Family and Intimate
Relationships
Chapter Outline
Families in Global Perspective
Theoretical Perspectives on Families
Developing Intimate Relationships and Establishing Families
Child-Related Family Issues and Parenting
Transition and Problems in Families
Family Issues in the Future
Family Structure and Characteristics
Kinship refers to a social network of people based on common ancestry,
marriage, or adoption.
Family of orientation is the family into which a person is born and in
which early socialization usually takes place.
Family of procreation is the family a person forms by having or adopting
children.
Traditional Definition of Family
A group of people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, live together, are
an economic unit, and bear and raise children.
New Definition of Family
Relationships in which people live together with commitment, form an economic unit
and care for any young, and consider their identity to be significantly attached to the
group.
Definition of Family
2010's American Family Defined
Kids React to Gay Marriage
Family Structure and Characteristics
A nuclear family is composed of one or two parents and their
dependent children, all of whom live apart from other relatives.
The nuclear family is the nucleus or core upon which larger family groups
are built.
Composition: What Is the Family?
An extended family is composed of relatives in addition
to parents and children who live in the same household.
Composition: What Is the Family?
Monogamy
--Monogamy is a form of marriage in which one
woman and one man are married only to each other.
Serial Monogamy
--Serial monogamy is when a person has several
spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a
time.
Composition: What Is the Family?
•Polygamy
--Polygamy is a form of marriage allowing an individual to
have several husbands or wives simultaneously.
•Polygyny
--Polygyny, a type of polygamy, is the marriage of a man to
more than one woman at a time.
•Polyandry
--Polyandry, a type of polygamy, is the marriage of a
woman to more than one husband at the same time.
The Role of Family and Social Change
Family Structures
CBC News - StatsCan includes gay families
The End of Family?
The Council of Dads
How Much Do You Know About Trends in U.S. Family
Life?
True or False?
Today, people in the United States are more inclined to get married than at any
time in history.
How Much Do You Know About Trends in U.S. Family
Life?
False.
Census data show that the marriage rate has gone down by about one third since
1960. In 1960, there were about 73 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women age 15
and up, whereas today the rate is about 49 per 1,000.
How Much Do You Know About Trends in U.S. Family
Life
True or False?
Most U.S. family households are composed of a married couple with one or more
children under age 18.
How Much Do You Know About Trends in U.S. Family
Life?
False.
Less than 25 percent of all family households are composed of married couples
with one or more children under age 18.
GSS National Data
Divorced/ Never
Widowed
separated married
Marital Status
Married
Satisfied
95.3%
85.7%
78.7%
84.5%
Neither
satisfied or
dissatisfied
2
6
11.1
10.2
Dissatisfied
2.7
8.3
10.2
5.3
Household Composition:
1970 and 2000
1970
2000
Married couples with children
40.3%
24.1%
Married couples without children
Persons living Alone
30.3%
17.1%
28.7%
25.5%
Other family Households
10.6%
16%
Other nonfamily households
1.7%
5.7%
Question
The strength of the American family is declining.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Strongly agree
Agree somewhat
Unsure
Disagree somewhat
Strongly disagree
Question
The strength of the American family is declining.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Strongly agree
Agree somewhat
Unsure
Disagree somewhat
Strongly disagree
Marriage
Legally recognized arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain
rights and obligations.
Monogamy is the only form of marriage sanctioned by law in the United States.
Establishes a system of descent so kinship can be determined.
Question
If you are currently married:
Taking things all together, how would you describe your marriage? Would you say
that your marriage is:
a.
b.
c.
Very happy
Pretty happy
Not too happy
GSS National Data
Lib.
Con.
Religion
Catholic Jewish None
Protestant Protestant
Very
happy
65%
62.6%
61.2%
64.4%
56%
Pretty
happy
32.5
35
35.8
31.3
38.9
Not too
happy
2.6
2.4
3
4.3
5.2
Question
A social network of people based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption is
known as:
a.
b.
c.
d.
kinship.
a family.
a clan.
subculture.
Answer: a
A social network of people based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption is
known as kinship.
Question
All things considered, how satisfied are you with your family life?
A Different Kind of Family: Families
Portrayed in the Media
The Family and How It's Portrayed in the Media
Chapter Outline
Global View of the Family
Studying the Family
Marriage and Family
Divorce
Diverse Lifestyles
Social Policy and the Family: Reproductive Technology
Patterns of Descent and Inheritance
Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related
•Kinship
--Kinship is the state of being related to others.
•Bilateral Descent
--Both sides of a person’s family are regarded as equally important.
Patterns of Descent and Inheritance
Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We Related
•Patrilineal descent
• In patrilineal descent, only the father’s relatives are important.
• Trace descent through the father’s side of the family.
•Matrilineal descent
• In matrilineal descent, only the mother’s relatives are significant.
• Trace descent through the mother’s side of the family
• Women may not control property.
