Human Development: Chapter 11

What are the characteristics of cohabiting people?

-cohabitation is on the increase globally -three primary reasons for cohabiting are convenience (e.g. to share expenses) trial marriage, or substitute marriage. Cultural differences abound: in some cultures, cohabitation is a viable alternative to marriage

Who gets divorced? How does divorce affect parental relationships with children?

-currently, half of all new marriages end in divorce. Reasons for divorce include a lack of qualities that make a strong marriage. Also societal attitudes against divorce have eased and expectations about marriage have increased -recovery from divorce is different for men and women. Men tend to have a tougher time in the short run. Women clearly have a harder time in the long run, often for financial reasons. Difficulties between divorced partners usually involve visitation and child support

John Gottman's research of communication (four types) and divorce.

-developed 2 models that predicted divorce early (within the first 7 years of marriage) and later (when the first child reaches age 14) -couples who divorce earlier typically do so because of high levels of negative feelings such as contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and stonewalling experienced as a result of intense marital conflict.

Why do some people decide not to marry, and what are these people like?

-most adults in their 20s are single. People remain single for many reasons; gender differences exist. Ethnic differences in rates of singlehood reflect differences in age at marriage and social factors -singles recognize the pluses and minuses in the life-style. There are health and longevity consequences from remaining single for men and not for women

What is it like to be a parent? What differences are there in different types of parenting?

-most couples choose to have children, although for many different reasons. The timing of parenthood determines in part how involved parents in their families as opposed to their careers. Couples without children can be happier. -being older at the birth of one's first child is an advantage. Instilling cultural values in children is important for parents. In some cultures, familism changes the unit of analysis from the individuals to the family -Single parents face many problems, especially if they are women and are divorced. The main problem is reduced financial resources -A major issue for adoptive parents, foster parents, and step-parents is how strongly the child will bond with them. Each of these relationships have special characteristics. Same sex couple parents still face discrimination, and are good parents

What is love? How does it begin? How does it develop through adulthood?

-passion, intimacy, and commitment are the key components of love -the theory of assortative mating does the best job explaining the process of forming love relationships -selecting a mate works best when there are shared values, goals and interests. There are cross-cultural differences in which specific aspects of these are most important -neuroscience research shows a great deal of brain activity and related neurochemical activity when people are in love.

How do couples meet up?

-people meet people in all sort of places, both face-to-face and virtually -speed dating provides a way to meet several people in a short period of time, it is practiced most by young adults

What types of friendships do adults have? How do adult friendships develop? Identify types of friendships

-people tend to have more friendships during young adulthood than during any other period. Face-to-face and virtual friendships are based on the same principles: affective or emotional self-disclosure, sharing activities of mutual interests, and sources of fun -men have fewer close friends and base them on shared activities. Women have more close friends and base them on emotional sharing. Cross-gender friendships may create challenges due to misperceptions

What is marriage like through the course of adulthood?

-the most important factors in creating stable marriages are maturity, similarity (called homogamy) and conflict resolution skills. Exchange theory is an important explanation of how people contribute to their relationships -exchange theory argues that happy marriages result when both partners perceive they contribute roughly equally -for couples with children, marital satisfaction tends to decline until the children leave home, although individual differences are apparent, especially in long-term marriages. -marriages are most intense during the early years. Most long term marriages tend to be happy, and partners them express fewer negative emotions. Sharing values and beliefs help sustain marriages

Cycle of abuse

A pattern of abuse in which a violent or abusive episode is followed by a makeup period when the abuser expresses sorrow and asks for forgiveness and "one more chance," before another instance of abuse occurs.

Marital adjustment

degree to which a husband and wife accommodate to each other over a certain period of time

Intimate Partner Violence

domestic violence or battering between two people in a close relationship

covenant marriage

expands the marriage contract to lifelong commitment between the partners within a supportive community -this approach is a religious-centered view founded on the idea that if getting married and getting divorced were grounded in religious and cultural values and divorce was made more difficult, couples would be more likely to stay together

familism

idea that the family's well-being takes precedence over the concerns of individual family members.

What is the nature of abuse in some relationships?

levels of aggressive behavior range from verbal aggression to physical aggression to murdering one's partner. People remain in abusive relationships for may reasons, including cultural factors, low self-esteem, and the belief they cannot leave

Vulnerability-stress- adaption model

model that proposes that marital quality is a dynamic process resulting from the couple's ability to handle stressful events in the context of their particular vulnerabilities and resources

extended family

most common form of family around the world; one in which grandparents and other relatives live with parents and children

nuclear family

most common form of family in Western societies, consisting only of parents and children

Cohabitation

people in committed, intimate, sexual relationships who live together but are not married

Exchange theory

relationship, such as marriage, based on each partner contributing something to the relationship that the other would be hard pressed to provide

Abusive relationships

relationships in which one person becomes aggressive towards the partner

What are remarriages like? How are they similar to different from first marriages?

second marriages are especially vulnerable to stress if stepchildren are involved. Remarriage in later life tends to be happy, but may be resisted by adult children

Homogamy

similarity of values and interests

Battered woman syndrome

situation occurring when a woman believes that she cannot leave the abusive situation and may even go as far as to kill her abuser

Marital quality

subjective evaluation of the couple's relationship on a number of different dimensions

marriage education

the idea that the more couples are prepared for marriage, the better the relationship will survive over the long run

Assortative mating

theory stating that people find partners based on their similarity to each other

Marital success

umbrella term referring to any marital outcome (such as divorce rate)

collaborative divorce

voluntary, contractually based alternative dispute resolution process for couples who want to negotiate a resolution of their situation rather than have a ruling imposed on them by a court or an arbitrator

What are the common forms of families?

Nuclear in western societies and extended throughout the world

What are gay and lesbian relationships like?

LGBTQ couples are similar to married heterosexual couples in terms of relationship issues. Lesbian couples tend to be more egalitarian. The option to marry is changing the nature of LGBTQ relationships