Sociology Exam #2
9 in 10
TODAY: how many remarriages follow a divorce rather than a death?
whites will be the minority! -rise in hispanics, blacks and asians
What is the U.S. population projected to look like by 2050?
responsive workplace
Work setting in which job conditions are designed to allow employees to meet family responsibilities more easily
-1600s to 1850s -only men could file for divorce -it was rare or forbidden -only granted for adultery or desertion -custody went to fathers (marriage was about economics)
describe the Era of Restricted Divorce
intermarriage
marriage between members of different racial or ethnic groups
second shift
women were working their first shift at work and then worked again when they came home (housework, childcare) even when they were already working full time
Mexican Americans
-Kinship ties very strong -Marry at a younger age -Two-parent, single-earner families more common -Higher birth rate than other Hispanics
Transitional Period
-Period during the first 2-4 years -stepparent is the affinity seeker -polite outsider and friend -young kids are accepting, but adolescents are distant and resistant
Puerto Ricans
-US Citizens (47% live here) -Most economically disadvantaged of Hispanics -Highest unemployment levels -Lowest labor force participation and education levels -Consensual unions common
Asian Americans
-emphasize interdependence among kin -children's loyalty and service to parents was very important -multigenerational household -very prosperous group (avg median household is $20,000 higher than the typical American household)
stabilization period
-period in later years of life -stepparent has continued warmth but avoids discipline -stepparent is an intimate outsider -kids accept the stepparent at this point but there could be long term problems with late adolescents
Loving vs. Virginia
1967, interracial couple was arrested in VA for getting married -this led to the Supreme Court saying that it is unconstitutional to not allow people of different races to marry
1/3 **highest percentage if parents aren't married
About ______ of all children born to 2 parents will experience their breakup by age 12
1 in 4
About how many kids born to 2 married parents will experience their breakup by age 12?
-Lower & working class Black families - Growth in poverty. -Middle class Black families - Growth in education and opportunities.
African American families - What economic changes affected them since the 1960s?
1/2
Almost _____ of all children whose custodial parents remarry will witness a 2nd divorce before age 18!
Yes- women work from young adulthood to retirement -4 in 10 households have a female breadwinner -29% of wives out-earned husbands
Are American women working? For how long? How many are breadwinners?
-Children tend to live with their biological mother and a stepfather, who fills the void of an absent father -Children tend to visit (less often) their biological father and stepmother, who crowds into a space already occupied by the mother
Differences between the role of stepmother and stepfather - Who tends to be closer? Why?
care work
Face-to-face activity where one person meets the needs of others who cannot fully care for themselves -not valued b/c it is expected
1. Death of one spouse. Institutional Marriage 2. Model & Era of Restricted Divorce (only for desertion and infidelity)
Historically: Why did most people remarry?
stepfamily
Household in which 2 adults are married or cohabiting and at least one has a child present from a previous marriage or relationship
-Giving her emotional support -Backing up her authority -Providing income to the mother & family
How do fathers indirectly influence children through the mother? (biggest effect on kids)
the mother
In the majority of cases, who keeps keeps custody of the children, forming a single parent family?
father's effects on kids are weaker than mothers' b/c kids spend more time with their mom
Long term vs. short term influences fathers have on children ("generativity")
fatherhood bonus
Men tend to earn more money if they are married and have children. Employers see the men as being more stable
-1950s: Few married women worked outside home. Most households were breadwinner/ homemaker families -Rates of employed women rose sharply through the 1990s, leveled off around 2000, & have declined very slightly since then
Movement/trends from single earner to dual earner marriages?
1. socioeconomic status - if higher = more likely to; lower = less likely to 2. kinship and religion - less need or desire to remarry in black families due to extended kinship; more stigma associated with remarriage for Hispanics due to Catholicism
Non-Hispanic Whites remarry more often than others. Why?
financially independent
Older, educated, career-oriented women are less likely to get back into marriage. Why?
1. Adult death rates declined 2. The divorce rate increased
Over time: What happened to change why people used to remarry?
1 in 10 *increased by 5 times!
Overall, Census Bureau data shows that 1 in ___ married people in 2015 had a spouse of a different race or ethnicity!
racial-ethnic group
People who share a common identity and whose members think of themselves as distinct from others by virtue of ancestry, culture, and sometimes physical characteristics
every 10 years something changed in the census with how we define race and ethnicity = proves that it is a social construct
Pew Research Center graph: How has ethnicity been changing in the U.S. (1960 vs. 2011 vs. 2050)?
