“CHOOSE YOUR
PARENTS CAREFULLY”
“My life was shaped by my
family
”
© Dr. Francis Adu-Febiri, 2012
INFLUENCE OF FAMILY

Dr. Martha Piper has two daughters. Emily
is officially Dr. Emily Piper, 34, a
consulting Psychologist…and maintains a
private practice aside. Her younger sister
is now Dr. Hannah Piper, 29, who, having
graduated from Princeton (BSC) and
Harvard (MD) is in the midst of a general
surgical residency (Trek, Winter/Spring
2006, p. 21).
INFLUENCE OF FAMILY

“The domestic
Gemeinschaft or home
life with its immeasurable
influence upon the
human soul, has been
felt by everyone who
ever shared it”
(Ferdinand Toinnes,
1887, cited in Alan Sica,
2005, pp. 277).
MAIN CONCEPTS













Family
Marriage
Divorce
Patriarchy
Matriarchy
Polygamy—Polygyny and Polyandry
Monogamy
Homogamy
Heterogamy
Propinquity
Endogamy
Exogamy
Femicide
THE FAMILY INSTITUTION
FAMILY
Patriarchal
Monogamy
ADOPTION
Heterogamy
MARRIAGE
Polygamy
Matriarchal
Should pets count as family?
Homogamy
BIRTH
DEFINITION OF FAMILY
 Social
group whose members
are related by marriage
(affinity), and/or by birth
(descent), and/or by adoption
(legality) and are conscious of
their relations.
FAMILY: THE PRIMARY SOCIAL
INSTITUTION
ECONOMIC
Experience
MEDIA
Experience
EDUCATIONAL
Experience
FAMILY
INSTITUTION
MEDICAL
Experience
RELIGIOUS
Experience
POLITICAL
Experience
GLOBAL DIVERSITY OF THE
FAMILY

According to sociology, there is no “ideal,
monolithic, standard or natural family”. Rather, there
is “a wide variety of family arrangements” (Bartle
2004: 9:1).

A single, all encompassing model of family, especially the
nuclear family of mama, papa and kids is not, and has never
been, the ideal or norm in any society for which we have any
hard facts (Ibid.: 9:3).
Family Forms
 Polygamous (polygyny and polyandry) families
 Nuclear families
 Compound or Step families
• One-Parent Families
• Childless families; Child-free families
• Cohabitation or Common Law Unions
• GLBT and Queer Couples/families
GLOBAL DIVERSITY OF THE
FAMILY
Family diversity complicated by the
following patterns:
 1. Marriage Patterns
 2. Residential Patterns
 3. Descent Patterns
 4. Power and Authority Patterns

THE FAMILY: DIVERSITY AND
PATTERNS
DECLINING MARRIAGE RATES

There is a declining marriage rate across
the western world
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/st
ory/2012/02/10/ralph-richard-banks.html)
“Is Marriage for White People?”

“Black women have become the most unmarried
population in American society because of a
whole set of structural factors, that black men
are not doing very well is the chief one,” said
Banks, who teaches at Stanford Law School.

“The problem is not the choices or the preferences of
black women, the problem is the pool of men," he said.
"Black men have not kept pace with black women.”

The smaller pool of black men won’t be the
problem outside the strictures of
racialization and endogamy (Adu-Febiri
2012).
THE DARK SIDE OF THE FAMILY:
Transitions and Problems in Family Life
1. Divorce
 2. Remarriage and Stepfamilies
 3. Non-physical abuses in the Family
 4. Family Violence: physical abuse,
battering, rape, incest:

Violence against women
 Violence against Children

Canadian Divorce Rate

4 in 10 first marriages end in divorce.

According to Statistics Canada, about 38 per cent of
all marriages taking place in 2004 will have ended in
divorce by 2035. The total divorce rate was down
slightly from its peak of about 41 per cent in the mid
1980s, but slightly higher than the rate of about 37
per cent recorded in the mid 1990s.
Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest rate of
divorce at 21.6 per cent — while Quebec had the
highest at 48.4 per cent
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/10/04/van
ier-study004.html


Top 5 Reasons Couples Separate or
Divorce
1. Different Values and Interests.
 2. Abuse—Physical and Emotional.
 3. Alcohol and Drugs.
 4. Infidelity.
 5. Career Related Conflict.

IMPACT OF DIVORCE











Positive for the Economy, according to functionalism.
Negative for children: “Parental conflict and separation have a
lasting effect on children” (Baker 2004: 178).
1. Lower educational attainment
2. Behavioral problems
3. Delinquency
4. Leaving home earlier
5. Premarital pregnancy for girls
6. Higher divorce rate when they marry
Positive for children:
1. Children in stable lone-parent families better off than those in
conflict-ridden two-parent families.
2. Children of employed lone mothers accept egalitarian gender
roles
INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL FORCES ON MARRIAGE & FAMILY
SOCIAL FORCES
Social Class
Gender
“Race”; Culture
Age; Religion; Education
Sexual orientation
Ability/disability
Interaction pattern
Economy; Technology
FAMILY & MARRIAGE
PROPINQUITY
HOMOGAMY
Love
Courtship/Dating
Marriage practices
Childbirth
Child rearing
Quality of relationship
Divorce rate
Conflicts & abuses
TRENDS IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Postponed marriage
Commuter marriage
Unmarried couple
Unmarried mothers or fathers
More married women joining the workforce
Homosexual marriage
Marriage squeeze
Child-free family
Blended family
Equal husband-wife relationship
High divorce rate
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF
THE FAMILY




