1. The Family
Chapter 12

2. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Family Systems
Family is a group of people who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption and who live together and share economic resources.

3. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
The nuclear family consists of one or both parents and their children
Family of orientation
The nuclear family into which a person is born or adopted
Family of procreation
The nuclear family consisting of the individual, their spouse, and their children

4. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
In many societies the nuclear family is embedded into larger family groupings.
The extended family consists of two or more generations
Grandparents, Parents, Children, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
They may all live in one house or grouping of houses or in other areas
Nuclear families and extended families are often part of a much larger kinship system.
Kinship refers to the network of people who are related by marriage, birth, or adoption.

5. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Levels of kinship systems
Primary – an individuals closest relatives
Members of nuclear orientation or procreation
Secondary –relatives of primary relatives
Cousins, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews
Tertiary – secondary relatives
Great-grandparents, great-grandchildren, great-aunts, great- uncles, and second-cousins

6. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Norms and Marriage Patterns Around the World
Number of marriage partners – in industrialized nations marriages are usually monogamous (one spouse) whereas in pre-industrial societies the normal pattern is polygyny (more than one female spouse) or polyandry (more than one male spouse)

7. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Residential Patterns – once individuals are married they must decide where to live
Patrilocality is living with or near the husband’s family
Most common type around the world
Matrilocality is living with or near the wife’s family
Bilocality is choosing whether or not to live near the husband or wife’s family
Neolocality is living away from both spouses families

8. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Norms and Marriage Patterns Around the World
Descent Patterns – in some societies people trace kinship through the father’s side of the family, in others descent is traced through the mother’s side of the family or through both parents
Authority Patterns – the three basic types are patriarchy, matriarchy and egalitarian

9. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
In some societies people trace their kinship through the father’s side of the family and some trace kinship through the mother’s side of the family.
Patrilineal decent is kinship traced via father’s side
Common in preindustrial societies
Property passed from father to son

10. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Matrilineal decent is kinship traced via mother’s side
Less common than patrilineal decent
Property passed from mother to daughter
Bilateral decent is kinship traced via both parents
Property can be inherited from either side of the family.

11. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Authority patterns
Patriarchy is where the father holds the majority of the power and authority
Matriarchy is where the mother holds the majority of the power and authority
Egalitarian is where the mother and father share equal power and authority.

12. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Basic Needs Provided by the Family
Regulation of sexual activity – enforce incest taboo which is a norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives
Reproduction – societies establish norms governing childbearing and child rearing

13. The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Socialization – children must be taught the ways of the society into which they were born
Economic and Emotional Security – family acts as the basic economic unit in society and in most cases labor is divided on the basis of gender

14. The American Family
Marriage begins with courtship and marriage between either homogamous or heterogamous couples.
Homogamy is marriage based on similar characteristics such as age, SES, religion, and race.
Heterogamy is marriage between individuals who have different characteristics.

15. The American Family
Disruptions include family violence, divorce, empty nest, return of adult children and death of a spouse.

17. The American Family
Divorce is most likely to occur among people who marry as teenagers than couples who marry after the age of 20.
Couples with college educations are less likely to divorce than couples who have not attended college.
However, women who have attended graduate school are more likely to divorce than less educated women.

18. The American Family Divorce rates also vary by ethnicity
African American women are more likely to be divorced than white women.
African American women are more likely to marry young and how lower incomes.
Hispanic women are less likely to be divorced than white women.

19. The American Family
Divorce effects women more than men in terms of economics, but women adjust better emotionally than men.
Rates of suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and anxiety are higher among divorced men than women.
Studies suggest that children of divorced parents are more likely to struggle academically and have more emotional problems than children whose parents stay together.

20. The American Family
Sociologist believe divorce rates have risen due to the fact that it is easier to get divorced than it used to be and most states have a no fault divorce.
Dual-earner families have increased which means women are no longer financially dependent on men like they once were.
Society has also become more tolerant of divorce than it was years ago.

21. The American Family

22. The American Family Family disruptions in later life
When children grow up and leave the home parents are left with what sociologists call the empty nest.
Women tend to be affected more.
Some children return home after leaving.
Family dissolution when a spouse dies.
Widowhood can cause problems with finances and lonliness.

23. The American Family Trends in American Family Life
Delayed Marriages – current trend is to marry later in life and being single has become an acceptable alternative to being married
Delayed Childbearing – women are delaying childbirth to complete their education and establish a career
Childlessness – couples are making the conscious choice to remain voluntarily childless

24. Dual-Earner Marriages – increase in the number of dual- earner marriages due to the increased number of women entering the workforce
One-Parent Families – come about in various ways such as divorce, death of a spouse, births to unwed mothers or adoption by unmarried individuals
Remarriage – the majority of people who get divorcedabout 75 percentget remarried