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Introduction to Sociology SOC-101 Unit 8 – Marriage & Family Marriage and Family Global Perspective The term family is difficult to define since there are many types of families Types of marriages Family Polygyny - Societies where men have more than one wife Polyandry – Societies where women have more than one husband A group of two or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage (or adoption) Live together (or has lived together) Household Consists of all people who occupy the same housing unit Marriage and Family Global Perspective Family Types of families Nuclear family - Husband, wife, and children Extended family - A nuclear family plus other relatives Family of orientation - The family in which a person grows up Family of procreation - The family formed when a couple’s first child is born Marriage A group’s approved mating arrangement Usually marked by a ritual Marriage and Family Global Perspective Common themes run through the concepts of marriage and family Each group establishes norms to govern who can and cannot marry Endogamy is the practice of marrying within one’s own group Exogamy is the practice of marrying outside one’s own group The incest taboo is the best example of a norm of exogamy Some norms of mate selection are written into law, others are informal Marriage and Family Global Perspective Three major patterns of descent (tracing kinship over generations) are: Bilineal - Descent traced on both the mother’s and the father’s side) Patrilineal - Descent traced only on the father’s side Matrilineal - Descent traced only on the mother’s side Mate selection and a system of descent are regulated in all societies in order to provide an orderly way of passing property, kinship, etc., to the next generation In a bilateral system, property passes to males and females In a patrilineal system, property passes only to males In a matrilineal system, property passes only to females Marriage and Family Global Perspective Authority Patriarchy Matriarchy A social system in which men dominate women Found in all societies A social system in which women dominate men No historical records exist of a true matriarchy Egalitarian A social system authority is more or less equally divided between men and women Polygamous Family Theoretical Perspectives Functionalists Stress that to survive, a society must meet certain basic needs They examine how the family, in turn, contributes to the wellbeing of society The family is universal It serves functions essential to the wellbeing of society Includes economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, sexual control, and reproduction Incest taboo Rules specifying which people are too closely related to have sex or marry Helps the family avoid role confusion and forces people to look outside the family for marriage partners, creating an extended network of support Theoretical Perspectives Conflict Theorists The issue is the struggle over power Argue that within the family, the conflict over housework is really about control over scarce resources—time, energy, and the leisure to pursue interesting activities There are many dual earner families today but women still pull the “second shift” leaving many women dissatisfied with their marriage The balance between power in marriages has led to the rising divorce rate Theoretical Perspectives Symbolic Interactionists Look at the meanings people give to their experiences For example, they are interested in how husbands view housework Research indicates that men are doing more housework and childcare than they used to Both genders are spending more time taking care of children and women are spending less time doing housework Jesse Bernard Husbands and wives “see” their marriages in different lights which causes a lot of dissatisfaction Looks at the meaning of housework Looks at how the definition of family, marriage, and divorce has changed over the past 50 years Family Life Cycle The Family Life Cycle Romantic love provides the ideological context in which people in the United States seek mates and form families Romantic love has two components: Emotional - A feeling of sexual attraction Cognitive - A feeling we describe as being “in love” The social channels of love and marriage in the United States include age, education, social class, race, and religion. Homogamy - The tendency of people with similar characteristics to marry one another, usually resulting from propinquity (spatial nearness) People living near one another (in close proximity) tend to marry The Family Life Cycle Interracial marriage is an exception to these social patterns In the U.S. about 7% of the population marries someone from a different race At the same time, interracial marriages are becoming more acceptable The number of children that Americans consider ideal has changed over the years Religion and age are factors in the size of the family Protestants and Roman Catholics who attend services more often favor large families Younger Americans (ages 18-34) also prefer larger families than older Americans The Family Life Cycle Traditionally, child rearing automatically fell on the mother As more mothers become employed outside the home, this has changed Overall, childcare arrangements appear to be quite similar for married couples and single mothers The main difference is the role played by the child’s father while the mother is at work For married couples, almost one in five children is cared for by the father For single mothers this arrangement occurs for only one of ten children Grandparents often help to fill the child care gap left by absent fathers The Family Life Cycle One in four children is in day care Only a minority of U.S. day care centers offer high-quality care, primarily due to the abysmal salaries paid to day care workers Social class is also important in child rearing According to Melvin Kohn, parents socialize children into the norms of their respective work worlds Working-class parents want their children to behave in conformity with social expectations Middle-class parents are more concerned that their children develop curiosity, self-expression, and self-control Who takes care of preschoolers while the mother is at work? The Family Life Cycle The later stages of the family life cycle Aside from the death of a spouse, the “empty nest” syndrome is not so empty anymore Grown children, or “adultolescents,” those aged 25-29, represent 42% of those who have moved back home Problems include disruption of routines, and disagreements about turf, responsibility and authority More U.S. children are leaving home later, or returning after initially leaving home; this is due to prolonged education and the growing cost of establishing households Women are more likely than men to face the problem of adjusting to widowhood Not only does the average woman live longer than a man, but she has also usually married a man older than herself Blended Family Diversity in U.S. Families African Americans Families Differs depending on social class The upper class is concerned with maintaining family lineage and preserving their privilege and wealth The middle-class focuses on achievement and respectability Poor African-American families face the problems that poverty brings—sharing scarce resources and “stretching kinship” are primary survival mechanisms for poor families Sociologists use the term fictive kin to refer to the nonrelated individuals who help the family out in hard times A marriage squeeze (fewer unmarried males than unmarried females) exists among African Americans African American women are more likely to remain single, to marry men with less education, or who are unemployed or divorced Diversity in U.S. Families Latino Families Differ due to both social class and country of origin Latino families can be