife

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Stage Six: Couples with adult children no longer living at home. This is the empty nest period and both husband and wife exhibit an increasing degree of satisfaction.


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Wife

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Stage Seven: Couples in the retirement stage of life, without children at home, both exhibit a high degree of satisfaction.



The Decline of the Two-Parent Families



Why Do Americans Marry? The Changing Age at First Marriage


Americans Ages 20-24 Who Are Married


Cohabitation in the United States

Divorce and Remarriage

• Ways of Measuring Divorce

• Children of Divorce

• Grandchildren of Divorce

• Fathers’ Contact with Children after Divorce

• The Ex-Spouses

• Remarriage



The “Where” of U.S. Divorce



Two Sides of Family Life

• The Dark Side– Spouse Battering– Child Abuse– Marital or Intimacy Rape– Incest



• The Bright Side - Successful Marriages– Spouse is Best Friend– Like Spouse as Person– Think Marriage is Long-Term Commitment– Believe Marriage is Sacred



– Agree with Spouse Aims and Goals– Believe Spouse Grown More Interesting– Want Relationship to Succeed– Laugh Together


Happy Families

• Spend a Lot of Time Together

• Are Quick to Express Appreciation

• Committed to Promoting Mutual Welfare

• Talk and Listen a Lot

• Are Religious

• Deal with Crises Positively


Symbolic Interactionism and Misuse of Statistics

• Divorce Statistics Explained– Many students concerned divorce statistics

mean they won’t have a successful marriage

• People are Individuals

• We Create our Own World


The Future of Marriage and Family

• No Danger of Becoming a Relic

• Cohabitation, Single Mothers, Age at Marriage, Grandparent as Parent Increase

• Continued Distorted Images of Marriage and Family


Documents

Chapter 12 Marriage and Family. Composition: What is the Family? █ Family: Set of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption (agreed-upon relations)