Chapter 12 Family and Intimate Relationships What is the Family family set of people related by blood marriage or agreed upon relations who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society o nuclear family nucleus or core upon which larger family groups are built o extended family family in which relatives live in same home as children and family How many Spouses monogamy one woman and one man are married to only each other serial monogamy one spouse at a time but many over lifetime polygamy several spouses for one individual o polygyny man has multiple wives o polyandry woman has multiple husbands Kinship Patterns To who are we related kinship state of being related to another o bilateral descent both sides of a person s family are regarded as equally important o Patrilineal descent only the father s relatives are important o Matrilineal descent other the mother s relatives are important Authority Patterns Who Rules Patriarchy males are expected to dominate in all family decision making Matriarchy women have greater authority than man Egalitarian family family in which spouses are regarded as equals Sociological Perspectives on the Family Functionalist View o Family serves six functions for society Reproduction Protection Socialization Regulation or sexual behavior Affection and companionship Provision of social status Conflict View o Family reflects inequality in wealth and power found within society o In wide range of societies husbands exercised power and authority within the family o View family as economic unit that contributes to social injustice Internationalist View o Focuses on micro level of family and other intimate relationships o Interested in how individuals interact with each other whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples Feminist view o o Urge social scientists and agencies to rethink notion that families in which no Interest in family as social institution adult male is present are automatically cause for concern o Feminists stress need to investigate neglected topics in family studies Marriage and Family in the US Today Over 95 of all men and women in US marry at least once during their lifetimes Internet is second to friends as source of romantic partners o o Process of mate selection in taking longer today than in past Courtship and Mate Selection Aspects of mate selection o Endogamy specifies groups within which spouses must be found prohibits marriage with members of other groups o Exogamy requires mate selection outside certain groups usually family or o certain kin Incest taboo social norm common to all societies prohibiting certain culturally specified relationships o Homogamy conscious or unconscious tendency to select mate with personal characteristics similar to one s own The Love Relationship o Coupling of love and marriage not universal o US parents and peers expected to help child confine search for a mate to socially acceptable members of opposite sex o Many world cultures give priority to factors other than romantic feelings Variations in family life and intimate relationships Social class differences o US upper class emphasize lineage and maintenance of family position o Lower class families likely to have one parent at home and children typically assume adult responsibilities Racial and Ethnic differences o Subordinate status of racial and ethnic minorities in US affects family lives o Black single mothers belong to kin networks o Native American families cushion hardships o Mexican Americans are more familiistic Machismo sense of virility personal worth and pride in one s maleness Familism pride in extended family Child Rearing Patterns Parenthood and grandparenthood o Most recent trends in parenting and grand parenting Little anticipatory socialization Limited learning during pregnancy Transition to parenthood to abrupt Little consensus on how to produce happy well adjusted offspring Recently US witnessed extension of parenthood with adult children living at home Sometimes called boomerang generation or full nest syndrome Facts o For the first time in US history less than half of adult women live with a o Americans now spend more of their adult years single than married DePaulo spouse Roberts 2007 2006 o 31 men and 23 women between ages of 18 34 live with their parents Fields 2000 These figures include people who have never left home and those who have left and returned perhaps more than once Single parent families only one parent is present to care for children o in 2009 single parent headed about 24 of White families with children under 18 34 of Hispanic families with children 64 of black families with children Step Families o Approximately 45 of all people in the US will marry divorce and remarry o Nature of blended families has social significance for adults and children o Cherlin well being of children in stepfamilies is no better on average then the well being of children in divorces single parent households Statistical Trends in Divorce Divorce rates increased in late 1960s then leveled off Since late 1980s it has declined by 30 1 Partly due to adding baby boomer population and decline in proportion of people of marriageable age About 63 of all divorcees are remarried Divorce and children 1 Crisis period a period during the first year to two after parents separate when both the custodial parent and the children experience difficulties in dealing with the situation 2 After crisis period majority of children resume normal development 20 25 were still displaying serious behavior problems 6 years after disruption Effects of divorce on children 1 Almost all kids experience initial period of intense emotional upset after their 2 Most resume normal development without serious problems within in about parents separate two years after separation 3 A minority of children experiences some long term problems as a result of the breakup that may persist into adulthood Factors associated with divorce 1 Factors in increase in divorce More opportunities for women Greater social acceptance of divorce More liberal divorce laws Fewer children Greater family income Diverse Lifestyles 1 Marriage has lost much of its social significance as a rite of passage 2 U S marriage rate declined since 1960 Postponing marriage until later in life Forming partnerships without marriage 3 Cohabitation Male female couples who choose to live together without marrying before marriage About half of currently married
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