Functionalist Paradigm: HOMEOSTASIS
Families perform functions that are important for the
stability or homeostasis of society.
The Bright Side of the Family
Functions of the Family:
 1. Socialization: transmitting and enforcing
culture.
 2. Gender division of labour: Complementary
Roles produces efficiency. Expressive Role
for women and Instrumental Role for men.
 3. Regulation of sexual activity.
 4. Social Placement: Provides social status.
 5. Security: Material, Social and Emotional.
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF
THE FAMILY





Social Conflict Paradigm: COMPETITION &
INEQUALITY:
The Dark Side of the Family
Inequality and the Family:
The social-conflict approach focuses on how
competition for wealth and power in the
political economy creates inequalities
marriage and families.
Within families, the unequal distribution of
wealth and power among women, men and
children contributes to conflict and violence
(spouse abuse and child abuse).
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF
THE FAMILY




Interactionist Paradigm: Human Agency and
Definition of the Situation:
Bright Side and/or Dark Side?: “It depends”.
1. Symbolic-Interaction
The family is a symbol and individual members
used their human agency define it subjectively
and interact with it accordingly. Hence the
varying experiences and perceptions of different
family members.
THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF
THE FAMILY







FEMINIST PARADIGM: Patriarchy: Gender inequality
and oppression in marriage & family
Dark Side of the Family:
Patriarchal values maintain the sexual and economic
subordination of women.
a) Usually wife takes husband’s name, family
residence defined by husband’s place of work, and
the standard of living dictated by the male’s income.
b) Despite the fact that women have increased their
participation in the paid labor force they still do most
of the housework and child rearing.
c) Unequal distribution of wealth between men and
women fosters economic dependence of women.
d) Violence against mothers, wives, sisters and
daughters.
IMPACT OF THE FAMILY

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
1.
Education
2. Social Class
3. “Race”/Ethnicity
4. Gender
IMPACT OF THE FAMILY ON
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Dr. Martha Piper has two daughters. Emily
is officially Dr. Emily Piper, 34, a
consulting Psychologist…and maintains a
private practice aside. Her younger sister
is now Dr. Hannah Piper, 29, who, having
graduated from Princeton (BSC) and
Harvard (MD) is in the midst of a general
surgical residency (Trek, Winter/Spring
2006, p. 21).
IMPACT OF THE FAMILY ON
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

The family has the strongest influence on
the educational aspirations, experiences,
achievements and expectations of
students. But for working class families in
which neither the mother nor the father
has a university degree, higher education
is a foreign territory (Gilbert and
McRoberts 1977).

What makes the most difference in our lives is
family socialization, not education because…
FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Social
Class
FAMILY
Gender
Race &
Ethnicity
UNIVERSITY:
Upper & Middle
classes
Dominant
race/ethnicity
Drop Out
Test
Scores
HIGH
Educational
Track
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
LOW
Drop Out
VOCATIONAL:
Lower classes
Minority
Race/ethnicity
FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT

In effect, educational attainment is
primarily a function of a combination of
mental ability, effort, finances, cultural
background, etc., all of which have their
roots in the family.
FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT:
Country Illustration






1. USA: Even students with low SAT scores enter
university since parents can afford tuition.
2. JAPAN: Children of affluent parents attend cram
(‘juku’) schools that enhances their admission to
prestigious universities and placement in
prestigious companies.
3. EX USSR: Children of the more educated and
party members attended higher educational
institutions.
4. EGYPT: Children of the wealthy are several times
likely to get higher education.
5. THIRD WORLD: The children of the wealthy and
powerful usually have education beyond the basic.
6. CANADA ? ? ?
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN CANADA, BY
FATHER’S EDUCATION LEVEL
FATHER’S EDUCATION
CHILDREN WITH POSTSEC EDUCATION
Grade 8 or less
31%
Grade 9 –12/13
47%
Some Post-secondary
60%
Post-secondary graduate
68%
Sources: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 1986.
BOTTOM LINE: FAMILY
MATTERS IN EDUCATION



“Family background proves to be more important
than test scores in predicting who attends
university” (Henslin et al 2004: 342).
THE AMERICAN CASE:
Of the brightest 25% of high school students,
90% of those from affluent homes go to college,
while only 50% form low income homes do so.
Of the weakest students, 26% from affluent
homes go to college, while only 6% from poorer
homes do so (Henslin et al 2004).
BOTTOM LINE: FAMILY
MATTERS IN EDUCATION


