Chapter 12, Family

1
Chapter 12, Family

• Marriage and Family Basic Institutions of
  Society
• The U.S. Family Over the Life Course
• Roles and Relationships in Marriage
• Contemporary Family Choices
• Problems in the American Family

2
 Functions of the Family

1. Replacement through reproduction.
2. Regulation of sexual behavior.
3. Economic responsibility for children, the
   disabled, the elderly, and the ill.

3
 Functions of the Family

1. Socialization of the young.
2. Status ascription.
3. The provision of intimacy, a sense of belonging,
   and emotional support.

4
The Life Course

• Childhood - norms call for children to be
  sheltered but about 1 in 5 children are raised
  in poverty and suffer abuse.
• Adolescence - a time of role strain and inner
  uncertainty.
• Transition to adulthood - marked by right of
  passage.

5
The Life Course

• Marriage and divorce - 95 of Americans marry
  by age 45.
• Middle age - between the ages of 45 and 65.
• Age 65 and beyond.

6
 The Sexual Side of Courtship

• In the 1950s, people had sex when they intended
  to marry.
• Today, young people are more likely to engage in
  sexual activity and girls have become more
  sexually experienced.

7
 Intergenerational Bonds

1. Youth and parents contend with the generation
   gap.
2. Adults and their parents tend to remain bonded.
3. Grandparents and grandchildren often form
   important and persistent bonds.

8
Roles and Relationships in Marriage

• Gender rolesAmerican norms continue to make the
  husband the primary breadwinner.
• Sexual rolesWomen are as likely to engage in
  affairs as men.

9
Mothering Versus Fathering

• A fathers attachment to the workforce grows
  stronger in marriage while that of women is
  lessened.
• The burden of childcare remains mainly womens
  work even though fathers are more inclined to
  help if not to take responsibility.

10
Step Parenting

• An inevitable effect of high divorce and
  re-marriage rates.
• Between 25 and 30 of children will live with a
  stepparent before age 18.
• Often, the good intentions of a stepparent are
  rejected by both the children and the spouse.

11
 Marital Happiness

• Reaches a peak during the honeymoon period.
• Declines during the active middle years.
• Increases again for older married couples.

12
 Cohabitation

• About 55 of couples have lived together before
  marriage.
• Evidence suggests that cohabitation does not
  enhance the chances of marital happiness.

13
Having Children

• 1/3 of births are to unmarried women.
• Surgical and chemical interventions can help some
  couples overcome problems of infertility.
• Women may remain childless into their thirties
  or forties.

14
Violence in the Family

• 22 of women and 7 of men have been assaulted by
  a spouse or cohabitant of the opposite sex.
• Occurs in homes of all classes and races.

15
 Factors Predictive of Divorce

1. Marrying young.
2. Having parents who got divorced.
3. Bearing a child before marriage.

16
 Factors Predictive of Divorce

1. Low level of education.
2. Race.
3. Abusive, violent, or addictive behavior by one or
   both spouses.