distinguished by the Spanish language, Roman Catholic religion, and strong family ties, with a disapproval of divorce There is also a diversity of Latino families with regard to some being Protestant, not speaking Spanish, some emphasizing loyalty to the extended family Still, social class is the most important variable in determining family life Diversity in U.S. Families Asian-American Families The family life of recent immigrants is closer to that in their country of origin Bob Suzuki identified distinctive characteristics Many families have adopted the nuclear family pattern of the United States At the same time, they have retained Confucian values This provides a distinct framework to family life: humanism, collectivity, self-discipline, hierarchy, respect for the elderly, moderation, and obligation Children confront a world of incompatible expectations: those of the new culture and those of their parents Diversity in U.S. Families Native American Families Most significant issue facing Native-American families is whether to follow traditional values or to assimilate “Traditionals” speak native languages and emphasize distinctive Native American values and beliefs One Parent Families Increase in one-parent families due to both the high divorce rate and the sharp increase in unwed motherhood Most of these families are poor because they are headed by women who earn less than men Children from one-parent families are more likely to drop out of school, become delinquent, be poor as adults, divorce, and have children outside of marriage Diversity in U.S. Families Families that are voluntarily childless There are a growing number of this type of family The percentage varies with the education of the woman The more education she has, the more likely she expects not to bear children. Latinos are much less likely to remain childless than whites and African Americans Reasons for not having a child A weak relationship, financial constraints, or demanding careers are among the reasons identified More education, careers for women, effective contraception, abortion, the costs of rearing children, and changing attitudes toward children and life goals Diversity in U.S. Families Blended Families A blended family is one whose members were once part of other families (i.e., two divorced persons marry and bring their children into a new family unit) Increasing in number and often experience complicated family relationships Homosexual Families Gay families have the same problems of heterosexual marriages: housework, money, careers, problems with relatives, and sexual adjustment Heads of Households with Children Under 18 Trends in U.S. Families The average age of U.S. brides is the oldest it has been since records were first kept The percentage of unmarried women is now more than double what it was in 1970 Many young people postpone marriage, but not cohabitation If cohabitation were counted as marriage, rates of family formation and age at first marriage would show little change Cohabitation 11 times more common today than it was 30 years ago Commitment is the essential difference between cohabitation and marriage Marriage assumes permanence Cohabiting assumes remaining together “as long as it works out.” Trends in U.S. Families Unmarried mothers Grandparents as Parents This refers to mothers in cohabitative relationships and has risen along with cohabitation More grandparents are fulfilling the parental role as more parents are working Sandwich Generation Families who are taking care of their children and their parents at the same time Often this responsibility is taken on by the daughter Divorce Rates in the U.S. Divorce and Remarriage The United States has the highest divorce rate in the industrialized world Estimates suggest that half or more of all couples getting married today eventually divorce Divorce rates rose between 1950 and 1980 and since then the numbers have leveled off Divorce has increased because of: changing norms, less stigma, and governmental policies The effects of divorce on children are varied Divorce and Remarriage Each year over one million children in families are affected by divorce Research has found that the grown children of divorce feel more distant from their parents than children from intact families They are less likely to marry and more likely to divorce Research shows that children’s adjustment to divorce is affected by the relationship(s) their mothers form after divorce Those whose mothers entered into a single, stable relationship had the best adjustment Divorce and Remarriage Several factors help children adjust to divorce When both parents express understanding and affection The parent with whom the child lives is making a good adjustment Family routines are consistent The family has adequate money for its needs. Children adjust better when a second adult can be counted on for support Divorce and Remarriage Serial Fatherhood Divorced fathers tend to live with, support, and play an active fathering role with children of the woman to whom they are currently married or living Over time, contact with their children from a previous marriage diminishes Current research suggests that divorced women may feel divorce gives them a new chance at life We don’t yet know the financial impact of divorce as more research is needed Divorce and Remarriage Most divorced persons eventually remarry Most divorced people remarry other divorced people Women with small children, and women with less than a high school education, are more likely to remarry Men are more likely than women to remarry Perhaps due to the fact that they have a larger pool of potential mates from which to select The divorce rate for remarried people without children is the same as that of first marriages Those who bring children into their new marriage, however, are more likely to divorce again This suggests that remarriages with children are more difficult because there are not yet norms governing these relationships What reduces the risk of divorce? Two Sides of Family Life The dark side of family life deals with events such as battering, child abuse, and incest Wives are about as likely to attack their husbands as husbands are to attack their wives Child abuse is extensive Generally the husband lands the last and most damaging blow Some men who batter think they are superior and have a right to force their will on their wives Each year, two million U.S. children are reported as victims of abuse or neglect Incest is sexual relations between relatives, such as brothers and sisters or parents and children It occurs most frequently in families that are socially isolated The most common offenders are uncles, followed by first cousins, fathers/stepfathers, brothers, and finally, other male relatives Two Sides of Family Life There are a number of factors that make marriages work Variables that produce happy marriages include: Spending time together Appreciating one another Having a commitment to the marriage Using good communication Confronting and working through problems together Putting more into the marriage than you take out The Future of Marriage and Family Despite its problems, marriage is not likely to disappear as a social institution because it is functional; we see it as vital to our welfare. Certain trends appear firmly in place. It is not clear what the long-term trend in divorce will be It is likely that cohabitation will increase, as will the age at first marriage and the number of women joining the work force, with a resulting shift in marital power toward a more egalitarian norm The recent decline may be a prelude to a longer-term decline, or it could be a lull before the rate rises again Sociology can play a role in correcting some of the distortions associated with marriage and family life, as well as help formulate social policy that will enhance family life
