Chapter 12

What help's a family operate?

Many types of work (both paid and unpaid) are necessary to keep a family operating. These tasks can be either instrumental or expressive.

What happen after Industrial Revolution with men and women?

Men and women have always performed different roles to ensure the survival of their families, but these roles were not considered unequal until after the Industrial Revolution.

What is Monogamy?

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.

What is A nuclear family?

A nuclear family is a heterosexual couple with one or more children living in a single household.

Life expectancy is increasing. What is happening to the elderly population?

About 10 percent of the elderly live below the poverty line. Care of the elderly is no longer a primary function of family: over 40 percent of senior citizens will spend time in a nursing home.

What is cohabitating?

About 5 percent of all households are occupied by couples who are cohabitating (living together as a romantically involved, unmarried couple).

What is a extended family?

An extended family is a large group of relatives, usually including at least three generations living either in one household or in close proximity. Kin is defined as relatives or relations, usually those related by common descent.

What is incest?

Another form of child abuse is incest (proscribed sexual contact between family members; this is a form of child abuse when it occurs between a child and a caregiver). Elder abuse can include violence and abuse, as well as financial exploitation, theft, neglect, and abandonment.

What is neglect?

Another kind of abuse children may experience is 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).

What is a divorce?

As of March 2002, the U.S. Census reported that more than 123 million persons were married while about 21 million were divorced. Research indicates that about 50 percent of all first marriages now end in divorce and most who divorce remarry.

How are Children and the elderly troubled in abusive family's?

Children and the elderly also suffer at the hands of abusive family members. Child and elder abuse are likely to be underreported, due in part to the relative powerlessness of the victims and the private settings of the abuse.

How are Children's experiences affected?

Children's experiences are shaped by family size, birth order, presence or absence of parents, socioeconomic status, and other sociological variables. In turn, the presence of children affects the lives of parents.

How does a Conflict theorists view a family?

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.

What is Domestic violence?

Domestic violence is by far 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

What is Endogamy VS Exogamy?

Endogamy refers to marriage to someone within one's social group (such as race, ethnicity, class, education, religion, region, or nationality). Exogamy refers to marriage to someone from a different social group.

What are Expressive tasks?

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

What is 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.

What are antimiscegenation laws?

From the time of slavery through the 1960s, many states had antimiscegenation laws (the prohibition of interracial marriage, cohabitation, or sexual interaction).

What is Homogamy?

Homogamy means "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.

What Trends in American Families have increased?

Increases have occurred in the numbers of: Single people People who are cohabitating Single parents People who are living in intentional communities

What are Instrumental tasks?

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

Who is most likely to receive custody of the children after a divorce?

Mothers still disproportionately receive custody (physical and legal responsibility for children, assigned by a court), but there is now a trend toward joint custody. Women are more likely to suffer downward economic mobility after divorce, especially if they retain custody of their children.

What is Polyandry?

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

What is Polygamy?

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.

What is Propinquity?

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

What are Rates of domestic violence?

Rates of domestic violence are about equal across racial and ethnic groups, sexual orientations, and religious groups. People are more likely to be killed or attacked by family members than anyone else.

What is the Cycle of Violence in Abusive Relationships?

Stage one: Relationship seems normal. Stage two: The victim "walks on eggshells" to avoid arguments. Stage three: Acute battering and violence occur, lasting for seconds, hours, or even days. The abuser blames the victim. Stage four: The abuser apologizes profusely and promises that it will never happen again.

How does a Structural functionalist view a family?

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.

How does a Symbolic interactionists view a family?

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.

What Is a Family?

The U.S. Census Bureau defines family as two or more individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption living in the same household. According to sociologists, a family is defined as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties, or a combination of all three.

What is polygyny?

The more common form of polygamy is polygyny, which is a system of marriage that allows men to have multiple wives.

What is The process of selecting mates?

The process of selecting mates is largely determined by society, and two concepts (homogamy and propinquity) tell us a lot about how this process works.