1. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Lecture 2 Introduction to Family Studies

2. 11/11/2015 The Sociological Approach Macro Level Micro Level

3. 11/11/2015 The Sociological Approach – The Macro Level Family sociologists examine how these social institutions interact and how they influence behaviors, attitudes, and opportunities in families Economy Families GovernmentEducation Religion Healthcare

4. Social Institutions in Society A social Institution is any institution in a society that works to socialize the groups or people in it All social institutions follow a set of roles and behaviors For example: Families socialize the next generation of children who will become workers Religion is an institution that gives meaning to life and helps instill morals and values

5. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. ? What are the trends in fertility & mortality ? What are the trends in marriage & divorce, and cohabitation? ? How have changing trends transformed families? ? How have these trends affected the living situation of children?

6. How have families changed ?  They differ in size  Families have fewer children due to lower fertility  On average, women have 2 children…but

7. How have families changed ?  They differ in size and composition  Today, more women in their 40s are childless  Only 1 in 10 were childless in 1976; while in 2004, it was about 1 in 5.  Source: National Marriage Project, 2006

9. Families are having fewer children The downturn in the economy has caused families to have fewer children All families’ and individuals’ choices are influenced by the larger society in which they live

10. Fertility – age at first births varies by racial and ethnic group

11. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Mortality & Life Expectancy What is the average life expectancy for women and for men in the U.S. ? Average life expectancy for women is 78 Average life expectancy for men is 71 As people are living longer, this increases their “risk” for divorce Increases likelihood that women will spend some of their “golden” years as widows

12. How have families changed ?  The reasons people marry have changed with marital expectations  Changes in demographics of families  Age at marriage has increased  Cohabitation rates are rising  Higher likelihood that children will spend some time in a single parent family

13. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  Weakening of marriage  Even though nearly 90 percent of whites and 67% of African Americans are projected to EVENTUALLY marry, the power of marriage to regulate individuals personal life has decreased  This is due to:  Increased cohabitation (living together)  Sex outside of marriage  Childbirth outside of marriage

14. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Changes in marriage For the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse Up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.  Percent of the population who is “never married” has also increased  Average age of marriage has increased  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/us/16census.html?ei=5090&en=8b61820a 6c4712e5&ex=1326603600&pagewanted=print

15. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Samantha CharlotteMiranda Carrie

16. Changing Roles of Women More women are adopting the “Sex and the City” lifestyle For example: Women are seeking more education They are entering careers and focusing on moving up in their jobs They are living increasingly in urban areas All these behaviors result in women postponing marriage

17. http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/tabMS-2.pdf

18. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. More women are pursuing a college education Single and married women’s labor force participation rates have increased increased  This leads to postponing marriage

19. Why are we postponing marriage? W hat percentage of Americans over age 25 have a college degree? O nly 25% W omen are more likely to graduate from college than men D ata like these can be found on the U.S. Census website www.census.gov C lick American Fact Finder

20. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. More couples cohabit prior to marriage  This increases the average age at which people get married  In other words you don’t have to marry once you fall in love, you can live together and marry at a later age

21. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  What percentage of women had ever cohabited prior to marriage?  45%  As behavior becomes more common, attitudes change as well  According to the 2003 Gallup Youth Survey 7 in 10 teens say they approve of couples living together before they get married  30% disapprove. Source Gallup Poll retrieved on 09/09/10 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/11272/how-many-teens-cool- cohabitation.aspx

22. Source: Bumpass & Sweet, 1989. 8-2

23. Cohabitation varies by race/ethnicity African Americans are most likely to cohabit – 16.9 % of coupled households Asian Americans have lowest rate – 4.7% African Americans are 4 times as likely to cohabit as Asian Americans

24. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Lessened economic dependence of women Decline in homemaker role Movement of women into the labor market (esp. married, middle-class mothers) Remember – women probably had less economic independence in the 1950s than 50 years BEFORE

26. Labor Force Participation Rates of Married Women with Children by Age of Youngest Child, 1948 -1998 Under age 6 Ages 6 - 17

27. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. In 2008:  77 % of all mothers with school-age children are in the labor force  64 % of mothers with preschool-age children are working for pay  In general women are more independent financially – thus less dependent on marriage SourceSource: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

28. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. Of all married couples, 62% are dual-earner couples Dual-earner = both husband and wife in the labor force So the majority of married couples today – both wife AND husband have paid jobs. This percent is expected to rise over the next decade Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticshttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

29. Divorce WW hat is the divorce rate?

30. Annual Divorce Rate per 1,000 Marriages United States 1860 - 2002 Sources: for 1860-1988, Cherlin [1992]; for 1989-1996, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics [1993, 1995, 1997].

31. What is the Divorce Rate?  50 percent of first marriages for men age 45 and under will EVENTUALLY end in divorce – but remember that is over the lifetime of a marriage!

32. Divorce What is the divorce rate?  In a given year, your RISK (chance) of divorce is much lower!  For example, in 2008 about 35 out of 1,000 people (U.S. population) got divorced  In other words, 3.5 percent of all people in the U.S. received a divorce in 2008  BUT…… Source: NCHS, retrieved on 09/10/10 from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm

33. Divorce rates How should we calculate the divorce rate? Think about the old high school fraction math class Numerator/Denominator For every individual who divorces….per… Number of divorces Number of people in U.S. What is wrong with this calculation?????

34. Remarriage Although the high divorce rate has been interpreted as a rejection of the institution of marriage, 75% of men and 66% of women eventually will remarry This suggests: people are rejecting specific marital partners, but most are not rejecting the institution of marriage itself Source: Hetherington, et al.1998 X 2

35. Remarriage  Remarriage rates have decreased over time  More people are cohabiting after they divorce

36. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. How have these trends affected the living situation of children? In 1999:  68 percent of American children lived with two parents, down from 77 percent in 1980 SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, March Current Population Survey.

37. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. How have these trends affected the living situation of children? In 1999:  31 percent of children live with one or neither parent: 23 percent of children live with only their mothers 4 percent lived with only their fathers 4 percent lived with neither of their parents SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, March Current Population Survey.

38. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S. How have these trends affected the living situation of children? % of births to unmarried mothers has increased number of children growing up in single parent families

40. To find demographic data on New Jersey  http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html

41. Changing Demographic Trends & Families in the U.S.  Summary  Men and especially women are postponing marriage  Rates of cohabitation are four times higher now then in 1974  Married mothers have high rates of labor force participation  Divorce rates increased steadily over the 20th century and have leveled off  Children are more likely to spend some part of their childhood in a single-parent home increasing their likelihood of living in poverty