Chapter 14 The Family: Basic Concepts  Family: a social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and raising of children.  Kinship: a social bond based on blood, marriage, or adoption.  Throughout the world, families form around marriage.

The Family: Global Variations  The extended family: includes parents and children as well as other kin.  The nuclear family: one or two parents and their children.  Blended family: composed of children and some combination of biological parents and stepparents.  The nuclear family is the most common in the United States.

Marriage Patterns (Two Types) CCultural norms and laws identify people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partners. EEndogamy: marriage between people of the same social category. EExogamy: marriage between people of different social categories. IIn industrial societies, laws prescribe monogamy. PPolygamy: marriage that unites three or more people.

Residential Patterns (Two Types) JJust as societies regulate mate selection, they designate where a couple resides. IIn preindustrial societies, most newlyweds live with one set of parents. PPatrilocality : a married couple lives with or near the husbands family. MMatrilocality : a married couple lives with or near the wife’s family.

Patterns of Descent (Two Types)  Descent: the system by which members of a society trace kinship over generations.  Patrilineal descent: tracing kinship through men.  Matrilineal descent: tracing kinship through women.  Bilateral descent: tracing kinship through both men and women.

Theoretical Analysis of the Family: Structural-Functional Analysis  The family performs several vital tasks: 1. Socialization. 2. Regulation of sexual activity. 3. Social Placement. 4. Material and Emotional Security.  Society depends on families.

Theoretical Analysis of the Family: Social-Conflict Analysis  Conflict theorists point out how the family perpetuates social inequality: 1. Property and inheritance. 2. Patriarchy. 3. Racial and ethnic inequality.  Family plays a role in social stratification.

Theoretical Analysis of the Family: Symbolic-Interaction Analysis  This approach explores how individuals shape and experience family life.  Family living offers an opportunity for intimacy.  Family members share activities and build emotional bonds.  Courtship and marriage may be seen as forms of negotiation.

Stages of Family Life IIn courtship our culture celebrates romantic love. OOur society arranges marriages by encouraging homogamy. AAdults in the United States identify raising children as one of life’s greatest joys. IIncreasing life expectancy means that couples are likely to remain married for a long time.

U. S. Families: Class, Race, and Gender  What women think they can hope for in marriage is linked to their social class.  Regardless of race, every marriage is actually two different relationships: a women’s marriage and a man’s marriage.  Few marriages are composed of two equal partners.  Married women are less happy than single women.  Married men live longer than single men.

Transitions and Problems in Family Life TThe United States has the highest divorce in the world. 44 out of 5 people who divorce, remarry. HHistorically, the law defined women as the property of men. DDomestic violence was once considered a private, family matter.

Alternative Family Forms  29% of families with children under age 18 have only one parent in the home.  Cohabitation: the sharing of a household by an unmarried couple.  In 1996, U.S. Congress passed a law banning gay marriage.  Most gay couples are raising children of previous marriages.  Many women are choosing to remain single, and see having a husband as a matter of choice.

Looking Ahead: New Reproductive Technology and the Family  Within a decade, 2 or 3% of births in high- income nations may be the result of new reproductive technology.  Test-tube babies are the products of in vitro fertilization.  These techniques eventually may help reduce the incidence of birth defects.