Chapter 11
Family
Marriage and Family
Around the World
Universal Aspects
 Replacing population through reproduction
 Regulating sexual behavior
 Caring for dependents – children, elderly,
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disabled
Socializing the young
Providing intimacy, belongingness, emotional
support
Marriage and Family
Around the World
Universal Aspects
Family:
A group of persons linked together by
blood, adoption, marriage, or quasimarital commitment.
Marriage:
The formal socially or legally recognized
union of two people.
Marriage and Family
Around the World
Cross-Cultural Variations
 Family Patterns:
◦ Extended – a family in which a couple
and their children live with other relatives.
◦ Nuclear – a family in which parents and
children form an independent household.
◦ Blended – a family that includes children
born to one parent as well as children born to
both parents.
◦ Cross-household – children shift back and
forth between more than one household.
Marriage and Family
Around the World
U.S. Children’s Living Arrangements
Although the majority of
U.S. children still live with
two married parents
(biological or adoptive),
many live in other
circumstances.
Children born outside of
marriage are more
vulnerable. Fewer people
are expected to care for
the child.
Marriage and Family
Around the World
Cross-Cultural Variations
 Marriage Patterns:
◦ Monogamy – a marriage in which there is
only one wife and one husband.
◦ Polygamy – any form of marriage in which
a person may have more than one spouse at
a time.
Family Diversity – Polygamy
Some modern American families, like these
fundamentalist Mormons, live a polygamous life
despite legal and social opposition from most of
their fellow citizens and from most other Mormons.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Childhood
 U.S. norms call for childhood to be a sheltered
time, but about 1 in 5 children are raised in
poverty and many are abused.
 28% U.S. children are born to single mothers.
 About 66% of mothers of pre-school children
work and children spend time in day-care.
 Studies show that the preparatory benefits of
day-care outweigh the disadvantages, but the
quality of the program makes a difference.
Sociology and you…
The type of family you grew up in likely affected both
your experiences and your future opportunities.
If you grew up in a nuclear family, you likely needed
to share family resources (time, money, food) with
only a few people.
If you grew up in an extended family, you had to
share resources with more people, but may have
benefited from having older members care for you.
If you grew up in a blended family, or were raised by
a single parent or grandparents, it’s more likely that
resources were spread thin and you will need to work
harder to support yourself in college.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Adolescence
Contemporary society has ambiguous,
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often contradictory expectations.
Adolescents are under constant
pressure about the future.
This is a difficult transition time filled
with mixed messages.
Examples: Be interested in opposite sex – but
remain a virgin. Have fun now while you can –
but worry about and plan for your future.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Transition to Adulthood
 Rites of Passage – Some societies have
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formal rituals that signal the end of one
status and the beginning of another.
In the U.S., transition to adulthood usually
means getting a job, living away from
parents, becoming financially independent.
Transition period has slowed because of:
◦ Economic crisis – unemployment and high cost of
living. Many live with or get money from parents.
◦ Changing attitudes – extend schooling; delay marriage
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Early Adulthood
A key issue is deciding if and whom to marry.
Seeking Sexual and Romantic Relationships:
◦ Expectation of early marriage has decreased
◦ By their late 20s, 40% women and 30% men
have never married.
◦ Ambivalent about marriage, but most looking for
at least a temporary partner.
◦ Propinquity (spatial nearness) is a big factor –
frequent interaction, sign of social similarities