THE CANADIAN CASE:
In Canada students from higher class
backgrounds are far more likely to go to
university than students from lower class
families within the same cohort. If you rank
families from the poorest to the richest, as the
income increases the likelihood that the children
will attend institutions of higher learning also
increases (Manski 1992-1993; Curtis, Livingston
& Smaller 1992).
BOTTOM LINE: FAMILY
MATTERS IN EDUCATION


Most children of the less privileged families are
funneled into job training programs, while children
of the middle classes families attend universities and
university transfer community colleges. The children
of the elite, in contrast, attend exclusive private
schools, such as Upper Canada College, where their
learning environment includes small classes and
well paid reputable teachers (Persell et al 1992).
Here they inherit cozy social network of the nation’s
and the world’s most elite institutions. Some of
these networks are so efficient that a majority of
these private schools’ graduating classes are
admitted to McGill, University of Toronto Law School
and University of Western Ontario’s Business
School, or to Harvard, Yale and Princeton (Henslin et
BOTTOM LINE: FAMILY
MATTERS IN EDUCATION

Some visible minority youth are
aiming higher when it comes to
education largely due to educational
values promoted from within their
own families, according to new
University of Alberta research.
(http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/so
ciology/news.cfm?story=44972).
(April 5, 2006).
IMPACT OF EDUCATION
1. Labor Force Participation
 2. Fertility
 3. Health
 4. Life Span
 5. Participation in House Work
 6. Income
 7. Labor Market Participation

IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON INCOME
Education Level
Median Annual Earnings
Post-Bachelor
$66,535
Bachelor
$56,048
Univ. below
Bachelor
$47,253
College
$42,937
Trades or
Apprenticeship
$39,996
High School
$37,403
Less than High
School
$32,029
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006.
When a person who was born into a poor family
graduates from college or university he/she has
one in five chance of entering the top quintile
of all income earners as an adult (Isaacs et al 2008).
AVERAGE INCOMES FOR BACHELOR’S
DEGREES IN CANADA: MEN
Degree Area
Income
Actuarial Science
$95,000
Mining, Metallurgical and
Petroleum Engineering
$80,000
Electrical and Electronic
Engineering
$73,000
Economics
$72,000
Computer Science and Other
Applied Mathematics
$70,000
Business, Commerce and
management
$70,000
Chemistry
$63,000
Source: Maclean’s Magazine, Nov. 19. 2007, p. 33
AVERAGE INCOMES FOR BACHELOR’S
DEGREES IN CANADA: MEN
Degree Area
Income
Physics
Biology
Sociology
Social Work
Psychology
History
English
$58,000
$52,000
$51,000
$49,000
$49,000
$47,000
$45,000
Source: Maclean’s Magazine, Nov. 19, 2007, p. 33
AVERAGE INCOMES FOR BACHELOR’S
DEGREES IN CANADA: MEN
Degree Area
Income
Philosophy
Fine Arts
$44,000
$42,000
Anthropology
$40,000
Music
$38,000
Those earning the above-average incomes
generally had degrees in applied fields:
business, engineering, plus some sciences.
The one constant seems to be a solid
grasp of math (Maclean’s Magazine, Nov. 19,
2007, p. 33).
AVERAGE INCOMES FOR BACHELOR’S
DEGREES IN UNITED STATES

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/
college-majors-onepercent_n_1335938.html?ref=canada&ir=
Canada
IMPACT OF INCOME ON HEALTH

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/healt
h-and-fitness/rich-v-poor-the-lives-we-canexpect-from-our-income/article793139/
IMPACT OF FAMILY:
The Power of Socio-demographic Characteristics
Source: Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter (2001). Rich Dad, Poor Dad
“The love of money is the root of all
evil” versus “ The lack of money is
the root of all evil” (Kiyosaki &
Lecter 2000, p. 13).
The culture of
your family makes
a difference.
THE POWER OF FAMILY CULTURE

One of the reasons the rich get richer, the
poor get poorer, and middle class
struggles in debt is because the subject of
money is taught at home, not in school.
Most of us learn about money from our
parents (Kiyosaki & Lechter 2000, p. 14).
THE POWER OF THE WORLD
OF WORK

THE THREE SECTORS OF THE
ECONOMY (Read page 386)
1. Primary Sector
 2. Secondary Sector
 3. Tertiary Sector

THE POWER OF THE WORLD
OF WORK
TWO LABOUR MARKETS: (Read p. 386389)
 Primary Labour Market: Professions



“…requiring post-secondary training or
education, provide a stable and comfortable
salary, future growth and promotion potential,
and attractive fringe benefits…”
Secondary Labour Market: McJobs

“… insecure and temporary, offer minimal
pay, and provide few opportunities to
CONCLUSION

“Choose Your Parents Carefully” is my sarcastic topic to draw
attention to the significant impact of the family of orientation on
peoples’ behavior and condition in human society. The point is,
one’s parents immensely shape one’s destiny, so there is a
need to choose parents carefully if that is at all possible. But of
course, we don’t choose our parents. So whatever status we
occupy because of our parents is an “ascribed status”, not an
:achieved status”.

It is not your parents per se that make the
difference, but rather their locations in the
social stratification system.