1.  Chapter 12

2.  Section 1

3.  We’ve talked about social institution which is a systems of statuses, roles, values, and norms organized to satisfy one or more of society’s basic needs. o The most universal social institution is the family Every society organizes its members into families However, what constitutes a family varies widely from culture to culture Despite this variety, families throughout the world follow similar organizational patterns and fulfill common features

4.  Family is a group of people who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption and who often live together and share economic resources  What is a typical family? o Nuclear family: consists of one or both parents and their children – is the family feature most recognizable to Americans

5.  During a lifetime, a person often is a member of two different overlapping nuclear families  An individual’s family of orientation is the nuclear family into which the person is born or adopted o Individual, their siblings, and parents  When an individual marries, a new nuclear family is formed and is known as a family of procreation consisting of the individual and their spouse and their children

6.  In many societies the nuclear family is embedded in a larger family group  Sociologist’s refer to this family unit as the extended family: consisting of two or more generations o Grandparents, parents, children, aunts, uncles and cousins may all live in one house or groups of houses or even in different countries

7.  Nuclear families and extended families are often part of a much larger kinship system  Kinship: network of people who are related by marriage, birth, or adoption  Kinships can be quite large (some close to 200 possible relatives)  Categories to divide groups o Primary: individuals closet relatives Members of an individual’s families of orientation and procreation 7 possible categories: mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, daughter, son o Secondary: primary relatives of an individual’s primary relatives More than 30 additional categories of people Grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, in-laws o Tertiary: primary relatives of an individual’s secondary relatives 150 categories of people added to kinship system Great-grandparents, grand-grandchildren, great-aunts, great-uncles, and cousins

8.  Exact nature of the family varies from society to society and even within societies  Family organization is determined by how a society or group within society answer 4 questions: 1) How many marriage partners may a person have? 2) Who will live with whom? 3) How will family membership be determined? 4) Who will make the decisions in the family?

9.  Marriage: o Sociologists use the term to refer NOT to the married couple but to the set of norms that establishes and characterizes the relationship between married individuals o Because marriage often marks the beginning of a family, this set of norms influences the ways in which societies answer the questions of family organization

10.  No universal norm limits the number of marriage partners an individual may have  In most industrialized nations however, an individual is allowed to be married to only one person at a time o Marriage of one person to another person is called monogamy  However, in the majority of pre-industrial societies around the world individuals are permitted to have multiple marriage partners o Marriage with multiple partners is called polygamy

11.  Polygamy can take two forms: 1) Polygyny: man is permitted to marry more than one woman at a time 1)Most common form 2)Pre-Industrial Society: Large areas of land available for cultivation – gain more workers the more wives you marry 3)Shows a man’s prestige and economic wealth 2) Polyandry: a woman is permitted to marry more than one man at a time 1)Rarer form 2)Primarily found in parts of Asia and generally arise in response to extreme poverty and a shortage of women 3)Ex: Toda of India practiced female infanticide thus there were not enough women to provide monogamous partners for all men in society. 1)Here when a woman married a man, she became a wife to all of his brothers

12.  More common marital system in the majority of preindustrial societies around the world but most people in polygamous societies take only one spouse  2 reasons: 1) Very expensive to have more than one marriage partner 1)Few people can support two or more wives and their children 2) Most societies tend to produce roughly equal numbers of men and women 1)If a substantial number of people took multiple spouses, there simply would not be enough eligible partners to enable everyone to marry 2)Situation would be very disruptive to the functioning of society

13.  Once married, must decide where to live  Rules of residence vary from society to society  Patrilocality: patri means father in Latin, locality means location; married couple expected to live with or near the husband’s parents  Matrilocality: matri means mother; couple exptected to live with or near the wife’s parents  Bilocality: bi means two; allows the newly married couple to choose whether they live near the husband’s or wife’s parents  Neolocality: industrial societies; neo means new; newly married couple is free to set up a residence apart from both sets of parents

14.  Way kinship patterns are traced  Patrilineal descent: trace kinship through the father’s family o Common in preindustrial societies in which men produce the most value resources o Property passed from father to son  Matrilineal descent: trace kinship through the mother’s family o Less common o Property is passed from mother to daughter  Bilateral descent: kinship is traced through both parents and property can be inherited on either side of the family o Most industrial societies practice

15.  Rules for descent are important for the smooth operation of society because they establish who is going to inherit property from whom  However, the need to maintain the lines of descent can lead to interesting practices o Ex:In some patrilineal societies a father can declare one of his daughters “son” if he does not have male heirs

16.  3 possible functions: 1) A family may be patriarchy: the father holds most of the authority 1) Vast majority of societies around the world 2) A family may be matriarchy: the mother holds most of the authority 1) Rare 3) A family may be egalitarian: the mother and father share authority 1) many industrialized societies (US) moving towards this but patriarchal authority still the cultural norm for many

