Chapter 12
Marriage and Alternative Family
Arrangements
Chapter Outline
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The Nature of Family Life
Defining Marriage
The Transformation of the Family
Family Diversity
The Future: Bright or Dismal?
Changes in the American
Family Since 1970
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The marriage rate has fallen more than 40%.
When men and women marry today they are on
average 4 years older than in 1970.
The number of single-parent households has
more than doubled.
The proportion of those who have not married
by age 35 has tripled for both men and women.
Changes in the American
Family Since 1970
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Women are nearly twice as likely to be divorced
as in 1970.
The divorce rate has increased by nearly 40%.
Unmarried-couple households have increased
nearly fivefold.
Half of all children are expected to spend some
part of their childhood in a single-parent home.
Functions of the Family
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Patterning reproduction
Organizing production and consumption
Socializing children
Providing care and protection
Providing social status
Question

Most of the important decisions in the life
of the family should be made by the man
of the house.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree somewhat
C. Unsure
D. Disagree somewhat
E. Strongly disagree
Family Structures
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The nuclear family is the most basic
family form and is made up of a married
couple and their biological or adopted
children.
The nuclear family is found in all
societies, and it is from this form that all
other (composite) family forms are
derived.
Family Structures
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Polygamous families are nuclear families linked
together by multiple marriage bonds, with one
central married to several spouses.
The family is polygynous when the central
person is male and the multiple spouses are
female.
The family is polyandrous when the central
person is female and the multiple spouses are
male.
Family Structures
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In extended families, along with married
parents and their offspring, there may be
the parents’ parents, siblings of the
parents, the siblings’ spouses and
children, and in-laws.
All the members of the extended family
live in one house or in homes close to one
another, forming one cooperative unit.
Question
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A(n) ________ family is made up of a
married couple and their children.
A. patriarchal
B. nuclear
C. extended
D. matrilineal
Answer: B
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A nuclear family is made up of a married
couple and their children.
Question
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Dwayne and Katrina are a married
couple. They have two children and live
with Katrina's brother's family. This is an
example of what type of family?
A. extended
B. polygamous
C. nuclear
D. blended
Answer: A
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Dwayne and Katrina have an extended
family.
Marriage
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Marriage, an institution found in all
societies, is the socially recognized,
legitimized, and supported union of
individuals of opposite sexes.
Choosing a Marriage Partner
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Rules of endogamy
Limit the social categories from within
which one can choose a marriage partner.
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Rules of exogamy
Require an individual to marry someone
outside his or her culturally defined group.
Marriage
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How marriage differs from other unions:
 Takes place in a public manner.
 Includes sexual intercourse as an
explicit element of the relationship.
 Provides the essential condition for
legitimizing offspring.
 Is intended to be a stable and enduring
relationship.
Question

