Sociology, Eleventh Edition Family Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Basic Concepts Family A social institution found in all societies that unites people into cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and raising of children Kinship A social bond, based on blood, marriage, or adoption Family Unit A social group of two or more people, related by blood, marriage, or adoption, who usually live together Families of orientation The family you are born into Families of procreation The family you form in order to have or adopt children Families of affinity People with or without blood ties who feel that they belong together and want to define themselves as a family Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Families: Global Variations Extended family Family unit that includes parents and children as well as other kin Also called “consanguine families” Nuclear family Also called “conjugal family” Composed of one or two parents and their children The predominant family form Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Marriage Patterns Marriage Legally sanctioned relationship, usually involving economic cooperation, as well as sexual activity and childbearing, that people expect to be enduring Illegitimacy: out of wedlock children Matrimony: the “condition of motherhood” Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Marriage Patterns Endogamy Marriage between people of the same social category Limited opportunities for marriage Exogamy Marriage between people of different social categories can help form alliances Marriage partners Monogamy: marring one other person Serial monogamy: monogamy + divorce & remarriage Polygamy: marrying three or more people Polygyny: marrying more than one female Polyandry: marrying more than one male Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Residential Patterns PATRILOCALITY With or near the husband’s family MATRILOCALITY With or near the wife’s family NEOLOCALITY Setting up house apart from both families Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition DESCENT How members of a society trace kinship over generations Importance includes passing on property and recognition as a family member Three types: Patrilineal descent –tracing kinship through men Matrilineal descent – tracing kinship through women Bilateral descent – tracing kinship through both men and women Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Global Map 18-1 (p. 474) Marital Form in Global Perspective Monogamy is the only legal form of marriage throughout the Western Hemisphere and in much of the rest of the world. In most African nations and in Southern Asia, however, polygamy is permitted by law. In many cases, this practice reflects the historic influence of Islam, a religion that allows a man to have up to four wives. Even so, most marriages in these countries are monogamous, primarily for financial reasons. Source: Peters Atlas of the World (1990). Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Structural-Functional Analysis of the Family The family serves basic functions Socialization – creating well-integrated members of society Regulation of sexual activity – maintenance of kinship order and property rights, incest taboos Social placement - births to married couples are preferred in societies Material and emotional security – home can be a haven for people Critical evaluation Glosses over great diversity of family life, how other institutions are taking over its roles & negative aspects like patriarchy and family violence Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Social-Conflict Analysis of the Family The family perpetuates social inequality: Property and inheritance – concentrates wealth and reproduces class structure Patriarchy – to know their heirs men must control women who still bear the brunt of child rearing and housework duties Racial & ethnic inequality – endogamous marriage shores up racial hierarchies Critical evaluation Ignores that families carry out functions not easily accomplished by other means Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Micro-Level Analysis of the Family Symbolic-Interaction: Opportunities for sharing activities helps build emotional bonds Social-Exchange: Courtship & marriage as a negotiation to make the “best deal” on their partner Critical evaluation Misses the bigger picture, family life is similar for people in similar social backgrounds and varies in predictable ways Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition STAGES OF FAMILY LIFE Courtship Arranged marriages versus romantic love Homogamy: marriage between people with same social traits Settling in Ideal vs. Real marriage Childrearing Industrialization transformed children from assets to liabilities Later life Empty nest Sandwich generation – spends as many years caring for their children as for their aging parents Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Applying Sociology (p. 481) Who’s Minding the Kids? Working mothers report that a majority of their young children receive care in the home. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition POWER, GENDER, AND MENTAL HEALTH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DEPRESSION IN MARRIAGES CAN BE IDENTIFIED IN VARIOUS MARRIAGE TYPES Conventional Husband employed while wife stays home Low to moderate depression for both partners Strained conventional Wife joins husband in labor force out of necessity, and does housework at home Moderate depression for wife, but high depression for husband who feels like a failure Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition U.S. Families: Social Class Ethnicity and Race American Indian Families Latino Families African American Families Ethnically and Racially Mixed Marriages Gender Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Figure 18-2 (p. 485) Divorce Rate for the United States, 1890-2004 Over the long term, the U.S. divorce rate has gone up. Since about 1980, however, the trend has been downward. Source: Munson & Sutton (2005). Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition DIVORCE In the U.S. nine out of ten persons will marry. Four out of these marriages will end in divorce. Factors include: Individualism on the rise Romantic love often subsides Women are less dependent upon men Many of today’s marriages are stressful Divorce is socially acceptable Legally, a divorce is easier to get Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition REMARRIAGE Four out of five people who divorce remarry, most within five years. Remarriage often creates blended families, composed of children and some combination of biological parents and stepparents. Although blended families require that members adjust to their new circumstances, they offer both young and old the change to relax rigid family roles. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Sociology, Eleventh Edition Violence Family Against women Of 791,000 reported accounts of abuse between intimate partners, 85% are against women 32 percent of all women murdered are the victims of their partners, or ex-partners All states have marital rape laws, half have “stalking laws” on the books Against children 3 million children a year are abused, 1 million of these involve serious harm including 1,100 deaths Abusers are as likely to be women as men with no simple stereotype Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Alternative Family Forms One-parent families 28 percent of U.S. Families with children under 18 have only one parent in the household 75 percent of these families are headed by women Cohabitation 10 percent of all couples, or 5.6 million, only 50% decide to marry Gay and lesbian couples Although some European countries accept same-sex marriage the U.S. Congress has banned it Singlehood In 1960 28% of U.S. Women aged 20-24 were single, by 2003 the number had risen to 75% Sociology, Eleventh Edition

New Reproductive Technologies 1978, “test-tube baby. In vitro fertilization, is where doctors unite a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm “in glass” rather than in a woman’s body. The ethics of new reproductive technologies. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

FAMILIES AND PREDICTIONS Divorce rates remain high More equality between sexes Family life will be variable All kinds of units will be called families Men will continue to play a limited role in child rearing Many dads will remain absent from household scenes Economic changes will impact families and reform marriage Less quality time as work demands more from parents New reproductive technologies Ethical concerns about what can and what should be done Sociology, Eleventh Edition