Exam III Chapter 11 12 13 14 15 FAD 2230 Nari Jeter Chapter 11 Power and Violence in Marriages and Families Types of Power Coercive power the ability to punish physically or psychologically Reward Power the ability to give or reward Expert power the power over individuals when you have expertise over them Example Education having skills over a long period of time Information power When you know information convince others to believe it Example When you hear a no smoking ad on the radio you try to convince your friend to stop smoking and give them reasons as to why they should stop Referent power Power you give up to someone else Stock home syndrome Legitimate power Allocating power to someone over someone else Marital Power First study was done in the 1950 s Blood and Wolfe s Interviewed wives only Hypothesis the spouse with more resources has more power in a marriage Study results Most families 72 had a relatively egalitarian decision making structure 25 of husbands make decisions and 3 of wives make decisions Criticisms of the study What domains do men women have power over Women food shopping cleaning Husbands Where they live jobs finances Having the power to make trivial decisions is not the same as having the power to make important ones Resources and Gender Men tend to have more resources such as money education status physical strength and alternatives to marriage Women tend to be most equal with men at the beginning of marriage A woman s first pregnancy and birth diminishes a woman s resources Females may take off and loose income Become dependent on males to be the father and earner in the family Have less energy to resist dominance of their husband Future Marital Power and Stress Working women are happier in their marriages More financial freedom Psychosocial benefits Mutually economically dependent couples Couples in which each partner earns 40 50 of the couple s income Woman s resources may be increased in value by caring emotional support warmth and nurturing Equality between men and women may occur in overall society Money is the number one cited family stressor After a stressful event there is a pattern in decline in function then an increase then stabilization Couple Types Heterosexual married heterosexual cohabitating lesbian and gay Married and cohabitating heterosexuals least egalitarian Gay and lesbian share domestic duties more including child rearing Gays are more competitive lesbians more relationally focused Legitimacy and Resources Culture gives power husband greater resources husband dominant Culture gives power husband less resources husband dominant Culture does not give power husband greater resources husband probably dominant Culture does not give power husband less resources egalitarian marriage or wife dominant Power and Social Class Most classes perceive that they have egalitarian marriages Why would middle low class marriages be egalitarian both partners have to work therefore both individuals bring vital resources Types of Marriages Peer marriages 60 40 Near peer marriages Traditional Marriages influences by arrival of children and maximizing income the husband is more dominate but the wife is okay with it Power and Intimacy intimacy is greater when power is equal among spouses No power equal power in relationships Seek to negotiate and compromise not to win Power Politics How do spouses exert power in marriages Leaving or threatening Withhold or distance Infidelity Alternatives to Power Policies Partners take charge of separate domains may increase intimacy reinforces separateness Power politic accumulation leads to loneliness and distance in marriage Subordinate spouse disengages from power struggles More powerful partner relinquish some power to save or enhance the marriage Family Violence All forms of abuse have at their center the exploitation of a power difference Child abuse elder abuse husband abuse Dating violence domestic violence sexual coercion The three phase cycle of violence Tension of resulting from some minor altercation builds over a period of time Situation escalates exploding into another violent episode Violent person becomes contrite treating his her spouse or partner lovingly Why abusers do it feeling of powerlessness lack of resource insecurity anger I have to make them stay attitude Women are three times as likely as men to be assaulted by an intimate partner Over half of women have been raped or physically assaulted with American Indians Alaska Natives reporting the highest rates Why victims put up with it fear cultural norms love or economic dependency low self esteem Types of Violence Intimate partner violence violence committed by spouses ex spouses or current or former boyfriends of girlfriends including same sex partners Patriarchal terrorism controlling the partner through fear and intimidation Common couple violence mutual violence with a specific argument Children and Violence Child Abuse emotional child neglect most common form physical incest sexual sibling violence Black and American Indian children are most likely to be abused whereas Asian American children are less likely Chapter 12 The Process of Divorce Divorce Rates 40 50 of marrieds can expect to have their marriages dissolved over the life course The divorce rate is about 50 for first marriages The divorce rate is about 65 for second marriages The US and Russia have the highest divorce rates in the world The divorce rate peaked in the late 1940 s after WWII then peaked again in 1980 Divorce has declined significantly since then Calculations The number of divorces per year Ratio of current marriages to current divorces Lifetime records of marriages and divorce Crude divorce rate the number of divorces per 1 000 Refined divorce rate people who can be married Why are couples divorcing Various factors can bind marriages and family together including Economic independence Legal social and moral constraints Spouse s relationship The binding strength of some of these factors has lessened Economic Factors Wives in the labor forces independent effect income effect High expectations of marriage The changed nature of marriage itself Decreased social legal and moral constraints Intergenerational transmission of divorce Other factors associated with divorce Remarried mates are more likely to divorce Cohabitation before marriage increases the likelihood of divorce Premarital pregnancy may increase the risk of divorce in a subsequent marriage Remaining child free
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