-(bad) more kids today living apart from their dads in the past = due to the divorce rate and more people cohabiting -(better) both married moms and dads today are spending more time with their kids than they ever have before
Pew Study - "A Tale of Two Fathers": what are the main findings?
interracial marriage can cause cultural traditions and patterns to fade over time
Previous patterns (language, traditions, etc.) of Asian Americans may not survive through subsequent generations. Why?
quality -Behavior during visits is more important than how often fathers visit
Quantity vs. quality of father/child time - Which one is more important?
DOWN - b/c the rate of cohabitation has increased!
Remarriage rate since the 1970s - Is it going up or down? What explains this trend?
spillover
Stressful events in one part of a person's life spill over into other parts of their life (transfer of mood or behavior between work and home)
1. stay at home dad - people think he is lazy, not providing for the family, etc. = stigamtized 2. stay at home dads are praised (taking kids to the store)
Summing it up: Two contrasting impressions of stay at home fathers?
time-diary studies
Surveys in which people are asked to keep a record of what they were doing every minute during a time period
1. Availability - Lower supply of men in marriage market -shortage of employed black men (for every 3 unmarried black women there is 1 black man with earnings above the poverty line); increase in gangs, violence, etc. 2. culture - kinship patterns - use their kin in place of a marriage (female centered)
The decline of marriage among Black families - What explains this?
doubled
The probability of a marriage ending in divorce ______ between the early 1960s & late 1970s. Peaked in 1980. Declining since then
role overload
The state of having too many roles with conflicting demands
highest
US has one of the ______ rates of divorce in the world
-compared to 2 parent biological = wellbeing is lower! -compared to single parent families = wellbeing is the same!
Well-being of children in stepfamilies - How does it compare to children in 2 parent biological families and to children in single parent families?
-No normative guidelines set! -Our taken-for-granted rules and roles do not apply! Ex: What is a stepfamily? What are the boundaries? -Stepparents have virtually NO RIGHTS in the US today.
What does Cherlin mean when he says stepfamilies are "not fully institutionalized"?
none
What legal rights do stepparents have in the U.S. today?
The majority of divorced people will remarry (roughly 60%). -2 out of 3 will cohabit first!
What percentage of people remarry? How many will cohabit before remarrying?
MEN! Their average standard of living tends to improve (+10%), while women's declines -33% (only a small % of women fare better b/c of a very rich husband)
Who fares better after a divorce? Men? Women?
1. support - economic, social, for the kids 2. norms - marriage is still considered to be normal, negative stigma involved with divorce, pressure to remarry
Why do so many divorcees remarry today?
-Competing Demands -Weaker bonds between stepparents/stepchildren -Uncomfortable situations more likely -A lack of legal rights or responsibilities for stepparents
Why doesn't having a stepparent in one's life improve child well-being?
-we created these categories -race isn't completely genetic -"one drop rule" -your racial category can change if you move to a different country
Why is race/ethnicity is "socially constructed" or a "social creation"?
Census defined stay-at-home dad
a "married father with children under the age of 15 who has remained out of the labor force for more than one year primarily so he can care for the family while his wife works outside the home."
