Family and Family Issues

We know that family is a malleable concept meaning that it is apt to change. There are many forms and variations of family. In this presentation, we will look at and discuss the function of family and the issues they face as a social unit. What is family, how do they vary? Overview

Teenage births are associated with lower annual income for the mother Teenage births are associated with lower annual income for the mother. Eighty percent of teen mothers must rely on welfare at some point. Teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of school. Only about one-third of teen mothers obtain a high school diploma. Teenage pregnancies are associated with increased rates of alcohol abuse and substance abuse, lower educational level, and reduced earning potential in teen fathers. In the United States, the annual cost of teen pregnancies from lost tax revenues, public assistance, child health care, foster care and involvement with the criminal justice system is estimated to be about $7 billion. Teen Pregnancy

Numerous studies have found that parental separation and divorce is associated with a range of negative outcomes for younger children and adolescents across various domains. Parental separation/divorce is associated with academic difficulties, including lower grades and prematurely dropping out of school, and greater disruptive behaviours (e.g., being oppositional with authority figures, getting into fights, stealing, and using and abusing alcohol and illegal drugs). Children and adolescents who experience the divorce of their parents also have higher rates of depressed mood, lower self- esteem, and emotional distress. Parental divorce is also associated with negative outcomes and earlier life transitions as offspring enter young adulthood and later life. Children of divorce are more likely to experience poverty, educational failure, early and risky sexual activity, non- marital childbirth, earlier marriage, cohabitation, marital discord and divorce. In fact, emotional problems associated with divorce actually increase during young adulthood.8 Understanding the magnitude of these problems and the causal mechanisms through which divorce influences these behaviours, therefore, has important social consequences. Divorce

While addressing this pain can be overwhelming, the healing process can help survivors develop inner strengths and lessen their fear of safety for themselves and their families. On the journey to recovery, survivors and those who support them should understand that healing takes time. The effects of this trauma can vary widely person to person due to individuals’ responses to stress, age, and the frequency and severity of abuse. Whether children witness or experience abuse, it can take a toll on their development. Domestic violence victims are not isolated to intimate partners. Children are at an increased risk for emotional behavioral problems regardless if they were directly abused or not. The effects include: Anxiety Depression Academic problems Fearful Domestic Abuse

How Family Changes but Remains There is always the biological family, the two people who conceived you, however, they are not always the social unit we would consider family. A family might be missing a mother or father. There might be a homosexual couple that has adopted, grandparents might raise their grandchildren and be called mom and dad, all of which are still considered to be your family but not in the traditional sense. How Family Changes but Remains

Nuclear family, also called elementary family, in sociology and anthropology, a group of people who are united by ties of partnership and parenthood and consisting of a pair of adults and their socially recognized children. Typically, but not always, the adults in a nuclear family are married. Although such couples are most often a man and a woman, the definition of the nuclear family has expanded with the advent of same-sex marriage. Children in a nuclear family may be the couple’s biological or adopted offspring. Nuclear Family

Single Parent Families  The majority of America’s 73.7 million children under age 18 live in families with two parents (69 percent), according to new statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is compared to other types of living arrangements, such as living with grandparents or having a single parent. The second most common family arrangement is children living with a single mother, at 23 percent. These statistics come from the Census Bureau’s annual America’s Families and Living Arrangements table package. Single Parent Families

Blended families are on the rise Blended families are on the rise. According to a 2013 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of new marriages include at least one person who was previously married. And 20 percent of weddings feature two people who have both been married prior. Many of those remarriages involve children who are thrust into a world of “steps”—stepmothers, stepfathers, step-siblings, step-grandparents. Becoming a stepfamily doesn’t always go as seamlessly as it appeared to on the Brady Bunch. Bringing two families together under one roof can be quite challenging. Blended Families