Chapter Twelve
Section One
A. The family is the most universal social institution
B. Definition varies from culture to culture
A. Definitions
1.
Family: a group of people who are related by marriage,
blood, or adoption and who often live together and
share economic resources
2.
Nuclear Family: one or both parents and their children
(typical in America)
a) Family of Orientation: the nuclear family you are
born into
b) Family of Procreation: the nuclear family you create
3.
Extended Family: multiple generations living under
one roof (grandparents, parents, children, aunts and
uncles, and cousins)
B. Kinship
1.
Definition: a network of people who are related by
marriage, birth, or adoption
2.
Primary Relatives
a)
b)
Members of the families of orientation and procreation
Mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, daughter, and son
3.
Secondary Relatives
a)
b)
4.
The primary relatives of a person’s primary relatives
Grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, aunts, uncles,
nephews, and nieces
Tertiary Relatives
a)
b)
The primary relatives of a person’s secondary relatives
Great grandparents, great grandchildren, great aunts, great
uncles, and cousins
 List five of your own
primary, secondary,
and tertiary relatives.
A. Family organization is determined by answering four
questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
How many marriage partners may a person have?
Who will live with whom?
How will family membership be determined?
Who will make the decisions in the family?
Monogamy is common to industrialized nations
2. Polygamy is often permitted in pre-industrial
societies
1.
Polygyny: a man with more than one wife
b) Polyandry: a woman with more than one husband
a)

Primarily in parts of Asia

Where a newly married couple will live
Patrilocality: live with or near the husband’s family
2. Matrilocality: live with or near the wife’s family
3. Bilocality: live with or near the family of choice
4. Neolocality: live apart from both sets of parents
1.
 How kinship is traced
Patrilineal descent: trace kinship through the father’s
family; property is passed from father to son
2. Matrilineal descent: trace kinship through the
mother’s family; property is passed from mother to
daughter
3. Bilateral descent: trace kinship through both
parents; property can be inherited from either side of
the family
1.
 Who is in charge
Patriarchy: the father holds the authority
2. Matriarchy: the mother holds the authority
3. Egalitarian: shared authority
1.
A. Regulation of Sexual Activity
1.
2.
Enforce incest taboo: forbids sex between
certain relatives—parents, siblings,
grandparents, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews
Patrilineal groups do not consider some on
their mother’s side to be family
B. Reproduction: who can have children, how
many to have, how to raise them, etc.
C. Socialization: teach children how to interact with
society
D. Economic and Emotional Security
1.
2.
3.
The family is the basic economic unit
Divide labor based on gender and age
The basic and most intimate group in society; provides
emotional support
Section Two
A. The majority of Americans marry at least once for
romantic love
B. Most marriages are homogamous: we marry people
very similar to ourselves (opposite is heterogamy)
A. Family Violence
1.
2.
3.
The most devastating problem
A problem for all groups
In 1975, 1/3 of all interviewed had been affected by
family violence; did decrease through the 1980s
B. Divorce
1.
2.
3.
50% of marriages end in divorce
Most common among teen marriages,
lower educated persons, and African
Americans
Women are affected financially and psychologically;
men are affected psychologically
C. Empty Nest Syndrome: when the kids
leave home
D. Death of a Spouse
A. Delayed Marriage
1.
2.
3.
Median age for first marriages
Men
Women
1960
22
20
1990
26
23
2013
29
27
It’s again acceptable to be single
Women are pursuing education and careers before
marriage
B. Delayed Childbearing
1.
Time between marriage and childbirth
1960s
15 months
1970s
27 months
Today
varies
**some people choose to never marry
2.
Sandwich Generation: people are caring for aging
parents and young children at the same time
C. Childlessness
1.
2.
Choose careers over family
Wait too long and have infertility issues
D. Dual-earner Marriages
1.
2.
Number of married women employed outside the
home
1940
< 10%
1948
22%
2000
37%
Today
61%
Women are working for personal and economic
reasons
One Parent Families
E.
1.
2.
Formed through separation, divorce, death of a
spouse, birth to unwed mothers, or adoption by
unmarried persons
Represents a large number of the families in the
United States today (55% of African Americans, 31% of
Hispanics, and 21% of European Americans)
Remarriage
F.
1.
2.
3.
40% of those that divorce remarry; has dropped as
couples choose to cohabitate instead
Has led to an increase in step/blended families—close
to 60% of all people have step-relatives
67% of 2nd marriages and 74% of 3rd marriages end in
divorce