17.  All families preform similar functions even though the ways these functions are fulfilled may differ from culture to culture.  Among the family’s most important functions are the o Regulation of sexual activity o Reproduction o Socialization o Provision of economic and emotional security

18.  All societies regulate sexual activities of their members to some degree  At very least, enforce some type of incest taboo: norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives  Incest taboo found universally but the relatives that are included in the taboo vary from society to society o In US, a person cannot marry his/her parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, or nephews o However 26 states allow marriage between first cousins

19.  To survive, societies must replace members who die or move away  In every society the family is the approved social unit for the performance of reproduction  Societies establish norms governing childbearing and child rearing o Norms determine who is eligible to marry and bear children, the number of children considered appropriate, and the rights and responsibilities of parents

20.  Children must be taught the ways of the society into which they were born  Family is the first agent of socialization that most children encounter  As a result, most kids learn about the values and norms of society from the family  Parents, siblings, and other relatives usually serve as the earliest role models for kids

21.  Family acts as the basic economic unit in society  In most societies, labor is divided on the basis of gender – some tasks in the family fall to males while others fall to females  Tasks are divided within the family depending on the ages of the family members o Through this division of labor, the family ensures that its members are fed, clothed, and housed o However, not every family meets these needs  As the basic and most intimate primary group in society, the family is expected to guide the individual’s psychological development and to provide him/her with loving and caring environment o Doesn’t always work that way though  In some industrialized societies, many of the traditional functions of family have been taken over by other social institutions such as education system

22.  Chapter 12 Section 2

23.  Traditionally the popular image of the “typical” American family includes a working father, a stay-at-home mother, and two or three children.  However, American families are now much more diverse.  Since the 1970s the percentage of married women with children and careers has grown.

24.  Majority of American adults marry at least once during their lifetimes  In 2000 56% of American men and 52% of American women over the age of 15 were married  However marriage rates are declining, particularly among younger Americans o About 28% of Americans over age of 15 have never been married o Between ages 25-34 (the prime years for marriage) the figure is about 35%

25.  Why do people marry? o In the US romantic love is often the basis for marriage o People marry because they are emotionally and physically attracted to one another o Americans overwhelmingly marry individuals who have social characteristics similar to their own. This kind of marriage is homogamy: based on characteristics such as age, socioeconomic status, religion, and race

26.  In general, Americans marry individuals who are close to them in age, with the husband slightly older than the wife.  Americans also marry within their own socioeconomic class. o When differences do exist, it is most often the woman who is of a lower socioeconomic class.  In the case of religion: marriage between individuals from different Protestant denominations are relatively common. o It is much less common for Protestants to marry non-Protestants. Same is true for people of other faiths.

27.  Homogamy is even stronger when it comes to race o Only 2.4% of all marriages are between individuals who are black and white o # of interracial marriages in the US has grown by almost 10 times since the late 1960s o Before then, at least a dozen states had laws that made interracial marriages illegal  Although homogamy is still typical in the US an increasing number of marriages are heterogamous

28.  Heterogamy: marriage between individuals who have different social characteristics o This increase is a function of changing social conditions o As contact between people of differing social backgrounds increases, the likelihood of heterogamous marriages also increases o Contribute: higher college enrollments, more geographical mobility, and increased participation of women in the workforce

29.  Most families experience disruption in one form or another.  Some disruptions are very serious – threatening or destroying family stability  Others are simply a part of the family life cycle

30.  Family violence is a serious problem among all social classes and racial/ethnic groups  At first thought only a problem of lower classes – this was due to the way stats were collected  1998: 1 million crimes of violence were committed against people by intimate partners – 85% of victims were women  11% of all murders committed in 1998 were the result of intimate- partner violence – 75% victims were women  3.2 million cases of neglect or physical abuse against kids reported 1999  Child abuse resulted in the deaths of almost 1,400 kids in 1999

31.  1 out of every 2 marriages ends in divorce  19.8 million Americans over age of 19 who are divorced  US divorce rate is the highest in the world  Couple who marry during their teenage years have a greater likelihood of divorce than couples who marry after the age of 20  Education influences rate of divorce o Couples with college education are less likely to divorce than couples who have not attended college o However, women who have attended graduate school are more likely to divorce than less-educated women

32.  Divorce varies by race and ethnicity  African American women are more likely than white women to be separated or divorced  Hispanic women are slightly less likely than white women to experience divorce  Higher rate of divorce among African American women is partially explained by the fact that a higher percentage of African American women are young and have low income when they marry  Divorce has major consequences for former partners  Economically, divorce has greater effects on women than on men  Women seem to make better emotional adjustments to divorce

33.  Kids also affected by divorce  More than 1 million kids affected by divorce each year  Studies suggest that kids of divorced parents have more emotional problems and are lower achievers than the kids of parents who have not divorced  40% of these kids are still struggling to adjust 10 years after their parents divorced

34.  Sociologists suggest several reasons for the high divorce rate 1) Laws governing the divorce process have become less complicated and the cost of obtaining a divorce has decreased. Most states now have some form of no-fault divorce law in which neither party has to state a specific reason for seeking divorce 2) Increase in the # of dual-earner families: families in which both husband and wife have jobs. And the growth of day care facilities has decreased the economic dependence of women. It now is financially possible for more women to remove themselves from unhappy marriages. 3) Society in general has become more tolerant of divorce. It no longer carries the same social stigma it did 20 or 30 years ago. 4) Many people expect more of marriage and less ready to accept marital problems. When the problems become overwhelming, people often see divorce as an acceptable alternative to staying in an unsatisfactory marriage.

