Sociology Chapter 12: Life at Home Families and Relationships

Custody

physical and legal responsibility for children, assigned by a court

Incest

proscribed sexual contact between family members; this is a form of child abuse when it occurs between a child and a caregiver

Kin

relatives or relations, usually those related by common descent

Expressive tasks

the emotional work necessary to support family members (such as remembering a relative's birthday or playing with the children)

Domestic Violence

the most common form of family violence. It includes behaviors abusers use to gain and maintain power over their victims. Abuse can be: Physical Verbal Financial Sexual Psychological

Instrumental tasks

the practical physical tasks necessary to maintain family life (such as washing dishes and cutting grass)

Monogamy

the practice of marrying (or being in a relationship with) one person at a time, is still considered the only legal form of marriage in modern western culture

Antimiscegenation laws

the prohibition of interracial marriage, cohabitation, or sexual interaction

Propinquity

the tendency to marry or have relationships with people in close geographic proximity

Second Shift

unpaid labor inside the home that is often expected of women after they get home from working at paid labor outside the home

Homogamy

"like marries like," and is demonstrated by the fact that we tend to choose mates who are similar to us in class, race, ethnicity, age, religion, education, and even levels of attractiveness

Stage Three

Acute battering and violence occur, lasting for seconds, hours, or even days. The abuser blames the victim.

The Postmodern Family

Families adapting to the challenges of a postmodern society may create family structures that look very different from the "traditional" family and can include ex-spouses, new partners and children, other kin, and even nonkin such as friends and coworkers

Stage One

Relationship seems normal

Stage Four

The abuser apologizes profusely and promises that it will never happen again

Stage Two

The victim "walks on eggshells" to avoid arguments

Endogamy

marriage to someone within one's social group (such as race, ethnicity, class, education, religion, region, or nationality)

Neglect

a form of child abuse in which the caregiver fails to provide adequate nutrition, sufficient clothing or shelter, or hygienic and safe living conditions

A Nuclear Family

a heterosexual couple with one or more children living in a single household

Extended Family

a large group of relatives, usually including at least three generations living either in one household or in close proximity

Family

a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties, or a combination of all three

Polygyny

a system of marriage that allows men to have multiple wives

Polygamy

a system of marriage that allows people to have more than one spouse at a time, is practiced among some subcultures around the world, but is not widely acknowledged as a legitimate form of marriage

Polyandry

a system of marriage that allows women to have multiple husbands, is a more rare form of polygamy

Conflict theorists

believe that society revolves around conflict over scarce resources, and that conflict within the family is also about the competition for resources: time, energy, and the leisure to pursue recreational activities

Symbolic Interactionists

examine the types of social dynamics and interactions that create and sustain families, emphasizing the ways that our experiences of family bonds are socially created rather than naturally existing

Cohabitating

living together as a romantically involved, unmarried couple

Exogamy

marriage to someone from a different social group

Structural functionalism

views the family as one of the basic institutions that keeps society running smoothly by providing functions such as producing and socializing children, economic production, instrumental and emotional support, and sexual control