chapter 6

1
Sociology of Families David M. Newman

• Chapter 6 Unequal Families

2
Social Stratification

• Stratification
• Social strata
• All societies have some form of stratification

3
Class Inequality

• Social class
• Social mobility
• Upper-class families
• Middle-class families
• Working-class families
• Poor families

4
Increasing Gap in Family Income
5
Social Class in Everyday Life

• Can help to determine life chances
• Educational attainment
• College admissions
• Health
• Access to physicians
• Cause of death
• Everyday comforts (or lack thereof)

6
Average SAT Scores by Family Income Level
7
Social Class and Family

• Upper-Class Families
• Traditional roles for women
• Compatible marriages
• The New Rich
• Cultural capital
• Children often have little appreciation though
  internalized pressure to maintain lifestyle

8
Social Class and Family

• Middle-Class Families
• Working-Class Families
• Downwardly Mobile Families

9
Middle-Class Families

• Largest but hardest to define
• Upper-middle class
• Lower-middle class
• Often equated with mainstream U.S.A.

10
Working-Class Families

• Dependence on hourly wages
• Require parents assistance well after becoming
  adults
• Psychological tool of sacrifice

11
Downwardly Mobile Families

• Fallen out of the middle-class
• Living close to the financial edge
• Women and children hit particularly hard by
  downward mobility

12
Poverty and Family Life

• 7.6 million U.S. families poor
• Pay higher prices
• Health decisions
• Domino effect

13
The Working Poor

• Poverty line
• Feminization of poverty
• Juvenilization of poverty

14
The Feminization and Juvenilization of Poverty

• Greater likelihood women will live in poverty
• High rates of single parenthood tend to be
  associated with increased risks for child poverty

15
Child Poverty Rates Among Different Races
16
Poverty and Government Policy

• Social Welfare system began in 1935
• Divided into two segments
• Benefits workers earn
• Primarily aids the poor
• No evidence welfare causes some social problems

17
Poverty and Government Policy

• Family Life on Welfare
• Stigma
• Insufficient funds
• stereotypes

18
Poverty and Government Policy

• The Ideals and Realities of Welfare Reform
• Welfare rolls have decreased but does that
  equate to improving families?
• Viable employment opportunities
• Lack of benefits

19
Women and Welfare

• Two types of recipients
• Older and better educated
• Long-term beneficiaries
• Disabled and battered women at high risk of
  failing in new system

20
Poverty and Housing

• Nowhere in the United States does a full-time,
  minimum-wage job provide enough income to afford
  adequate housing.
• No one knows the exact number of homeless
  families in the U.S.