35. Divorce is too easy to obtain… Go…. Agree or disagree?

36.  Empty nest stage for parents is being delayed for many families  Death of a spouse o Widowhood creates identity problems, particularly for women who have defined themselves primarily in terms of being a wife o Widowed women also face economic problems o Changes increase levels of loneliness

37.  Over past few decades, the traditional family (father as the sole breadwinner and the mother as the homemaker) has become the exception rather than the rule in the U.S.  Dual earner families, one-parent families, childless couples, and stepfamilies are now common features of American life.  Sociologists are interested in these and other developments like delayed marriage and childbearing and remarriage

38.  In 1890 the median age at first marriage in the US was 22 years old for women and 26 for men  By 1960 median age at first marriage dropped to 20.3 years for women and 22.8 years for men  In 2000 the median age at first marriage was 25.1 for women and 26.8 years for men  Some sociologists see this tendency toward later marriage as an indication that being single has once again become an acceptable alternative to being married  Most young people are delaying marriage in order to finish their education and to launch their careers o This trend is especially notable among women  Sociologists also note that the increase in the number of unmarried people may partially be the result of more couples living together outside of marriage – referred to as cohabitation o In 2000 there were more than 3.8 million cohabitating couples in the U.S. o Number is up from 523,000 couples in 1970 o Estimated that 25% of unmarried women between 25 and 39 are currently cohabitating and an additional 25% have cohabited at some point in the past o Cohabitation now precedes more than half of all first marriages – delaying marriage

39.  In 1960s the average length between marriage and the birth of the first child was 15 months  By 1970s, the interval increased to 27 months  Today it is not at all uncommon for women to have their first child after the age of 30  Reasons for delaying childbearing are similar to reasons for delaying marriage – to allow more time to complete education and to establish a career  Some couple who delay having children until their 30’s are now facing a challenging situation o They have young children to raise and have aging parents who need care and assistance o Sandwich generation: couple caught between the needs of their children and those of their parents

40.  Increase of married couples who never have children  Some wait only to find out they waited too long  Infertility  Voluntary childlessness: consciously choose never to have children  In 2000, 22% of married women between the ages of 30 and 44 had no children  Those who choose to remain childless often have high levels of education and income – career success is their priority – so is their freedom, financial security, and opportunity to spend time together

41.  Increase in # of dual-earner marriages because of the increased #s of married women entering labor force  Married women work for the same basic reason married men work – economic necessity  Few families today can survive or live comfortably as they want on a single salary  With higher education for women they can pursue better paying jobs o In 1/3 of dual earner marriages the women make more than the husbands  Women’s participating in the labor force is influenced by the ages of their children.  In 1998, about 62% of married women with children under the age of 6 were employed outside the home compared to 77% of married women with children between the ages of 6 and 17  1993 Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act to help parents care for their newborn children without having to drop out of the labor force. o Law requires companies with more than 50 workers to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to parents of newborns. o Law also covers workers who need to take time to arrange for the adoption of a child or to take care for a sick spouse, child, or parent  Some people concerned that increased participation of married women in the workforce may have negative consequences for the kids. o Research has failed to establish any meaningful effect.

42.  Increase in one-parent families in US family life  One-parent families formed through separation, divorce, death of a spouse, births to unwed mothers, or adoption by unmarried individuals  25% of families in US with kids under 18 are one parent families  Single parenthood effects kids too – studies suggest these kids are 2 to 3 times more likely to experience negative life outcomes (dropout, teen- pregnancy, and arrest rates are all higher for kids of single-parent families)  Women head 8 out of 10 of these one-parent families  Single parent families are subject to a special set of stresses and strains 1) Responsibility overload – make all decisions alone and generally alone in providing care needed 2) Task overload – must handle all of the tasks usually divided between two people 3) Emotional overload – must cope with emotional needs of their children by themselves 4) Lack of money = major source of stress 1)In 2000, families led by women accounted for more than half of all poor families

43.  75% of people who get divorced eventually remarry  Highest divorce and remarriage rates are in the United States  Led to a large increase in the number of stepfamilies (also called blended families)  Becoming part of stepfamily may involve a period of adjustment o Marital partners take on parenting roles formerly held by biological parents o Can cause a source of conflict in families o Studies show that it takes approx 4 years for kids to accept a step-parent in the same way they accept a biological parent o Adjust to new siblings and parent’s affection  About 60% of all marriages eventually end in divorce due to the pressures of family life