The government should recognize
homosexual marriages under the law with the
same privileges as heterosexual marriages.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree somewhat
C. Unsure
D. Disagree somewhat
E. Strongly disagree
Five Dimensions of Romantic
Love
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Idealization of the loved one.
The notion of a one and only.
Love at first sight.
Love winning out over all.
An indulgence of personal emotions.
Nuclear Family:
Characteristics
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Child-centered family.
Marriage based on romantic love.
Increased equality for women.
Decreased links with extended families or
kinship networks.
Increased geographical and social mobility.
Clear separation between work and leisure.
The Transformation of the
Family
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Most scholars agree that the Industrial
Revolution had a strong impact on the family.
1. Industrialism demands that workers be
geographically mobile so that a workforce is
available wherever new industries are built.
2. Industrialism requires a certain degree of
social mobility.
3. The modern nuclear family allows for
inheritance and descent through both sides
of the family.
The Nuclear Family in the
20th Century
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Rested on:
1. The child-Centered family
2. Companionate marriage
3. Increased equality for women
4. Decreased links with extended families or
kinship networks
5. Neolocal residence and increased
geographical mobility
6. Increased social mobility
7. Clear separation between work and leisure.
Decline of the Traditional
Family
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Between 1990 and 2000, percentage of
married couples with children fell from
26% to 24%.
Proportion of families headed by married
couples fell from 76% in 1990 to 72% in
2000.
Since the 1950s, traditional families have
become increasingly rare.
Number of Marriages, in
Millions, 1960–2004
Number of Marriages per 1,000
Unmarried Women, 15 and Older
Cohabitation
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Increased dramatically in the past 20
years and is having a significant impact
on the family.
In 1988, fewer than one in five married
Americans said they lived with their
spouse before marriage.
% of High School Seniors Who Thought It Was a
Good Idea to Live Together before Getting Married
Family Violence
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30% of adults who were abused as
children are abusive to their own children.
22% of American women report having
been physically abused by their spouses
or companions.
1 in 5 of these women report that the
abuse took place in the previous year.
Annual Divorce Rate per 1,000
Population, 1970–2003
Divorce Factors: Education
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The likelihood of a first marriage ending in
divorce is 60% for people with some
college education.
Those who have a college degree have
nearly a 40% chance of divorce and are
the least divorce-prone.
Approximately 53% of women who have
gone on to graduate school will divorce.
Question
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The strength of the American family is
declining.
A. Strongly agree
B. Agree somewhat
C. Unsure
D. Disagree somewhat
E. Strongly disagree
Marriage and Divorce Quiz
1.
2.
One of the reasons there is more divorce
today than in the past is because people live
longer and there is more time to get divorced.
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False. Even though people live longer, they
also marry later than in the past.
Living together before marriage increases your
chance of divorce.
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True.
Marriage and Divorce Quiz
3.
4.
An unmarried woman is more likely to
experienced domestic violence than a married
woman.
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True.
Now that people are more likely to divorce,
those that stay married are happier than when
people stayed married because of the stigma
against divorce.
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False. Studies show that the general level
of marital satisfaction has not increased.
Marriage and Divorce Quiz
5.
6.
Second marriages are more successful than
first marriages because people learn from their
mistakes.
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False. The divorce rate for second
marriages is higher than for first marriages.
If your parents divorced your chances of
divorcing are increased.
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True.
Marriage and Divorce Quiz
7.
8.
Women are more likely than men to be the
ones who initiate a divorce.
•
True.
Teenage marriages are fairly successful if they
can get through the first year.
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False. Marrying in your teens increase the
likelihood of divorce two to three times over
that of couples in their twenties and older.
Remarriage and Stepfamilies
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The United States has the highest
incidence of stepfamilies in the world.
17% of married couple households
involve a stepparent.
54% of divorced women and 62% of men
divorced men remarry within five years.
Reluctant to Marry: The Men Who
Want to Stay Single
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Compared to men who marry earlier these men
are more likely to:
 Worry about the risks of divorce.
 Not want children.
 Believe women cannot be trusted to tell the
truth about past relationships.
 Think single men have better sex lives than
married men.
 Believe marriage will reduce their personal
freedom.
The Growing Single
Population
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In 2000, 61.5% of American men and
nearly 58% of American women over the
age of 18 were married.
In 1970, only 10.5% of the women and
19.1% of the men between the ages of 25
and 39 had never been married.
In 2003, 40.3% of women and 54.6% of
men that age had never been married.
Single-Parent Families
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In 1960, nearly 1/3 of all single mothers with
children under 18 were widows.
In the 1970s, most single mothers were
divorced or separated.
By 1980, only 11% of single mothers were
widowed and two-thirds were divorced or
separated.
By 2000, 40% of single mothers had never
been married.
% of Children under Age 18
Living with a Single Parent
% Of Births to Unmarried Women
Iceland
64%
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
France
United Kingdom
United States
54%
49%
45%
40%
38%
33%
Canada
28%
German
14%
Italy
9%
Japan
1%
Gay and Lesbian Couples
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5% of gay and 22% of lesbian families include
children.
Many of these children were part of a motherfather family and continued to live with a parent
who transitioned to same-sex relationships.
17% of gays and 29% of lesbians had
previously been in a heterosexual marriage.
Quick Quiz
1. Which of the following is a function of the
family?
A. Socialization of children.
B. Regulation of sexual behavior.
C. Providing care and protection.
D. All of these choices are correct.
Answer: D
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The following are all functions of the
family:
 Socialization of children.
 Regulation of sexual behavior.
 Providing care and protection.
2. Parents who expect their children to
marry someone of the same religion,
ethnic group and social class are
following the rules of:
A. endogamy.
B. exogamy.
C. polygamy.
D. monogamy.
Answer: A
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Parents who expect their children to
marry someone of the same religion,
ethnic group and social class are
following the rules of: endogamy.
3. Which of the following is not a
characteristic of the nuclear family as it
evolved in early 20th century industrial
society?
A. Clear separation between work and
leisure.
B. Increased equality for women.
C. Increased links with extended
families.
D. Families are more child-centered.
Answer: C
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Increased links with extended families
is not a characteristic of the nuclear family
as it evolved in early 20th century
industrial society.
4. Cohabitation is more common among:
A. those with a college education.
B. members of the middle and upper
classes.
C. those who are less religious.
D. all of these choices are correct.
Answer: C
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Cohabitation is more common among
those who are less religious.
5. Which of the following is not a feature of
marriage in all societies?
A. A public, usually formal aspect.
B. Sexual intercourse as an explicit
element of the relationship.
C. Romantic love as an important
characteristic of the relationship.
D. The intention that it should be a stable
and enduring relationship.
Answer: C

Romantic love is not a feature of
marriage in all societies.