Social Problems, 13eD. Stanley EitzenMaxine Baca ZinnKelly Eitzen Smith

Chapter 15Families

Families

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Learning Objectives

15.1 Explain the myths versus realities of family life in the United States.

15.2 Explain how societal economic transformations affect family life.

15.3 Describe the effects of social class on families in the United States.

15.4 Explain the difficulties of managing work and family with little support from the system.

15.5 Understand the divorce rate and the consequences of divorce.

15.6 Examine the causes and consequences of violence in families.

15.1 - The Mythical Family in the United States

• Myth of a stable and harmonious family of the past

• Myth of separate worlds

• Myth of the monolithic family form

• Myth of a unified family experience

• Myth of family decline as the cause of social problems

LO 15.1

Rather than being a unified experience, family life is actually organized around __________ roles.

A. gender

B. class

C. race

D. monolithic

LO 15.1

Rather than being a unified experience, family life is actually organized around __________ roles.

A. gender

B. class

C. race

D. monolithic

LO 15.1

The family from the Industrial Revolution to World War II was more stable than the family today.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.1

The family from the Industrial Revolution to World War II was more stable than the family today.

A. True

B. False

15.2 - U.S. Families in Historical Perspective: The Family in Capitalism

• Family arrangements are closely related to economic developments:– Industrialization and family arrangements– The breadwinner/homemaker pattern

The “breadwinner–homemaker” pattern does not apply to people who lack the opportunities to earn a family wage.

LO 15.2

LO 15.2

Family life became private in industrialized capitalist societies because __________.

A. immigrant kinship networks declined

B. employers paid men enough to support their family

C. suburban development forced families inside

D. of underlying structural roots

LO 15.2

Family life became private in industrialized capitalist societies because __________.

A. immigrant kinship networks declined

B. employers paid men enough to support their family

C. suburban development forced families inside

D. of underlying structural roots

LO 15.2

Racial-ethnic immigrants took on the breadwinner/homemaker roles in industrialized America.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.2

Racial-ethnic immigrants took on the breadwinner/homemaker roles in industrialized America.

A. True

B. False

15.3 - Stratification and Family Life: Unequal Life Chances

• Families are imbedded in a class hierarchy.– Middle-class families – Upper-class families– Lower- and working-class families

LO 15.3

LO 15.3

The middle-class family operates more __________ than upper- and lower-class families who rely on kinship networks.

A. openly

B. socially

C. independently

D. connectedly

LO 15.3

The middle-class family operates more __________ than the upper- and lower-class families who rely on kinship networks.

A. openly

B. socially

C. independently

D. connected

LO 15.3

A family’s location in the class system is the single most important determinant of family life.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.3

A family’s location in the class system is the single most important determinant of family life.

A. True

B. False

15.4 - Changing Families in a Changing World

• Economic Transformation and Family Life • Today’s Diverse Family Forms • Balancing Work and Family with Few

Social Supports • Single Parents and Their Children • Societal Response to Disadvantaged

Children

LO 15.4 - Economic Transformation and Family Life

• The Great Recession– Shrinking and downwardly mobile middle

class– Most profound for blue-collar workers

• Modern Families– Fewer than 10 percent of all families

• Postmodern Families– Increasing due to economic difficulties

LO 15.4 - Explorer Activity: The Changing Family: Family Diversity: Who Takes Care of Whom?

http://www.socialexplorer.com/pearson/plink.aspx?dest=http%3a%2f%2fwww.socialexplorer.com%2fSpiceMap%2f%3fv%3d31510c97d2e44308

Please log into MySocLab with your username and password before accessing this link.

LO 15.4

LO 15.4 – Today’s Diverse Family Forms

• Household

• Family– Nonfamily household

• Fewer children

• Family structure

More and more children are being raised by grandparents.

LO 15.4

LO 15.4

LO 15.4 - Balancing Work and Family with Few Social Supports

• Increased participation of women in the labor force– Dual-worker families– Inadequate childcare system

Availability of quality daycare is often the biggest problem facing working parents.

LO 15.4

LO 15.4 - Single Parents and Their Children

• About ¼ of all U.S. children live with one parent

• More than ¾ of out-of-wedlock births are to women over age 20

• The economic plight of single-parent families is much worse for families of color

LO 15.4 - Video: ABC Nightline: Single Mothers

http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/sbx_videoplayer_v2/simpleviewer.php?projectID=MSocL_ABC2008&clipID=Single_Mothers.flv&ui=2

 

LO 15.4 - Societal Response to Disadvantaged Children

• In 2010, 22 percent of children under age 18 lived in poverty

• Childhood poverty is acute for racial minorities

• Federal benefits to the elderly have risen, while programs to benefit children have been reduced

LO 15.4

LO 15.4

Minority women have typically worked outside of the home, in effect they were __________ before White families.

A. industrial

B. educated

C. familial

D. postmodern

LO 15.4

Minority women have typically worked outside of the home, in effect they were __________ before White families.

A. industrial

B. educated

C. familial

D. postmodern

LO 15.4

Poverty rates among the elderly and children have increased at the same pace.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.4

Poverty rates among the elderly and children have increased at the same pace.

A. True

B. False

15.5 - Divorce

• Statistics

• Consequences of Divorce

• Children of Divorce

LO 15.5 - Statistics

• One in five marriages ends in divorce within 5 years

• One in three marriages dissolves within 10 years

• The divorce rate of African Americans is twice as high as the rate of Whites

LO 15.5 - Consequences of Divorce

• “His” and “Her” Divorce

• “His” Divorce

• “Her” Divorce

LO 15.5 - Children of Divorce

• 65 percent of all divorces involve children

• One-third of White and two-thirds of Black children will experience the divorce of their parents by age 16

• The large majority of children of divorce do not experience severe or long-term problems

LO 15.5

The experience of divorce differs for men and women because of __________ and gender inequality.

A. familial experience

B. cultural manifestation

C. social structure

D. divorce laws

LO 15.5

The experience of divorce differs for men and women because of __________ and gender inequality.

A. familial experience

B. cultural manifestation

C. social structure

D. divorce laws

LO 15.5

Most children have prolonged negative effects from divorce.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.5

Most children have prolonged negative effects from divorce.

A. True

B. False

15.6 – Violence in U.S. Families

• Violence and the Social Organization of the Family

• Intimate Partner Violence

• Child Abuse and Neglect

LO 15.6 - Violence and the Social Organization of the Family

• Families are based on love, but the organization encourages conflict– The family is a power system

• Private nature of the family contributes to abuse

LO 15.6 - Intimate Partner Violence

• Incidence of Intimate Partner Abuse– Studies vary in their focus and definitions– Gender differences

• Class, Race, and Intimate Violence

LO 15.6 - Child Abuse and Neglect

• Definition– Incidence of child abuse, context

• Consequences– Health outcomes– Cognitive and behavioral outcomes– Social and emotional outcomes

LO 15.6

The family is a __________ system that spends a great deal of time together resulting in increased conflict.

A. social structural

B. personal network

C. closed complicated

D. private power

LO 15.6

The family is a __________ system that spends a great deal of time together resulting in increased conflict.

A. social structural

B. personal network

C. closed complicated

D. private power

LO 15.6

Women of color are more susceptible to domestic violence.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.6

Women of color are more susceptible to domestic violence.

A. True

B. False

LO 15.6Question for Discussion

Discuss the changing nature of the family. What changes are happening and what are the causes?