Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Lecture 3 Family Sociology

10/2/2015 The Sociological Approach Macro Level Micro Level

10/2/2015 The Sociological Approach – The Macro Level Family sociologists examine how these social institutions interact and how they influence behaviors, attitudes, and opportunities in families Economy Families Government Education ReligionHealthcar e

Social Institutions in Society A social Institution is any institution in a society that works to socialize the groups or people in that society All social institutions fulfill a roles and are guided by a set of behaviors For example: Families socialize the next generation of children who will become citizens/workers The Economy is an institution that insures the maintenance of society through the production, distribution, and consumption of good and services

Social Institutions in Society A social Institution is any institution in a society that works to socialize the groups or people in that society The Government/Political system is a social institution through which power is acquired and exercised by some people and groups Education is the social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, cultural values within a formally organized structure. See: institutions and make sure you understand these social institutionshttp://thecollaboratory.wikidot.com/thompson-social- institutions

How do we define families? One view: A unit made up of 2 or more people who live together, are related by blood, marriage or adoption, share household expenses and bear and raise children. Who is missing? A more inclusive definition -- that recognizes the diversity of families: An intimate group of 2 or more people who 1) live together in a committed relationship 2) care for one another and any children 3) share activities and close emotional ties

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. ? What are the trends in fertility & mortality ? What are the trends in marriage & divorce, and cohabitation? ? How have changing trends transformed families? ? How have these trends affected the living situation of children?

How have families changed ?  They differ in size  Families have fewer children due to lower fertility  On average, women have 1.7 children… but

How have families changed ?  Families differ in size and composition  Today, more women in their 40s are childless  In 1970s only 1 in 10 women did not have children  In 2008, 1 in 5 women ended childbearing years with no children (child free) Source: women-without-children

Families are having fewer children…but All families’ and individuals’ choices are influenced by the larger society in which they live For ex. the downturn in the economy has caused families to have fewer children And…between 2005 and 2011, the % of young adult men age who are living in parents' home increased From 14% in 2005 to 19% in 2011 From 8 % to 10% for women Source: html

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Mortality & Life Expectancy ? What is the average life expectancy for women and for men in the U.S ?  Average life expectancy for women is age 81  Average life expectancy for men is age 76  Increases likelihood that women will spend some of their “golden” years as widows  As people are living longer, this increases their “risk” for divorce Source: also see chap 16 of textbookhttp://

How have families changed ?  The reasons people marry have changed with marital expectations  Changes in demographics of families  The age that women and men has increased  Cohabitation rates are rising  Higher likelihood that children will spend some time in a single parent family

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  Weakening of marriage  Even though nearly 90 percent of whites and 67% of African Americans are projected to EVENTUALLY marry, the power of marriage to regulate individuals personal life has decreased  This is due to:  Increased cohabitation (living together)  Sex outside of marriage  Childbirth outside of marriage Source: html

Marriage Rate Declining, Cohabitation Rate Rising

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Changes in marriage For the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with a husband In 2005, for the first time more women were living without a spouse 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse Up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in  Percent of the population who is “never married” has also increased  Average age of marriage has increased  6c4712e5&ex= &pagewanted=print

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Samantha CharlotteMiranda Carrie

Changing Roles of Women More women are adopting the “Sex and the City” lifestyle For example: Women are seeking more education They are entering careers and focusing on moving up in their jobs More women are living in urban areas All these behaviors result in women postponing marriage SAT&C clip: from Episode 1, Season 1 START at 3 minute mark

Source for most recent figures:

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. More women are pursuing a college education Single and married women’s labor force participation rates have increased increased  This leads to postponing marriage

Why are we postponing marriage? W hat percentage of Americans over age 25 – 29 have a college degree? O nly 33.5% W omen are more likely to graduate from college than men D ata like these can be found on the U.S. Census website C lick American Fact Finder

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. More couples cohabit (live together) prior to marriage  This increases the average age at which people get married  In other words you don’t have to marry once you fall in love, you can live together and marry at a later age

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  According to a recent survey of year-olds  What percentage of women had EVER cohabited prior to marriage?  58%  What percent of women CURRENTLY cohabiting with a man?  7%  As behavior becomes more common, attitudes change as well  In in 10 young adults approve of living together before marriage Source: cohabitation/

At what age do you think more couples are marrying then couples living together? Wins.aspx Wins.aspx Cohabitation vs. Marriage

Families vary by race/ethnicity

Greater acceptance of gay marriage Same-sx marriage is now legal in 19 states and D.C. And there are nearly 650,000 unmarried gay couples The majority of Americans (53 percent) support gay marriage About 46 percent oppose it Same sex marriage ban recently struck down in Wisconsin: marriage/

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Lessened economic dependence of women (on men or marriage) Decline in homemaker role (women who stay at home and do not work for pay outside the home) Movement of women into the labor market BIGGEST CHANGE: Married, middle-class mothers started working for pay Remember – women probably had less economic independence in the 1950s than years BEFORE (when we lived on farms or worked in factories)

Mother’s Labor Force Participation Rate

Labor Force Participation among Mothers The labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 18 years of age was 70.9 percent in March % of mothers with children under 6 are employed Only 19 percent of all families are breadwinner/homemaker model In general women are more independent financially – thus less dependent on marriage Source: Data were collected in the 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the CPS. Retreived from Auguste 18, 2013http://

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Of all married couples, 54% are dual-earner couples Dual-earner = both husband and wife in the labor force 20% of married couples have husbands working 8% of married couples have only wife working So the majority of married couples today – BOTH wife & husband have paid jobs Husbands are still more likely to earn more than their wives But 29% of wives outearn their husbands Source: Source:

Divorce WW hat is the divorce rate?

Annual Divorce Rate per 1,000 Marriages United States Sources: for , Cherlin [1992]; for , U.S. National Center for Health Statistics [1993, 1995, 1997].

What is the Divorce Rate?  50 percent of first marriages for men age 45 and under will EVENTUALLY end in divorce – but remember that is over the lifetime of a marriage!

Divorce What is the divorce rate?  In a given year, your RISK (chance) of divorce is much lower!  For example, in 2009 about 36 out of 1,000 people (U.S. population) got divorced  In other words, 3.6 percent of all people in the U.S. received a divorce in 2009 Source: NCHS, retrieved on 09/10/10 from:

To find demographic data on New Jersey 

Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  Summary  Men and especially women are postponing marriage  Rates of cohabitation are four times higher now then in 1974  Married mothers have high rates of labor force participation  Divorce rates increased steadily over the 20th century and have leveled off  Same-sex marriage is becoming legal state by state

And while we are on the topic of attitude change.. Let’s look at some recent findings from the Gallup Poll What percent of Americans do you think support Abortion? Sex before marriage? Gay relations? An extramarital affair? Acceptable-2008.aspx Acceptable-2008.aspx