consensual union
a cohabiting relationship in which a couple consider themselves to be married but have never had a religious or civil marriage ceremony
value
a goal or principle that is held in high esteem by a society
authoritative parenting style
a parenting style in which parents combine high levels of emotional support with consistent, moderate control of their children
authoritarian parenting style
a parenting style in which parents combine low levels of emotional support with coercive attempts at control of their children
permissive parenting style
a parenting style in which parents provide emotional support but exercise little control over their children
crisis period
a period during the first year or two after parents separate when both the custodial parent and the children experience difficulties in dealing with the situation
gene-environment interaction
a situation in which a change in the environment has a greater effect on people with a genetic sensitivity to that change
ethnic enclave
a small area occupied by a distinctive minority culture
norm
a widely accepted rule about how people should behave
emotional divorce
anger, sad, hopeless, depressed, relieved
assimilation
blending in with the mainstream culture
legal custody
deals with a parent's right to make major decisions about the children's health, education and welfare and to have legal responsibility for them
-1850s to late 1960s -divorce was easier to obtain -grounds for divorce expanded (now it was for adultery, desertion, mental cruelty, habitual drunkenness, failure to provide -more accessible to women -this was the era of companionate marriage (emphasis on protecting women as wives and mothers)
describe the Era of Divorce Tolerance
-1970 to present day -CA was the first state to implement this -no restriction at all -no fault/guilt had to be involved -individualistic marriage model -gender neutral settlement - court chose who was the better fit -less than 1 year waiting period
describe the Era of Unrestricted Divorce
Yes - Effects parenting (1 parent vs. 2 parents) Yes - Lower standard of living for mothers Yes - Psychiatrically harder on parents and kids
describe the glass half empty view on divorce and if it harms children
No - Pre-divorce context is relevant (Ex: fighting frequently, abuse) No - The majority resume normal development after 2 years; few have long-term problems
describe the glass half full view on divorce and if it harms children
increase = WWII ends (couples get divorced at very high rates)
describe what happened in 1945 with divorce
huge increase = multiple wars beginning and ending, Women's movement (job, education opportunities, birth control), social movements (Anti-War, Gay rights, Civil rights) focused on individual rights! ; Focus on individualism comes to marriage!
describe what happened in 1960-1990s with divorce
decrease = Great Depression (couples cannot afford to divorce)
describe what happened in the 1930s with divorce
increase = WWI ends (couples divorce at higher rates); infidelity, PTSD, conflict
describe what happened in the early 1920s with divorce
community divorce
divide up friend groups, lose extended family members
income effect
effect that says as women started to work more, the risk of divorce went down because their family was more financially stable
independence effect
effect that says when women have their own money, they are more independent and can divorce if they want to = women working increased the divorce rate
involved non resident fathers
fathers who are now involved with their kids but don't live with them - has recently grown in numbers
co-parental divorce
going from having someone to support you on a daily basis to being a single parent with little to no help taking care of the child
legal divorce
going to court many times, pay fees, deal with judges/attorneys regularly and tell them the most intimate aspects of your life, divide assets
increased!
has the labor force participation of married women with children under 18 increased or decreased over time?
-appeared white and were less stigmatized -most prosperous of all the Hispanic groups -high rates of business owners -married couples -social capital - family businesses -assimilated -ethnic enclaves
how have the experiences of Cubans in the U.S. been different from the experiences of other Hispanics?
we are using a term to refer to people who really may not have anything in common -There are as many variations in family patterns within each category as there are between categories!
in what ways can umbrella terms like Asian American and Hispanic become problematic to those who are categorized within them?
generativity
involved fathers show a long term influence on kids but it is a weaker effect when compared to mothers
Mop bucket half full
optimistic view on housework b/t genders because men are doing more and the gap is closing
Mop bucket half empty
pessimistic view on housework b/t genders b/c now we are stalling out and people have gotten lazy; women are still doing routine chores and men aren't = still a gap even with women doing less
psychic divorce
reintegrate how you feel about yourself as a single person (change of identity)
divorce
severs the ties between husband and wife, but not between parent and child
economic divorce
split up economic resources (sell/afford house, decide who gets what), support yourself as a single person while also supporting children
sleeper effect
subtle effects of divorce that may not become apparent until children reach adolescence or young adulthood and have difficulty forming intimate and stable relationships
physical custody
the right of a divorced spouse to have one's children live with one
regular visits, many faded from lives
until very recently, what was the father's relationship with the kids like?
authoritative permissive authoritarian
what are Baumrind's 3 parenting styles?
1. Emotional Divorce 2. Legal Divorce 3. Economic Divorce 4. Co-parental Divorce 5. Community Divorce 6. Psychic Divorce
what are Bohannon's 6 Stations of Divorce?
1. American Indians (58%) 2. Asian Americans (28%) **whites are the lowest (7%)
what are the 2 groups with the highest rates of intermarriage? which group has the lowest?
#1. Socialization - You learned "how to divorce" = Easier the second time around! #2. Selection Effect - "You are the common denominator" = You possess traits that make you prone to divorce each time you marry. #3. The Complexity of Stepfamily Life - You don't know how stepfamilies are "supposed to work" = Conflict!
what are the 3 explanations for why the risk of divorce is higher for remarriages than 1st marriages?
1. the supply favors men (more women for them to marry) 2. gender roles - rely on wives more, have less of a social support network 3. children - women with kids would be less attractive on the marriage market
what are the 3 reasons why older men remarry more often?
