1. SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction
Richard T. Schaefer
SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction
Sixth Edition
McGraw-Hill
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. THE FAMILY AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS12
THE FAMILY AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
Global View of the Family
Studying the Family
Marriage and Family
Divorce
Diverse Lifestyles
Social Policy and the Family: Gay Marriage

3. Global View of the Family
Composition: What Is the Family?
Nuclear Family: nucleus or core upon which larger family groups are built
Extended Family: family in which relatives such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles live in same home as parents and their children

4. Global View of the Family
Composition: What Is the Family?
Monogamy: form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other
Serial Monogamy: when a person has several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time

5. Global View of the Family
Composition: What Is the Family?
Polygamy: when an individual has several husbands or wives simultaneously
Polygyny: marriage of a man to more than one woman at a time
Polyandry: marriage of a woman to more than one husband at the same time.

6. Global View of the Family
Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related?
Kinship: state of being related to others
Bilateral Descent: both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important
Patrilineal descent: only the father’s relatives are important
Matrilineal descent: only the mother’s relatives are significant

7. Global View of the Family
Authority Patterns: Who Rules?
Patriarchy: males are expected to dominate in all family decision making
Matriarchy: women have greater authority than men
Egalitarian family: family in which spouses are regarded as equals

8. Global View of the Family
Figure 12.1: Households by Family Type, 1940–2003
Continued…

9. Global View of the Family
Figure 12.1: Households by Family Type, 1940–2003

10. Studying the Family Functionalist View
Family serves six functions for society:
Reproduction
Protection
Socialization
Regulation of sexual behavior
Affection
Providing of social status

11. Studying the Family Conflict View
Family reflects inequality in wealth and power found within society
Throughout human history, husbands have exercised power and authority within the family
View the family as an economic unit contributing to social injustice

12. Studying the Family Interactionist View
Focuses on the micro level of family and other intimate relationships
Interested in how individuals interact with each other, whether they are cohabiting partners or long-term married couples

13. Studying the Family Feminist View
Urged social scientists and social agencies to rethink notion that families in which no adult male is present are automatically a cause for concern
Feminists stress the need to investigate neglected topics in family studies

14. Studying the Family

15. Marriage and Family Courtship and Mate Selection
Aspects of Mate Selection
Incest taboo: social norm common to virtually all societies, prohibits sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relatives
Exogamy: Requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually one’s own family or certain kinfolk
Endogamy: Specifies groups within which a spouse must be found and prohibits marriage with members of other groups

16. Marriage and Family Courtship and Mate Selection The Love Relationship
Coupling of love and marriage is not cultural universal
Many of world’s cultures give priority in mate selection to other factors, such as in an arranged marriage

17. Marriage and Family Figure 12.2: Percentage of People
Aged 20 to 24 Ever
Married, Selected
Countries
Source: United Nations Population Division 2001.

18. Marriage and Family
Variations in Family Life and Intimate Relationships
Social Class Differences
In upper class, emphasis is on lineage and maintenance of family position
Lower class families likely to have only one parent at home, and children typically assume adult responsibilities
In poor families, women often significant source of economic support

19. Marriage and Family
Variations in Family Life and Intimate Relationships
Racial and Ethnic Differences
Subordinate status of racial and ethnic groups profoundly affects family life

20. Marriage and Family
Variations in Family Life and Intimate Relationships
Racial and Ethnic Differences
Family patterns differ among racial and ethnic groups

21. Marriage and Family
Figure 12.3: Rise of One-Parent Families among Whites, African Americans, Hispanic, and Asians or Pacific Islanders in the United States
Continued…

22. Marriage and Family
Figure 12.3: Rise of One-Parent Families among Whites, African Americans, Hispanic, and Asians or Pacific Islanders in the United States
Continued…

23. Marriage and Family
Figure 12.3: Rise of One-Parent Families among Whites, African Americans, Hispanic, and Asians or Pacific Islanders in the United States
Continued…

24. Marriage and Family
Figure 12.3: Rise of One-Parent Families among Whites, African Americans, Hispanic, and Asians or Pacific Islanders in the United States

25. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
Parenthood one of most important social roles in U.S.
One recent development in family life in U.S. has been the extension of parenthood, as adult children continue to (or return to) live at home after college.

26. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life Adoption
“Allows for the transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood” to a new legal parent or parents (E. Cole 1985)
In many cases, these rights are transferred from a biological parent or parents to an adoptive parent or parents

27. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
Dual-Income Families
Among married people between the ages of 25 and 34, 92% of men and 75% of women are in labor force

28. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
Single-Parent Families
Family in which there is only one parent present to care for the children
In 2000, a single parent headed about:
21% of White families with children under 18
35% of Hispanic families with children
55% of African American families with children
About 82% of single parents in U.S. are mothers

29. Marriage and Family Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life Stepfamilies
The rising rate of divorce and remarriage has led to significant increase in stepfamily relationships
Children raised in families with stepmothers likely to have less health care, education, and money spent on food than children raised by biological mothers

30. Divorce Factors Associated with Divorce
Perhaps most important factor in increase in divorce over last hundred years has been the greater social acceptance of divorce
Other factors include:
Greater family income
More opportunities for women
More liberal divorce laws
Families have fewer children

31. Divorce Statistical Trends in Divorce
Divorce rates in U.S. and many other countries began to increase in the late 1960s but then started to level off and even decline since the late 1980s
About 63% of all divorcees in the U.S. have remarried

32. Divorce
Figure 12.4: Trends in Marriage and Divorce in the United States,

33. Divorce Impact of Divorce on Children
It would be simplistic to assume that children are automatically better off following the breakup of their parents
Recent research suggests that impact of divorce can extend beyond childhood, affecting a grown person’s ability to establish a lasting marital relationship

34. Diverse Lifestyles Cohabitation
Male-female couples who choose to live together without marrying
Working couples are almost twice as likely to cohabitate as college students
Recent research documented significant increases in cohabitation among older people in U.S.

35. Diverse Lifestyles Remaining Single
More people are postponing entry into first marriages
The trend toward maintaining a single lifestyle for longer period of time is related to growing economic independence of young people, especially women
Remaining single represents a clear departure from societal expectations

36. Diverse Lifestyles Marriage Without Children
There has been a modest increase in childlessness in the U.S.
Regard themselves to be child-free, not childless.
Childless couples beginning to question current practices in workplace

37. Diverse Lifestyles Lesbian and Gay Relationships
Lifestyles of lesbians and gay men are varied
Because of inequities, many gay and lesbian couples demanding the right to marry

38. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage
The Issue
Idea of same-sex marriage strikes some people as the latest of many attacks on traditional marriage
To others, it seems an overdue acknowledgment of the formal relationships that faithful, monogamous gay couples have long maintained

39. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage
The Setting
In 1999, Vermont gave gay couples the legal benefits of marriage through civil union, but stopped short of calling the arrangement a marriage
In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that under the state’s constitution, gay couples have right to marry

40. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage
Sociological Insights
Functionalists have traditionally seen marriage as a social institution closely related to human reproduction
Conflict theorists charged that denial of right to marry reinforces the second-class status of gays and lesbians

41. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage
Sociological Insights
Interactionists focus on nature of same-sex households
Recent national surveys of attitudes toward gay marriage have been showing volatile shifts in public opinion

42. Social Policy and The Family
Gay Marriage
Policy Initiatives
Recognition of same-sex partnerships is not uncommon in Europe
However, many nations have strongly opposed to such measures
In U.S. many local jurisdictions passed legislation allowing for registration of domestic relationships