The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Early Adulthood
 Sorting through the marriage market
◦ Homogamy – choosing a mate similar in
status to oneself.
◦ Heterogamy – choosing a mate who is
different in status from oneself.
◦ Endogamy – choosing a mate from within
one’s own racial, ethnic, or religious group.
◦ Exogamy – choosing a mate from outside
one’s racial, ethnic, or religious group.
Sociology and you…
Your college education is likely to affect whom
you marry. Many people find a spouse in college
classrooms or activities.
If you attend a college linked to your religion,
race, or ethnic group, you are more likely to
marry within your group (endogamy).
If college puts you into contact with many others
whose cultural backgrounds are different from
your own, you will be more likely to marry
someone from a different background
(exogamy).
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Early Adulthood
 Responding to Narrow Marriage Markets
◦ African American women are much less likely to
marry than white women.
◦ African American men (stereotyped as
hypermasculine) are more likely than women to
find exogamous spouses.
◦ Asian women (stereotyped as hyperfeminine) are
more likely than men to marry exogamously.
◦ Among all groups, a shortage of males employed in
good jobs with adequate earnings sharply reduces
the likelihood that a woman will marry or even live
with a man outside of marriage.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Middle Age
 Between 45-60 is a quieter time – expectation of
empty nest (children leave home)
 Many families do not experience empty nests:
◦ Economic crisis – many adult children live in
their parents’ home and many middle-aged
parents have moved in with their adult children.
◦ Extended families are increasing with cultural
preferences of immigrant families and the
effects of an aging population – care for aging
parents.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
Age 65 and beyond
 Men have shorter life spans and tend to marry
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younger women – marriage is not equally
available to aging women.
78% of men aged 65-74 are still married; 57%
of women of the same age are still married.
Grandparent role is important to satisfaction;
also in provision of childcare and financial help.
Elderly prefer to live alone; 50% of “old old” will
develop memory and thinking problems and rely
heavily on family or care workers.
The U.S. Family over the Life Course
As people move into the “oldest old” group, most come to rely
heavily on their daughters for assistance. This can create
considerable strain when the daughters find themselves
simultaneously responsible for their parents and their children.
Roles and Relationships in Marriage
Gender roles in marriage
 Men are considered primary providers for their
families, but in 25% of dual-earner families, the
wives outearn the husband.
 Women do about 66% of housework; chances
of happiness for both husband and wife
greatest when housework is evenly split.
 Paid domestic labor reinforces gender, race
and social class divisions. Most employers are
white middle-class women; most labor is
minority working-class women.
Roles and Relationships in Marriage
Gender roles in marriage
The right for husbands to beat or rape wives was
built into U.S. law and only was challenged in the
1960s.
About 1 in 10 women have been raped by an
intimate partner.
1 in 3 women have been assaulted (1 out of 4
has been assaulted severely).
Violence against men occurs but less often and
less severely.
Violence is more common in male homosexual
relationships, but rarer among lesbians.
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Roles and Relationships in Marriage
Although violence
among married couples
has declined, it remains
distressingly common.
Men are more likely than
women to beat their
spouses because men
are more likely to believe
that it is their right to
control their spouses.
Relationship violence is
not restricted to any
class or race.
Roles and Relationships in Marriage
The Parental Role
 Children are expensive and time-consuming.
 Having children reduces marital happiness.
 Most people desire and have children to
guarantee love and affection for years to come.
 Parenting roles remain disparate: women still
hold more responsibilities to childcare than men.
 But there are changes:
◦ More fathers raising children on their own
◦ Growing numbers of “stay-at-home dads”
 Stepparent estimates: about 1/3 of all children
will live with a stepparent before age 18
Fathers
80% of mothers work.
Fathers now take more
responsibility for child
care and household
tasks than they did in
previous generations.
Mothers still bear far
more of household and
childcare burdens,
leaving many mothers
overworked and feeling
underappreciated.
Contemporary Family Choices
Marriage or Cohabitation
 Cohabitation means living with a romantic or
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sexual partner before marriage.
More than half of all Americans are expected to
cohabit at some point in their lives.
Whether couples cohabit before marrying has
no effect on their marital satisfaction or stability.
Deinstitutionalization of marriage – the
gradual disintegration of social norms that
defined marriage as essential.
The fight for (and against) gay rights to marry
suggests that marriage is still very important.
Contemporary Family Choices
Having Children…or Not
Non-marital Births
Half of all U.S. births are non-marital. Most of
these are to women 20 years of age and older.
Many women are electing to be single parents.
Many women having non-marital births cohabit
with the fathers.
Teen childbearing has declined considerably
since 1991.
Teen mothers are more likely to be poor. Infant
health problems and death are more likely with
teen mothers.
Percentage of Births to Girls and Women Under Age 21
Births to teenage mothers are least common in wealthier states as well as
in Utah, which has an unusually high Mormon population. They are most
common across the southern tier of the country, an area with many poor
African Americans and poor Hispanic immigrants.
Contemporary Family Choices
Having Children…or Not
Delayed Childbearing
Many women are electing to delay having
children 5-10 years after marriage.
~25% women ages 30-34 are childless.
Choosing Childlessness
While many women will eventually want
children, increasing numbers have decided that
they are uninterested in having children.

Contemporary Family Choices
Birth control and
abortion have
reduced the number
of unwanted babies,
and fewer single
mothers give up their
babies.
The availability of
healthy white or
Asian babies for
adoption is low.
Overseas adoptions raise serious issues about the
commodification of children – where children are treated
as goods available for purchase or theft.
Contemporary Family Choices
Blending Work and Family
 Couples spend less time together today.
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Reasons for this are:
◦ 69% of married women aged 25 to 34 work.
◦ Workweeks and workdays are getting longer.
◦ Many working class work more than one job.
Despite the time crunch, mothers spend as
much time with children as they did 40 years
ago; fathers spend more.
Mothers cut back on housework and have fewer
children; those who can afford it hire help.
Contemporary Family Choices
Divorce
 Estimates indicate that 40-50% of first

marriages today will end in divorce.
Predictors of divorce within the first 10 years
of marriage:
1. Age at marriage
4. Education
2. Parental divorce
3. Premarital childbearing
5. Race
6. Religion
 Societal factors include: cultural changes to
expectations in marriage; divorce is socially
accepted; economic crises; women have
options.
Where This Leaves Us…
 Families meet economic needs and support for
children and social support for adults.
 Families provide socialization to social norms.
 Despite domestic abuse, divorce, childlessness
and non-marital births, there are signs of health
in the family:
◦ durability of mother-child bond
◦ frequency of remarriage
◦ economic support of stepfathers
◦ elderly relying on their children
Quick Quiz
1. In most cultures, which institution
has been assigned the functions of
providing economic support,
providing intimacy, and socializing
the young?
A.
B.
C.
D.
government
religion
education
family
Answer: D
In most cultures, the family has been
assigned the functions of economic
support, providing intimacy, and
socializing the young.
2. Susan was attracted to Tim because
they had so much in common in the
way of religion, social class, age, and
interests. What factor was in
operation with Susan and Tim?
A.
B.
C.
D.
propinquity
homogamy
opposites attract
physical attractiveness
Answer: B
Susan was attracted to Tim because
they had so much in common in the
way of religion, social class, age, and
interests. Homogamy was in
operation with Susan and Tim.
3. A form of marriage in which there is
only one husband and two or more
wives is called:
A.
B.
C.
D.
serial monogamy.
monogamy.
blended.
polygamy.
Answer: D
A form of marriage in which there is only
one husband and two or more wives is
called polygamy.
4. According to your book, marital
happiness is negatively affected by:
A. the presence of children.
B. the absence of children.
C. having a husband that takes an active role
in childrearing.
D. nothing specific.
Answer: A
According to your book, marital happiness
is negatively affected by the presence of
children.