Soc 310 CH 10 family and household transition

Wealth

Value of assets - the money owed on the assets = ? Three basic ways to generate wealth Inherit assets Save part of your income to purchase assets Borrow money to purchase assets

Divorce

50% of marriages likely end up in divorce Changes in divorce laws- "No-Fault-Devoice"- in 1970s contributed 17% of divorces: people could divorce without having reasons.

Out-of-Wedlock Birth

Great gaps of out-of-wedlock birth exist for women between age groups, racial/ethnic background, educational attainment ..

housing unit

Physical space used as separate living quarters for people

Childlessness

The % of childless for women aged 40-44 steadily goes up, increasing the household diversity.

Family Cohesion

1 Commitment: trust, honesty, dependability, faithfulness 2 Time Together: quality time and in great quantity, good things take time, enjoying each other's company, simple good times, sharing fun times

Family Communication

5 Positive Communication: sharing feelings, giving compliments, avoiding blame, able to compromise, agreeing to disagree 6 Appreciation and Affection: caring for each other, friendship, respect for individuality, playfulness, humor

Family Flexibility

3 Ability to Cope with Stress and Crisis: adaptability, seeing crises as challenges and opportunities, growing through crises together, openness to change, resilience 恢复弹性力 4 Spiritual Well-Being: Hope, faith, compassion, shared ethical values, openness with humankind

family and household transition

A process of increasing diversity in family and household structure, occasioned by people living longer, with fewer children, increasingly in urban settings, and subject to higher standard living, all as part of demographic transition.

non-family household

A residential unit occupied by people living with non-family co-residents such as friends or cohabiting couples, not related to one another by birth, marriage, or adoption

family household

A residential unit occupied by people related to one another by birth, marriage, and adoption

Why Divorce?

Cherlin (1999) summarized major factors: Low income - causing stress and tension Early marriage-poorer job of choosing a spouse Spouse's similarity-homogamy likely keeps people together Parental divorce-"copy-cat phenomena"-children likely divorce due to influence of their parental divorce Cohabitation-"Grass Greener Effect" Unrealistic expectations to marriage Marrying the wrong person for the wrong reasons Declining intimacy and quality overtime Inability of couples to handle marital life conflicts The difficult nature of marriage - "Two Marriages in one family!"

Six Qualities of Strong Families

Commitment Cohesion Time together Ability to cope with stress A strong family has three clusters and six qualities: Flexibility Spiritual well-being Positive communication Communication Appreciation and affection

marriage

Culturally approved relationship, usually between two individuals, that provides for a degree of economic cooperation, intimacy, and sexual activity; A group's approved mating arrangements, usually marked by a ritual.

Cohabitation

Delay marriage brings another form of sexual life--- cohabitation The sharing of a household -"Partners of the opposite sex sharing living quarters" - by unmarried persons who have a sexual relationship increasing % couples cohabitating before marriage going up 1965 1995 1970 2000 8% 90% 500,000 3.8million

Delayed Marriage

Early marriage is likely leading to high fertility Higher fertility is associated with lower status of women A delay in marriage encourages a decline in fertility The slow-down economic growth delays marriage due to: Competition for jobs Pursue of education and career opportunities Postpone marriage

Education and life chance

Education is the most dramatic and significant change introduced into people's life-vehicle for personal success. American people have made tremendous progress in educational attainment in terms of percentage, numbers, median years of education, levels of education, etc. All over the world, an important achievement in education is for women who are gaining more equal chances and opportunities. Better educated, better paid, and better life chances.

Poverty

Poverty Index: A measure of need that in the United States is based on the premise that one third of a poor family's income is spent on food the cost of an economy food plan multiplied by three

ascribed characteristics

Inborn cha. = sex, race, color, or age over which one has no or little control

Demographic Transition Accompanied By Rising Status Of Women

Increasing age at marriage Encouraging high level of education Increase women's ability to labor force Gain economic independence Enhance women's ability to choose a life pattern of their own Changed life chances contribute to transformation of family/household structure

Achieved Characteristics

Made possible by a person through some effort over which one does exercise some degree of control, such as education, income, etc.

Wealth And Life Chance

Marriage, or non-marriage, and remaining in marriage, makes difference in the general well-being for individuals and families. Advantages vs Disadvantage of the Marriage healthy behaviors vs risk-taking behaviors lower death rates vs higher death rates partners sex vs casual sex higher quality of sex vs low quality sex more property vs less property better-off children vs worse-off children

The Growing Diversity In Household Composition And Family Structure

Married couples with children get less common in the United States Increasingly nontraditional households - inhabited by unmarried people including never married, divorced, widowed, and cohabiting couples

The Intersection Of Changing Life Changes And The Family And Household Transition

Modernization goes with demographic transition Women are gaining independence by more involvement and participation Worldwide economic change emphasizes the value of non-domestic labor Smaller families and longer lives diversify households and family structure

Occupation And Life Chance

Occupation is the most social aspect of a person's social identity It is a clue to education, income, and social status Higher status occupations derive more intrinsic satisfaction from work Occupational distributions differ b/w men and women Higher education goes hand-in-hand with higher occupational status

religion and fertility

People of different religions have differentials in fertility The world of Muslim and Taoism may be against abortion and birth control Fundamentalism tends to support more children Higher fertility is related to Mormon Church - Utah State's fertility is the highest

Female Labor Force Participation And Fertility

Rising educational attainment raises women's status Lower fertility increases women's labor force participation Earning power reduces the benefit of marriage but makes more attractive cohabitation, self reliance, self-pleasure-seeking, career pursuit, single life, and divorce. These factors help explain family/household structure transition

Changing Life Chance

Some important aspects of changing life chances are represented by: Education Labor force participation Occupation Income Poverty Wealth Race and ethnicity Religion

Gender Equity And Empowerment Of Women

The combination of longer life and lower fertility >>> Opens up the fact that women are in a position to contribute in the same way that men do

Religion Pluralism

The existence of two or more religious groups side by side in society without one group dominating the other

Widowhood

The incidence of widowhood has been steadily pushed to older years due to higher mortality of men than of women High divorce of women remains widowed Blacks are more likely to be divorced or widowed

family demography

The study of family households in terms of formation, change, and dissolution over time. Families represent the fusion of people from other families. split into other families as children leave families to form their owns.

Proximate Determinants Of Family And Household Changes

These Changes Include, but not limited to: delayed marriage cohabitation out-of-wedlock birth childlessness divorce widowhood

Income

Three broad explanations for the increasing inequality: 1. Public policy changes, such as tax reforms that benefit some groups more than others 2. Labor markets change, such as an increasing mismatch between the demands of jobs and the skills of the labor force 3. Changes in demographic structure, such as the increasing fraction of households headed by females

religion

a system of belief and plays a role toward abortion, sexuality, infanticide, marriage, and fertility America's history is of religious pluralism Religion is a kind of ascribed characteristics

Female Labor Participation And Empowerment

economic independency gives self-reliance Self-reliance gains higher status and greater freedom Increasing participation increases women's gaining power both in family and in social lives

family

two or more people related to one another by marriage, birth, or adoption