HD 204 1st EditionExam # 1 Study Guide Lectures: 1 - 6Lecture 1 (August 20)Definition of Family:-There is no one right way to be a family-There is no one right way to communicate in families-There is no one agreed upon definition of the term family-Families are dynamic, diverse, changing, resilient, unique, and yet similar in many ways-Definition from the text:- Family refers to “networks of people who share their lives over long periods of time bound by ties of marriage, blood, law or commitment, legal or otherwise, who consider themselves as family and who share a significant history and anticipated future of functioning in a family relationship”-Family Economics- Married mothers are increasingly likely to work- 61% of women with kids under age 6 (vs 19% in 1960)- Split-shift parenting- 50% of American parents feel they spend too little time with their children- Poverty1 in 5 children live in povertya. Single parent + 2 kids; $17,607b. Two parents + 2 kids; $22,162Over half of young children in female-headed households live in poverty41% of children live in low-income families1 in 50 children experience homelessness each year-Racial/ ethnic Diversity- Immigrant familiesHigher fertility rateso 11% foreign born, 23% of children have at least one immigrant parentChildren of immigrants are more likely to live with two parentsChildren of immigrants are more likely to live in low-income or poor householdsVariation by class and race/ ethnicityo Those with incomes 3x the poverty line are twice as likely to be married as those with incomes below the poverty line-Family Structures- Two-parent biologicalConsists of parents and children who are from the union of these parents. Full blood ties characterize this family; majority of parents are married but may be cohabitants- Single parent/ primary parentConsists of one parent and one or more children. Doesn’t have to be biologically relatedOne parent carries out all the parental obligations- Blended familyConsists of two adults and their children, all who are not from the union of their relationshipMost are families blended from remarriage or re-partnering, a situation that brings two previous systems into new family ties- Step-FamilySome or all members bring past family history from a relationship that has changed or ended. These members carry with them a sense of loss.One or two biological parents (living or dead) influence the stepfamily- Extended/ intergenerational familyRefers to that group of relatives living within a nearby geographic areaIt may be more narrowly understood as the presence of blood relatives, other than the parents, in the everyday life of a child- Fictive/ VolunteeristicInvolves a pair or a group of people, some or all of whom are unrelated biologically or legallyShare a commitment to each otherMay live togetherConsider themselves to be a family- Committed PartnersMay include married couples who choose to remain child- free or are infertile, cohabiting heterosexual couples and gay male and lesbian partners who consider themselves a family-Family Demographic Trends/ Trends in family structure- The majority if Americans will marry at least once- The divorce rate is stabilizing- Remarriage rates, although high, are dropping- Age and parenting responsibility affect remarriage- Stepfamilies continue to increase through remarriage and cohabitation- The number of single-parent families continues to increase- Fewer families have children under 18- Families continue to be constructed through adoption- Some families are constructed or expanded through scientific technologies- More adult children are living at home- The number of cohabiting partners is growing rapidly- Families of lesbians and gay males are increasing- Extended families continue to flourish- Families increasingly represent four or five generationsLecture 2 (August 27)- What is communication?- We convey messages through symbols- Transactional process- Shared meaning (ex. meaning of “I’ll be there in a few minutes”)- Dynamic- always changing- Within intimate relationships we cannot help but convey messages to each other- Levels of communication- Messages occur at two (verbal) levels:1. Content- actual words2. Relationship- the underlying message- Non verbal cues They give our partner more information about how to interpret the content They also tell our partner1. This is how I see myself2. This is how I see you3. This is how I see you seeing me- Definitions:1. Meta-communication Clarifies and establishes rules about communication (communication about communication)2.Primary Functions: Cohesiono Cohesion: is the way families balance separateness and connectednesso Enmeshed: extreme closeness, high dependence, little individualityo Cohesive: closeness, loyalty and togetherness, some individualityo Connected: sense of belonging/ involvement, some independence, tolerance of individualityo Disengaged: extreme separateness, high independence, little involvement3.Primary Functions: Adaptability (the way families balance stability and change)o Chaotic: no leadership, high levels of change, inconsistent rules/ roleso Flexible: shared decision making, significant change, shifting rules/ roleso Structured: limited shared decision making, moderate change, shifting rules/ roleso Rigid: authoritarian leadership, low levels of change, strict roles/ rules- Communication meanings and messages- Shared meanings- coordinating verbal and non-verbal communications- What influences meaning? Age, race, health, religion, socialization, birth order, etc.- Negotiating and coordinating meanings- Olson’s Circumplex Model- Two central dimensions of family behavior or family operations are the core of the model: family cohesion and family adaptability (explained above).- Each of these dimensions is divided into four levels matched on a grid to create 16 possible combinations- The four types in the center of the grid are called balanced; the types at the extremes are seen as dysfunctional- The third dimension is family communication which is a facilitating dimension that enables couples and families to move along the cohesion and adaptability dimensions, but because it is a facilitating dimension, it is seldom included in themodel diagramsLecture 3 (August 29)- Dialectical Tensions- Dialectic implies opposition, polarity and interconnection- Managed through