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SOCIOLOGYRichard T. Schaefer

The Family and Intimate

Relationships

14

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14. The Family and Intimate Relationships

• The Family: A Global View• Social Institutions: Family and Religion• Studying the Family • Marriage and Family • Divorce • Diverse Lifestyles • Social Policy and The Family

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The Family: A Global View• Composition: What Is the Family?

– Family: set of people related by blood, marriage, or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption who share primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society

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The Family: A Global View• Composition: What Is the Family?

– Nuclear Family: nucleus or core upon which larger family groups are built– Extended Family: family in which relatives live in same home as parents and their children

– Monogamy: form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other

Serial Monogamy: when a person has several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time

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The Family: A Global View• Composition: What Is the Family?

– Polygamy: when an individual has several husbands or wives simultaneously– Polygyny: marriage of a man to more than one woman at a time

– Polyandry: marriage of a woman to more than one husband at the same time

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The Family: A Global ViewFigure 14-1. U.S. Households by Family Type, 1940—2003

Source: Fields 2004; see also McFalls, Jr. 2003:23

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The Family: A Global View• Kinship Patterns: To Whom Are We

Related?– Kinship: state of being related to

others•Bilateral Descent: both sides of a

person’s family are regarded as equally important

•Patrilineal descent: only the father’s relatives are important

•Matrilineal descent: only the mother’s relatives are significant

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The Family: A Global View• Authority Patterns: Who Rules?

– Patriarchy: males are expected to dominate in all family decision making

– Matriarchy: women have greater authority than men

– Egalitarian family: family in which spouses are regarded as equals

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Social Institutions: Family and Religion

• Social Institution– Organized patterns of beliefs and

behavior centered on general basic needs

• Functionalist View– Family serves six functions for

society:1. Protection2. Socialization3. Reproduction4. Regulation of sexual behavior5. Affection and companionship6. Provision of social status

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Studying the Family• Conflict View

– Family reflects inequality in wealth and power found within society

– In wide range of societies, husbands exercised power and authority within the family

– View family as economic unit contributing to social injustice

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Studying the Family• Interactionist View

– Focuses on micro level of family and other intimate relationships

– Interested in how individuals interact with each other whether they are cohabiting partners or longtime married couples

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Studying the Family• Feminist View

– Urged social scientists and social agencies to rethink notion that families in which no adult male is present are automatically a cause for concern

– Feminists stress the need to investigate neglected topics in family studies

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Studying the FamilyTable 14-1. Sociological Perspectives on the Family

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Marriage and Family• Courtship and Mate Selection

– Aspects of Mate Selection•Endogamy: Endogamy specifies the

groups within which a spouse must be found and prohibits marriage with members of other groups.

•Exogamy: Exogamy requires mate selection outside certain groups, usually one’s own family or certain kin.

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Marriage and Family• Courtship and Mate Selection

– Aspects of Mate Selection

•Homogamy: conscious or unconscious tendency to select mate with personal characteristics similar to one’s own

– The Love Relationship• Coupling of love and marriage not

universal

Incest Taboo: social norm common to virtually all societies prohibiting sexual relationships between certain culturally specified relationships

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Marriage and Family

• Variations in Family Life and Intimate Relationships– Social Class Differences

• The upper class emphasizes lineage and maintenance of family position; lower class families likely to have one parent at home, and children typically assume adult responsibilities

– Racial and Ethnic Differences• Subordinate status of racial and ethnic

groups profoundly affects family life

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Marriage and Family• Child-Rearing Patterns in Family

Life– Parenthood and Grandparenthood• One of most important roles of parents is

socialization of children• Recently, U.S. witnessed extension of

parenthood with adult children living at home

– “Boomerang generation” or “full-nest syndrome”

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Marriage and Family• Child-Rearing Patterns in Family

Life– Adoption• Process that “allows for the transfer

of the legal rights, responsibilities, and privileges of parenthood” to a new legal parent or parents

– Dual-Income Families• Among married people between the

ages of 25 and 34, 92% of men and 75% of women in the labor force

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Marriage and Family• Child-Rearing Patterns in Family

Life– Single-Parent Families• In 2000, a single parent headed:

– 21% of White families with children– 35% of Hispanic families with children– 55% of African American families with children

– Stepfamilies• Rising rate of divorce and remarriage led

to significant increase in stepfamily relationships

• Stepfamilies are exceedingly complex

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Marriage and FamilyFigure 14-2. Percentage of PeopleAged 20 to 24 Ever Married,Selected Countries

Source: United Nations Population Division 2005

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Divorce• Statistical Trends in Divorce

– Divorce rates increased in late 1960s, started to level and decline since late 1980s

– About 63% of all divorces in U.S. remarry

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Divorce• Factors Associated with Divorce

• Impact of Divorce on Children– About a third of children benefit from

divorce because it lessens exposure to conflict

•Greater social acceptance of divorce•More liberal divorce laws•Fewer children•Greater family income•More opportunities for women

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DivorceFigure 14-3. Rise of Single-ParentFamilies in the United States, 1970-2000

Source: Bureau of the Census 1994:63; Fields 2001:7

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DivorceFigure 14-4. Trends in Marriage and Divorce in the United States, 1920—2004

Source: Bureau of the Census 1995:64; National Vital Statistics Reports 2005

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Diverse Lifestyles• Cohabitation• Remaining Single• Marriage without Children• Lesbian and Gay Relationships

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Diverse LifestylesFigure 14-5. Unmarried-Couple Households by State

Source: T. Simmons and O’Connell 2003:4

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Social Policy and The Family• Gay Marriage

– The Issue• Idea of same-sex marriage strikes some

in U.S. as attack on traditional marriage– The Setting

• Vermont gave gay couples legal benefits of marriage through civil union

• Massachusetts Supreme Courts rule state’s constitution gives gay couples right to marry

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Social Policy and The Family• Gay Marriage

– Sociological Insights• Functionalists: religious views toward

marriage cannot be ignored• Conflict theorists: denial of right to marry

reinforces second-class citizenship• Interactionists: focus on support or

opposition of family, co-workers, and friends

• As many as 50% of citizens favor civil union

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Social Policy and The Family• Gay Marriage

– Policy Initiatives• Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada

recognize same-sex marriages• Many nations remains strongly opposed• In U.S. local jurisdictions have recognized

domestic partnerships for benefits

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Social Policy and The FamilyFigure 14-6. Discriminatory Marriage and Anti-Gay Discrimination Laws

Source: Human Rights Campaign 2005