Marriage and Changing Family Arrangements

1

• Marriage and Changing Family Arrangements
• Chapter 12

2
Marriage and Divorce Quiz

• One of the reasons there is more divorce today
  than in the past is because people live longer
  and there is more time to get divorced.
• False. Even though people live longer, they also
  marry later than in the past.
• Living together before marriage increases your
  chance of divorce.
• True.

3
Marriage and Divorce Quiz

• An unmarried woman is more likely to experienced
  domestic violence than a married woman.
• True.
• Now that people are more likely to divorce, those
  that stay married are happier than when people
  stayed married because of the stigma against
  divorce.
• False. Studies show that the general level of
  marital satisfaction has not increased.

4
Marriage and Divorce Quiz

• Second marriages are more successful than first
  marriages because people learn from their
  mistakes.
• False. The divorce rate for second marriages is
  higher than for first marriages.
• If your parents divorced your chances of
  divorcing are increased.
• True.

5
Marriage and Divorce Quiz

• Women are more likely than men to be the ones who
  initiate a divorce.
• True.
• Teenage marriages are fairly successful if they
  can get through the first year.
• False. Marrying in your teens increase the
  likelihood of divorce two to three times over
  that of couples in their twenties and older.

6
The Nature of Family Life

• Lets start with an old definition
• Murdock (1949) Definition of Family
• A social group characterized by common
  residence, economic cooperation, and
  reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes,
  at least two of whom maintain a socially approved
  sexual relationship, and one or more children,
  own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting
  adults.
• Can you see any issues with this definition?
• A family Vs. a household
• Sex and gender issues
• Cohabitation
• Economic issues

7
Functions of a Family
8
Family Structures

• Nuclear family
• most basic form married couple with biological
  or adopted children

9
Family Structures

• Extended family includes other generations and
  relations / cooperative unit
• Polygamous family central individual married to
  several spouses
• Polyandrous when the central person is female and
  the multiple spouses are male
• Biological or adopted children

10
Defining Marriage

• Traditionally seen in the U.S. as the
• Socially recognized, legitimized, and supported
  union of individuals of opposite sex
• This definition however is changing and evolving
  on a global basis

11
Components and Rulesof Marriage

• Romantic love
• Idealization
• a one and only
• love at first sight
• love conquers all
• emotional indulgence

12
Components and Rulesof Marriage

• Marriage rules
• Endogamy
• Limits the social categories from which one can
  chose a marriage partner
• Exogamy
• Require an individual to marry outside his or her
  group
• Monogamy or polygamy

13
Mate Selection

• In the United States, this process is not based
  on statistical probabilities of random
  connection, but dominated by homogamy
• The tendency of like to marry like

14
Homogamy

• Primary Variables
• Age
• On average men are 2 years older than women
• Race
• About 10 of marriages are mixed
• Religion
• Still regulated, but changing in the U.S.
• Social Status
• Based on income and education

15
The Transformation ofthe Family

• Impact of industrialization
• Isolated nuclear family
• Weak ties to extensive kinship network
• Increased movement between classes

16
Traditional Family Decline

• Postponement of marriage
• Single-parent homes
• Divorced or never-married parent
• Decline in marriage rate
• Cohabitation increase
• Childless marriage
• Household size decline
• Impact of divorce

17
The Growing Single Population

• In 2000, 61.5 of American men and nearly 58 of
  American women over the age of 18 were married.
• In 1970, only 10.5 of the women and 19.1 of the
  men between the ages of 25 and 39 had never been
  married.
• In 2003, 40.3 of women and 54.6 of men that age
  had never been married.

18
Single-Parent Families

• In 1960, nearly 1/3 of all single mothers with
  children under 18 were widows.
• In the 1970s, most single mothers were divorced
  or separated.
• By 1980, only 11 of single mothers were widowed
  and two-thirds were divorced or separated.
• By 2000, 40 of single mothers had never been
  married.

19
of Children under Age 18 Living with a Single
Parent
20
Of Births to Unmarried Women
Iceland 64
Sweden 54
Norway 49
Denmark 45
France 40
United Kingdom 38
United States 33
Canada 28
German 14
Italy 9
Japan 1
21
Gay and Lesbian Couples

• 5 of gay and 22 of lesbian families include
  children.
• Many of these children were part of a
  mother-father family and continued to live with a
  parent who transitioned to same-sex
  relationships.
• 17 of gays and 29 of lesbians had previously
  been in a heterosexual marriage.

22
Social Process of Divorce

• Changing divorce laws
• Pre-1970
• Fault required for divorce
• Post-1970
• No-fault divorce dominates
• Child custody issues
• Pre-1970 preference for mother
• Move toward balance today
• Greater potential for joint custody
• Problems remain

23
Family Diversity

• Growing single population
• 27 of households consist of one person
• Single-parent family statistics
• National 41 of births to unmarried women
• African American 72.5
• Hispanic 53.3
• Gay and lesbian couples

24
The Future?

• Social universals continue
• Marriage
• Divorce
• Remarriage rate is high
• Family as institution remains valued
• Family arrangements evolving to changing
  lifestyles
• Continued evolution and flexibility a certainty