• Bilateral descent
• A system of tracing descent through both the mother’s and father’s
sides of the family
Patterns of Descent and Inheritance
Authority Patterns: Who Rules?
•Patriarchy
• When males are expected to dominate in all family decision
making, that society is a patriarchy.
• Authority is held by the eldest male (usually the father)
•Matriarchy
• When women have greater authority than men, that society is
a matriarchy.
• Authority is held by the eldest female (usually the mother)
•Egalitarian family
• A family in which spouses are regarded as equals.
• Power and authority are shared by both partners.
Patterns of Descent and Inheritance
Residential Patterns
•Patrilocal residence refers to the custom of a married couple living in the same
household (or community) as the husband’s family.
•Matrilocal residence is the custom of a married couple living in the same household
(or community) as the wife’s parents.
•Neolocal residence is the custom of a married couple living in their own residence
apart from both the husband’s and the wife’s parents.
Global View of the Family
Figure 12.1: Types of Family Households in the United States, 1980, 1997, and 2010
Studying the Family
Functionalist View
The family serves six functions for society:
1.Reproduction
2.Protection
3.Socialization
4.Regulation of sexual behavior
5.Affection
6.Providing of social status
Studying the Family
Conflict View
•The conflict view believes that family reflects the
inequality in wealth and power found within society.
•The conflict view recognizes that historically,
husbands exercised power and authority within the
family.
•The conflict view sees the family as an economic
unit contributing to social injustice.
Studying the Family
Symbolic-Interactionist View
•The interactionist view focuses on the microlevel of
family and other intimate relationships.
•The interactionist view is interested in how
individuals interact with others, whether they are
cohabiting partners or long-term married couples.
Studying the Family
Feminist View
•Feminist theorists have urged social scientists and social
agencies to rethink the notion that families in which no adult
male is present are automatically a cause for concern.
•Feminists stress the need to broaden family research to
include not only gender, race, and social class, but human
sexuality and the aging process.
Marriage and Family
Courtship and Mate Selection
•Aspects of Mate Selection
--Endogamy: Endogamy specifies the groups
within which a spouse must be found and
prohibits marriage with members of other
groups.
--Exogamy: Exogamy requires mate selection
outside certain groups, usually one’s own family
or certain kin.
Marriage and Family
Figure 12.2: Percentage of People Aged 20 to 24 Ever Married, Selected Countries
Marriage and Family
12.8
10.4
10.4
5 or more people
15.7
15.5
14.6
4 people
17.5
17.3
16.4
3 people
31.4
32.3
33.1
2 people
17.1
22.7
24.6
25.5
1 person
1970
1980
1990
2000
20.9
15.8
17.3
28.9
Households by Size: 1970 to 2000
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. The Population Profile of the United States: 2000. Figure 5-2. (Internet Release)
accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/profile2000.html#cont.
Marriage and Family
Variations in Family Life and Intimate
Relationships
•Racial and Ethnic Differences
--The subordinate status of racial and ethnic
groups profoundly affects their family life.
--Family patterns differ among racial and ethnic
groups.
--Family ties can serve as an economic boost
within racial and ethnic groups.
Marriage and Family
Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
•Parenthood and Grandparenthood
--One of the most important roles of parents is
socialization of children.
--Recently, the United States has witnessed the
extension of parenthood, as adult children
continue to (or return to) live at home. This
phenomenon is referred to as the “boomerang
generation” or “full-nest syndrome.”
Marriage and Family
Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
•Adoption
--Adoption is a process that “allows for the
transfer of the legal rights, responsibilities, and
privileges of parenthood” to a new legal parent
or parents.
--The largest single category of adoption in the
United States is adoption by relatives. In most
cases, a stepparent adopts the children of a
spouse.
Marriage and Family
Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
•Dual-Income Families
--Among married people between the ages of
25 and 34, 96 percent of the men and 72
percent of the women are in the labor force.
Marriage and Family
Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
•Single-Parent Families
--A single-parent family is one in which there is
only one parent present to care for the children.
In 1998, a single parent headed about:
19% of White families with children under 18
34% of Hispanic families with children
54% of African American families with children
Marriage and Family
Figure 12.3: Rise of One-Parent Families among Whites, African Americans, Hispanics,
and Asians or Pacific Islanders in the United States
Marriage and Family
Live births per 1,000 females
180
Percent of all births
40
Births to unmarried
females (right scale)
Birth rate for married
females 15-44
(left scale)
160
140
35
30
120
25
100
20
80
Birth rate for unmarried
females 15-44
(left scale)
60
40
15
10
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
0
1950
0
1945
5
1940
20
Birth Rates for Married and Unmarried Females
Source: Office of the President. 2000. Economic Report of the President: Transmitted to the Congress, February 2000.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Chart 5-3 on p. 171.