I. African Americans II. Hispanics III. Asian & Pacific Islanders IV. American Indians (Native Americans) V. Non-Hispanic Whites
what are the 5 racial ethnic groups?
-12 weeks of UNPAID leave only if - workplace has 50 or more employees (small businesses aren't offered this) -you must work full-time -worked there for at least 1 year
what are the current leave laws in the US with FMLA?
Divorced children DO tend to come out alright. Divorce can increase the risk of facing negative outcomes (increased drug use, delinquency, premarital pregnancy, poor school success) BUT... MOST children who experience divorce will NOT have those negative outcomes (it is just a risk)
what are the effects of divorce on children - What does the research show?
1. Age at marriage (Young) 2. Cohabit before marriage (Yes) 3. Religiosity (Low) 4. Parents' marital history (Divorced) 5. Homogamy vs. Heterogeneity (Heterogeneity) 6. Socioeconomic status (Low) 7. Race/Ethnicity (Black) 8. Premarital pregnancy (Yes) 9. Remarriage (Yes)
what are the individual risk factors for divorce?
Americans, as a whole, are doing less. Men are doing more. Women are doing less. Women still do the majority of housework (1.7-2x)
what are the major trends in housework hours - for men, women, and Americans in general?
less stigmatized today but racial discrimination still exists (adoption issues, people may think the mom is the nanny)
what are the problems associated with intermarriage?
1. people are working more 2. better technology 3. lower standards for cleanliness - don't care! 4. outsourcing - we hire people to do it for us
what are the reasons why hours of housework have declined among Americans (between 1960-2000s)?
-Divorce law changed (No fault) -Female labor force participation (Independence effect vs. Income effect) -Men's employment opportunities decreased (mostly for men without a college degree) (1970s-Present) -Cultural Change -Marriage ideal changing towards individualistic - Increasing social acceptance of divorce
what are the societal risk factors for divorce?
-"Rough and tumble play" with kids -Physical activity, autonomy, risk taking -Teaches kids to: regulate emotions & learn the limits of excitable behavior
what are the ways fathers relate differently to young children than mothers?
there are 2 types of dads that are becoming more common at the same time that contradict each other: 1. good dads - involved, live with kids, married 2. bad dads - not involved
what does Scott Coltraine mean by fatherhood is a "paradox"?
remarriage
what happens to the majority of people after a divorce?
The majority of children resume normal development within 2 years (fewer than 15% will experience long term problems)
what happens usually after the crisis period?
It has narrowed since the 1970s, but this is mostly due to a decline and stagnation in male wages, rather than an increase in female wages -women make 20% less than men
what has happened with the gender wage gap?
Growing service sector of the economy! -Personal services (education, health care, communication, food industry, entertainment) -Demand & wages increased -Women recruited into jobs -each generation had fewer kids = work more -decline in mens wages w/o college degree -rising divorce rate & # of single moms
what is causing the big rise in women's labor force participation?
feminine = cleaning , laundry, cooking masculine = yard work, taking out trash, household maintenance
what is the difference between feminine and masculine housework chores?
over half the women did not even receive child support
what is the main topic that comes from the child support pyramid?
larger = better pay, steadier jobs, more educated workers (Ex: SAS) smaller = less pay, less-steady jobs, less educated workers
what is the two tiered system like with firms?
62%
what percentage of married women are working with preschool aged kids?
73%
what percentage of married women are working with school-aged kids?
-high rates of poverty, unemployment, alcoholism -families are mainly headed by women -we don't see them - put on reservations in the middle of nowhere
what problems do American Indians face in the U.S.? Why don't we hear about them as much?
1. men 2. non-hispanic whites
which 2 groups are more likely to remarry than others?
-unmarried dads -gay dads -dads who work from home/part time -dads who have been laid off -dads who stayed home less than one year ago -dads with kids older than 15 -dads whose wives have been in bt jobs in the past year
who is left out of the census count of stay-at-home dads?
1. More likely to have custody of children. 2. Not on equal footing financially at time of divorce. 3. Women are more likely to sacrifice employment and educational opportunities to care for children. 4. Child support often not paid 5. Costs of childrearing underestimated (?)
why has the decline in women's standard of living after divorce occurred?
motherhood wage penalty
women with kids earn significantly less than women without kids, even when they have comparable education, work experience, and job characteristics