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The Family
and
Marriage
Family and Marriage Across Cultures
• In all societies, the family has been the most
important of all social institutions.
• It produces
• new generations
• socializes the young
• provides care and affection
• regulates sexual behavior
• transmits social status
• provides economic support.
Defining the Family
For sociologists, family is defined as a group of
people related by marriage, blood, or adoption.
While the concept of family may appear simple on
the surface, the family is a complex social unit that
is difficult to define.
Marriage is a legal union/contract sanction by the
state. In all states you have to get a license. This
legal contract is based on legal rights and
obligations.
The Family of Orientation
The family of orientation is the birth family.
It gives the child an ascribed status in the
community.
It orients children to their neighborhoods,
communities, and society and locates them in the
world.
The Family of Procreation
The family of procreation is established upon
marriage.
The marriage ceremony legally sanctions a couple
to have offspring and to give children a family
name.
It becomes the family of orientation for the children
created from the marriage.
There are Two Basic Types of Families
The nuclear family is composed of a parent or
parents and any children.
The extended family consists of two or more
adult generations of the same family whose
members share economic resources and live in
the same household.
Who inherits?
In a patrilineal arrangement,
descent and inheritance are passed
from the father to his male
descendants.
In a matrilineal arrangement,
descent and inheritance are
transmitted from the mother to her
female descendants.
In some societies, descent and
inheritance are bilateral–they are
passed equally through both parents.
Who is in authority?
In a patriarchy, the oldest man living in the
household has authority over the rest of the family
members.
In a matriarchy, the oldest woman living in the
household holds the authority.
With equalitarian control, authority is split evenly
between husband and wife.
Where do couples live?
The patrilocal pattern calls for living with or near
the husband’s parents. (blue)
Residing with or near the wife’s parents is
expected under a matrilocal pattern. (red)
In the neolocal pattern married couples establish
residences of their own.
What forms does marriage take?
Monogamy–the marriage of one man to one
woman–is the most widely practiced form of
marriage and the only legal form in many societies.
Some often-married people practice serial
monogamy–having several husbands or wives, but
being married to only one at a time.
Polygamy involves the marriage of a male or
female to more than one person at a time.
– Polygyny is the marriage of one man to two or
more women at the same time.
– Polyandry is the marriage of one woman to two
or more men at the same time.
Choosing A Mate
Exogamy is the practice of marrying someone
outside one’s group.
Endogamy requires an individual to marry within
one’s group.
The tendency of people to marry those with social
characteristics similar to their own is homogamy.
In heterogamy, partners are dissimilar in some
important characteristics, such as age, race, social
class, and ethnicity.
Indicate whether exogamy (Ex),
endogamy (En), or homogamy (H) is
reflected in each of the following
situations.
H a. Catholics are supposed to marry Catholics.
____
____
Ex b. A father is not permitted to marry his
daughter.
____
H c. Members of the same social class marry.
____
Ex d. A brother and sister are legally prohibited
from marrying.
____
En e. People tend to marry others of the same
age.
____
H f. Rich people marry other wealthy people.
Family and Marriage in the United
States
Although the United States is a diverse society, the
American family possesses many similiarities.
Families are nuclear.
Families are bilateral.
Families are democratic.
Families are neolocal.
Families are monogamous.
Romantic Love and Marriage
People marry for many reasons.
In the United States, the norm is for love to
precede the marriage vows.
One of the strongest motivations for marriage is
conformity–parents and peers expect/pressure
children to marry after a certain age.
Some marry for wealth, power, or career
advancement.
The marriage rate is the number of marriages per
year for every one thousand members of the
population.
Divorce
The divorce rate is the number of divorces per
year for every one thousand members of the
population. Four main factors affect divorce in
American society.
– The divorce rate rises during economic
prosperity and goes down when times are hard.
– The rise in the divorce rate after 1960 followed
the growing up of the baby-boom generation.
– The increasing financial independence of
women means they are more willing to end bad
marriages.
– American values and attitudes about marriage
and divorce are changing–society is much more
forgiving of divorce and remarriage.
What does the future for marriage look like?
There is a good chance that the recent decline in
the United States divorce rate may continue for
several reasons.
The average age at first marriage is increasing.
The average age of the population is increasing.
As baby boomers grow older–they are no longer in
the age bracket that produces the highest divorce
rate.
American couples are having few children and
spacing them farther apart, reducing one pressure
on marriages.
Family Violence
Americans have traditionally denied the existence
of widespread violence in the family setting, but
we are learning that domestic violence occurs at
all class levels and affects all family members.
National statistics indicate that 47 of every 1,000
children are reported as victims of child
maltreatment annually.
At least four million women are battered by their
husbands annually. Husbands are also victims of
abuse from their wives.
Verbal and psychological abuse are other forms of
domestic violence.
Choose the word from each pair that
best describes the typical American
family.
a. nuclear or extended
b. patrilineal or bilateral
c. authoritarian or democratic
d. neolocal or matrilocal
e. polygynous or monogamous
Changes in Marriage and Family
Many new patterns of marriage and family have
emerged in the United States including the following:
blended families,
single-parent families,
child-free families,
dual-employed marriages,
cohabitation,
same-sex domestic partners,
single individuals, and
families with boomerang children.
Blended Families
A blended family is formed when at least one of
the marriage partners has been married before
and has a child or children from the previous
marriage.
Blended families create a new type of extended
family, not strictly based on blood relationships.
Blended families face three major problems:
– money difficulties
– stepchildren’s antagonism, and
– unclear roles.
Single-Parent Families
One in four American families is headed by a
single parent.
Eighty-five percent of single-parent families are
headed by women.
Thirty percent of children under the age 18 in
America live in single-parent households.
Adolescents, children between the ages of 12
and 17, living in single-parent households have
higher rates of deviant behavior.
Other Types of Families
Childless marriages: In 1998 about 19 percent of
women who have ever been married did not have
children, offering a variety of reasons.
Dual-employed marriages: In families where
both parents are working outside the home there
are benefits and drawbacks to this arrangement.
Cohabitation: A marriage-like arrangement
without the legal obligations of formal marriage
has become an alternative to traditional
monogamy.
Other Types of Families
Same-sex domestic partners: The number of
same-sex domestic partners is increasing,
although exact figures are not available.
Single life: An increasing number of Americans
choose to remain single.
The term boomerang kids is being applied to
young adults who either leave home and return or
stay at home and live with parents.
What is the future of the American family?
While many Americans are experimenting with
alternative living arrangements, the nuclear family
remains the most popular choice.
The American family is changing.
The trend toward more working parents will
continue, producing increased strain on parents,
children, and society.
The family will survive, but what forms will it take
are unclear.
Chapter Summary
The family is the most important institution in all
societies.
Marriage forms the basis of the family of
procreation, while birth offers the family of
orientation.
There are different types of families and patterns
of family structure.
The marriage ceremony is an important societal
ritual.
Theorists believe that family offers socioemotional
structure, perpetuates male dominance, and helps
develop self control.
Continued on the next slide.
Chapter Summary
American families tend to be nuclear, bilateral,
democratic, neolocal, and monogamous.
Family violence exists in many forms in America.
American families are changing by assuming
different forms.