Marriage and Family
Percent of Live Births,
Born to Unmarried Women
1980
1998
United States
18
33
Canada
13
28
Denmark
33
45
France
11
40
Germany
8
14
Italy
4
9
Japan
1
1
Netherlands
4
21
Sweden
40
54
United Kingdom
12
38
Births to Unmarried Women, by Country: 1980 to 1998
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. Statistical Abstract of the United States 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office. Table 1331 on p. 836. Also accessible at http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/01statab/stat-ab01.html.
Marriage and Family
Child-Rearing Patterns in Family Life
•Stepfamilies
--The rising rates of divorce and remarriage have
led to a significant increase in stepfamily
relationships.
--Stepfamilies are an exceedingly complex form
of family organization.
--The exact nature of these blended families has
social significance for children and adults alike,
and re-socialization is often required for children
and adults alike.
Marriage and Family
Neither parent present
6
5
Only father present
Percent of children under 18
who live with a grandparent
Only mother present
Both parents present
4
3
2
1
0
1970
1980
1990
1998
Grandchildren in Grandparent’s Homes by Presence of Parents
Source: Office of the President, 2000. Economic Report of the President: Transmitted to the
Congress, February 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Chart 5-5 on p. 174.
Marriage and Family
2,000
Female victims
1,600
1,200
800
Male victims
400
0
1976
1982
1988
1994
1998
Number of Victims Murdered by an Intimate Partner
Source: Callie Marie Rennison for the Bureau of Justice Statitics. 2001. Intimate Partner Violence.
NCJ 178247, p. 1. Accessible at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipv.pdf.
Marriage and Family
Intimate partner violence
per 1,000 females or males in each age category
25
20
15
10
Female
5
Male
0
12-15
16-19
20-24
25-34
35-49
50-64
65 or older
Rate of Intimate Partner Violence by Age, 1993--1998
Source: Callie Marie Rennison for the Bureau of Justice Statitics. 2001. Figure 6 in Intimate Partner
Violence. NCJ 178247. Accessible at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipv.pdf.
Divorce
Statistical Trends in Divorce
•Approximately one-third of all people in the United
States will marry, divorce, and then remarry.
•Divorce rates increased in the late 1960s but then
started to level off and even decline since the late
1980s.
Divorce
Factors Associated with Divorce
•Divorce rates have increased largely because of the
greater social acceptance of divorce.
•Other factors include:
more liberal divorce laws
families have fewer children
greater family income
more opportunities for women
Divorce
Impact of Divorce on Children
•It would be simplistic to assume that children are
automatically better off following the breakup of
their parents.
•Recent research suggests that the impact of
divorce can extend beyond childhood, affecting a
grown person’s ability to establish a lasting marital
relationship.
Divorce
Figure 12.4: Trends in Marriage and Divorce in the United States, 1920-2001
Divorce Lifestyles
Cohabitation
•Male-female couples who choose to live together
without marrying engage in cohabitation.
•People who cohabitate include:
college students
working couples
the elderly
Divorce Lifestyles
Remaining Single
•More people are postponing entry into first
marriages.
•The trend toward maintaining a single lifestyle for a
longer period of time is related to the growing
economic independence of young people,
especially women.
•Remaining single represents a clear departure
from societal expectations.
Divorce Lifestyles
Lesbian and Gay Relationships
•Lifestyles of lesbians and gay men vary greatly.
They:
live in long term monogamous relationships
live in relationships and have adopted children.
live with children from former heterosexual
marriages
•Many lesbians and gay men do not publicly
acknowledge their homosexuality.
Divorce Lifestyles
Marriage Without Children
•An increasing number of couples today choose not
to have children.
•They consider themselves to be child-free, not
childless.
•Many practices in the workplace like childcare and
scheduling are being questioned by child-free
couples.
Social Policy and The Family
Reproductive Technology
The
Issue
--Today we are witnessing aspects of
reproductive technology that were regarded as
so much science fiction just a generation ago.
--To what extent should policy encourage or
discourage innovative reproductive technology?
Social Policy and The Family
Reproductive Technology
The
Setting
--While using technology to enhance the ability
to reproduce is a recent phenomenon, the first
successful artificial insemination actually took
place in 1884.
--The ability to preserve sperm, beginning in the
1970s, made the process much simpler.
Social Policy and The Family
Reproductive Technology
Sociological Insights
--Advances in reproductive technology allow
childless couples to fulfill their personal, and
societal, goals.
--Conflict perspective analysts would note that
available technologies are often accessible only
to the most affluent.
--Conflict theorists further note the irony that
while lower-class women have broad access to
contraceptive coverage, they have limited
access to infertility treatments.
Continued…
Social Policy and The Family
Reproductive Technology
Sociological
Insights
--Feminist theorists are concerned that in
societies where men enjoy a higher status, use
of this technology will effectively reduce the
presence of women.
--Interactionists observe that the quest for
information and social support connected with
reproductive technology has created new social
networks.
Social Policy and The Family
Reproductive Technology
Policy
Initiatives
--The legal and ethical issues connected with
reproductive technology are immense.
--Industrial societies are hard-pressed to deal
with present advances in reproductive
technology, much less future ones.