Families and Intimate Relationships

Families and Intimate Relationships 2 The typical American family is made up of a mother, father, and children who live with their parents. – (a) True – (b) False

Learning Objectives 3 Basic Concepts – Learn how sociologists define and describe families Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family – Review the development of sociological thinking about families – Learn how the family has changed over the last 500 years Unanswered Questions/Discussions – Recognize alternatives to traditional marriage and family patterns

Is your definition of a “normal family” a married mother and father and their biological children living together under one roof?

Basic Concepts 5 Family – A group of individuals related to one another by blood ties, marriage, or adoption, who form an economic unit, the adult members of which are responsible for the upbringing of children

Basic Concepts 6 Kinship – A relation that links individuals through blood ties, marriage, or adoption Marriage – A socially approved sexual relationship between two individuals When people marry, they become each other’s kin and their kinship networks expand to include the kin of each spouse. Your relatives are part of your kinship network

Basic Concepts 7 Nuclear family – A family group consisting of a wife, a husband (or one of these), and dependent children

Basic Concepts 8 Extended family – A family consisting of more than two generations of relatives living either within the same household or very close to one another

People can be members of two different families 9 Families of orientation – The families into which individuals are born Families of procreation – The families individuals initiate through marriage or by having children

where spouses are expected to live.. 10 Matrilocal family – A family system in which the husband is expected to live near the wife’s parents Patrilocal family – A family system in which the wife is expected to live near the husband’s parents

Basic Concepts 11 Monogamy – A form of marriage in which each married partner is allowed only one spouse at any given time Polygamy – A form of marriage in which a person may have two or more spouses simultaneously

Basic Concepts 12 Polygyny – A form of marriage in which a man may simultaneously have two or more wives Polyandry – A form of marriage in which a woman may simultaneously have two or more husbands

Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 13 Functionalism – Primary socialization The process by which children learn the cultural norms of the society into which they are born – Personality stabilization The role the family plays in assisting its adult members emotionally emotional stability

Feminist approaches – Domestic division of labor Division by gender Value assigned to male and female domestic labor the distribution of power in the family Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 14

Feminist approaches – Unequal power relationships Violence in the home – Caring activities Physical, psychological, and emotional well- being Studies find that women are more responsible than men for taking care of the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of family members. Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 15

Contemporary perspectives – Second shift( women’s dual roles at work and at home) – Transformation of family forms Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 16

Development of family life – Phase one Nuclear family closely connected to kinship and almost inseparable from community – Phase two Nuclear family’s connection to kinship and community weakens Emphasis on marital and parental love Fathers are authority figures in the first and second phase of family development Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 17

Development of family life – Phase three Affective individualism—the belief in romantic attachment as a basis for contracting marriage ties Family and work spheres are separate Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 18

Myths of the traditional family – Stable and disciplined High morality rates and lower life expectancies Authoritarian parenting styles Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 19

Myths of the traditional family – Harmonious domestic life Control over women’s movement and sexuality Violence in the family Theoretical and Historical Perspectives on the Family 20

8qA 8qA

Research on Families Today 22 Changing family patterns worldwide – Directions of change Clans and kin have less influence General trend toward free choice of spouse Women’s rights in marriage and family are growing Decline in kin marriages Greater sexual freedom Children’s rights are growing

Research on Families Today 23 Marriage and family in the United States – High marriage rates, but recent delays in age at first marriage due to: Cohabitation Education of women Women’s labor force participation Modernization and secularization of attitudes

ages of 20 and 24 years 24

composition of families…the effect the economy had on family structures. 25

Research on Families Today 26 Race, ethnicity, and the American family – Asian American families Dependence on extended family – Native American families Strong kinship ties High rates of intermarriage (marriage outside their ethnic group) Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Filipino Americans also have fewer out-of-wedlock children

Research on Families Today 27 Race, ethnicity, and the American family – Latino families Different national origins create diverse family patterns Among Mexican Americans, multigenerational households, high birth rates, and high rates of working women Among Puerto Ricans, high nonmarital fertility and higher cohabitation rates

Research on Families Today 28 Race, ethnicity, and the American family – African American families High nonmarital fertility More female-headed households among the poor Large and complex family support networks

Research on Families Today children live in households in which parents are married 29

Research on Families Today 30 Class and the American family – Nonmarital childbearing Social class matters more than race Poor are more likely to have children outside of marriage than the non-poor

Research on Families Today 31

Research on Families Today 32 Divorce and separation – Reasons for divorce Laws make it easier to divorce Marriage no longer necessary for women’s survival Satisfaction with spousal relationship is more important than satisfaction with marriage

Research on Families Today 33 Divorce and separation – Divorce and children

households made up of a single mother or a single father with children 34

Research on Families Today 35 Same-sex couples – 594,000 households in 2010 – Many states and countries now allow gay marriage – About 1 percent

Approximately one-fifth of same-sex- couple households have children – most of these children (73 percent) are the biological child of one of the two partners, while roughly one-fifth of the children are either stepchildren or adopted.

Research on Families Today 37 The dark side of the family – Family violence—child abuse – For some people, home and family can be associated with fear and violence Many cases go unreported Of reported cases: 78 percent neglect; 18 percent physical abuse; 8 percent emotional maltreatment; 9 percent sexual abuse

Research on Families Today 38 The dark side of the family – Family violence—spousal abuse Men commit severe forms of physical abuse perpetrated by feelings of power and control Both men and women commit “common couple violence” stemming from specific incidents

Unanswered Questions 39 Is Cohabitation a Substitute for Marriage? – Cohabitation Two people living together in a sexual relationship of some permanence, without being married to one another

Why Are Fewer Americans Getting Married?

Unanswered Questions 41

Ted Talk 9P_M 9P_M

Alternatives Cohabitation/Remaining single/Lesbian and Gay Marriage Will Family Exist?

Concept Quiz 44 Tasha lives with her mother, father, and her father’s parents. She lives in a/an _______. (a) matrilocal family (b) blended family (c) extended family (d) nuclear family

Concept Quiz 45 Analyzing and critiquing the distribution of power within the household is one of the primary concerns of ______. (a) Talcott Parsons (b) feminist theories of the family (c) contemporary family researchers (d) Marxism

Concept Quiz 46 The belief in romantic attachment as a basis for contracting marriage ties is known as ______. (a) affective individualism (b) monogamy (c) spousal idealism (d) modern marriage

Concept Quiz 47 The high rates of births to unmarried women in African American, Puerto Rican, and Native American communities suggests: (a) that marriage is not a desirable status to people in such communities. (b) that women in such communities are more independent and have access to wider support networks and thus feel less need for a husband. (c) that people who live in poverty are less likely to get married, even when they have children or cohabitate.

Increases in cohabitation and single-parent households suggest that marriage may be losing ground in contemporary society. However, this chapter claims that marriage and the family remain firmly established social institutions. How can these seemingly paradoxical trends be reconciled? Discussion Question: Thinking Sociologically 48