McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 1 SOCIOLOGY Richard T. Schaefer The Family and Intimate Relationships 14

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The Family and Intimate Relationships The Family: A Global View Social Institutions: Family and ReligionSocial Institutions: Family Studying the Family Marriage and Family Divorce Diverse Lifestyles Social Policy and The Family

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3 The Family: A Global View Composition: What Is the Family? –Family: set of people related by blood, marriage, or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 4 The Family: A Global View Composition: What Is the Family? –Nuclear Family: nucleus or core upon which larger family groups are built –Extended Family: family in which relatives live in same home as parents and their children –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

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 5 The Family: A Global View Composition: What Is the Family? –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

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 6 The Family: A Global View Figure U.S. Households by Family Type, 1940—2003 Source: Fields 2004; see also McFalls, Jr. 2003:23

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 7 The Family: A Global View Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related? –Kinship: state of being related to others Bilateral Descent: both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important Patrilineal descent: only the father’s relatives are important Matrilineal descent: only the mother’s relatives are significant

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 8 The Family: A Global View 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

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9 Social Institutions: Family and Religion Social Institution –Organized patterns of beliefs and behavior centered on general basic needs Functionalist View –Family serves six functions for society: 1.Protection 2.Socialization 3.Reproduction 4.Regulation of sexual behavior 5.Affection and companionship 6.Provision of social status

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 10 Studying the Family 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 contributing to social injustice

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 11 Studying the Family Interactionist View –Focuses on micro level of family and other intimate relationships –Interested in how individuals interact with each other whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 12 Studying the Family Feminist View –Urged social scientists and social agencies to rethink notion that families in which no adult male is present are automatically a cause for concern –Feminists stress the need to investigate neglected topics in family studies

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 13 Studying the Family Table Sociological Perspectives on the Family

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 14 Marriage and Family Courtship and Mate Selection –Aspects of Mate Selection Endogamy: Endogamy specifies the groups within which a spouse must be found and prohibits marriage with members of other groups. Exogamy: Exogamy requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually one’s own family or certain kin.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 15 Marriage and Family Courtship and Mate Selection –Aspects of Mate Selection Homogamy: conscious or unconscious tendency to select mate with personal characteristics similar to one’s own –The Love Relationship Coupling of love and marriage not universal Incest Taboo: social norm common to virtually all societies prohibiting sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relationships

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 16 Divorce Statistical Trends in Divorce –Divorce rates increased in late 1960s, started to level and decline since late 1980s –About 63% of all divorces in U.S. remarry

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 17 Divorce Factors Associated with Divorce Impact of Divorce on Children –About a third of children benefit from divorce because it lessens exposure to conflict Greater social acceptance of divorce More liberal divorce laws Fewer children Greater family income More opportunities for women

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 18 Diverse Lifestyles Cohabitation Remaining Single Marriage without Children Lesbian and Gay Relationships