1. Chapter Thirteen: Families

2. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Chapter Overview
Marriage and Family in Global Perspective
Marriage and Family in Theoretical Perspective
The Family Life Cycle
Diversity in U.S. Families
Trends in U.S. Families
Divorce and Remarriage
Two Sides of Family Life
The Future of Marriage and Family
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3. Family Defined Two or more people
That are related by blood, marriage, or adoption or
Are part of a relationship that includes mutual rights and obligations and is assumed to be permanent

4. Different Types of Families
Nuclear Family – husband, wife, and their immediate children
Extended Family – nuclear family plus grandparents, cousins and other relatives living in the same household or nearby
Family of Orientation – family a person grows up in
Family of Procreation – family formed when a couple has their first child
Marriage – a group’s approved mating arrangements, usually marked by a ritual or some sort (wedding) to indicate the couple’s new public status.

5. Courtship and Marriage Patterns
Mate Selection
Informal Norms dictate who should marry who.
Exogamy
Norm requiring that mates be selected from outside one’s group or category
Endogamy
Norm requiring that mates be selected from one’s own group or category

6. Descent Societies around the world trace descent in various ways:
Patrilineal – father’s side
Matrilineal – mother’s side
Bilineal – father’s and mother’s side

7. Courtship and Marriage Patterns
Monogamy
Marriage of one woman & one man
Serial monogamy
Polygamy
Marriage to multiple spouses
Polyandry and polygyny

8. Courtship and Marriage Patterns
Functions of the Family
Defining and limiting sexual access
Reproducing new members and integrating them into society
Socializing new members
Care of the young & the elderly
Providing emotional support
Providing ascribed statuses

9. The Functionalist Perspective
The family is universal because it fulfills certain functions including: sexual control, socialization, care of the sick and aged, recreation, economic production
Talcott Parsons (1950) stated that men fulfill the instrumental role and women fulfill the expressive role in the family
Dysfunctions include: incest, abuse, and divorce

10. The Conflict Perspective
The family is a reflection of the patriarchal society in which many societies live
Families are arenas of conflict where members struggle for resources or power
There are many dual earner families today but women still pull the “second shift” (Hoschild) leaving many women dissatisfied with their marriage
7 ½ to 11 hours a week than what their husbands contribute.
The balance between power in marriages has led to the rising divorce rate

12. The Conflict Perspective
Strategies of resistance (Struggles over Household chores)—Hochschild (1989)
Waiting it Out
Playing Dumb
Needs Reduction
Substitute Offerings

13. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Jesse Bernard – husbands and wives “see” their marriages in different lights which causes a lot of dissatisfaction
Focus on “negotiating meanings” in marriage and families
Looks at the meaning of housework
Looks at the definition of family, marriage, and divorce has changed over the past 50 years

14. Dating and Mating Dating and Mate Selection Courtship Homogamy
Romantic love
Marriage squeeze
Propinquity
Homogamy
The selection of a mate with personal and social characteristics similar to one’s own.
Heterogamy
The selection of a mate with social characteristics different than one’s own

15. U.S. Families over the Life Course
Cohabitation
Two people living together without legal marriage

16. U.S. Families over the Life Course
Singlehood
Postponing marriage
Widowhood and divorce

17. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
The Family Life Cycle
Marital satisfaction tends to follow a U curve
Marital satisfaction is at its highest points when couples first get married and at the retirement stage
Marital satisfaction decreases with the arrival of the first child
During the empty nest stage satisfaction increases
42 % of children ages are still living at home today and are often referred to as “the boomerang generation”
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18. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Trends in U.S. Families
Grandparents as Parents – more grandparents are fulfilling the parental role as more parents are working
Sandwich Generation – families who are taking care of their children and their parents at the same time; often this responsibility is taken on by the daughter’s
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

19. Divorce Rates increased dramatically in last 60 years
Marriage and Divorce
Marriage Rates
steady decline since
early 1970s
Divorce Rates increased dramatically in last 60 years

20. Divorce
Divorce rates rose between 1950 and 1980 and since then the numbers have leveled off
Divorce has increased because of: changing norms, less stigma, and governmental policies
The effects of divorce on children are varied
Serial Fatherhood – fathers who keep in contact with their children for about a year after a divorce, get remarried, and refocus their attention to the “new” family

22. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009

23. The Dark Side of Family Life
Child Abuse – the majority of victims are children under the age of six
The most common form of child abuse is neglect
Other forms of child abuse are emotional and physical abuse
Spousal Abuse – more men than women are the perpetrators of spousal abuse
Women stay in abusive relationships for various reasons including: lack of resources, fear of retaliation, salvation ethnic, blaming themselves
Police response to abuse has changed in recent years

24. The Bright Side of Successful Marriages
Studies of couples that have been married for 50 years indicate that there are several reasons for lasting happiness:
Thinking of their spouse as their best friend
They laugh together
They share the same goals
Think of marriage as being sacred
Think of marriage as a long-term commitment