Chapter 11: The Family Flashcards
Definition of Family
A relationship in which people: live together with commitment form an economic unit care for any children consider the group critical to their identity
But is this reflective of today’s realities?
Contemporary Definition of Family
Any combination of 2 or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption/placement, and who together, assume responsibilities for variant combinations of some of the following:
physical maintenance and care of group members
addition of new members through procreation or adoption
socialization of children
social control of members
production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services
and affective nurturing love
Transitional Family
The nuclear family arose in urban-industrial societies where (a) the family ceased to serve as the unit of production; (b) the state assumed a number of key functions related to the socialization of children; (c) a social security system made kin less important; (d) geographical mobility became central.
Now we have: (a) more respect for women’s rights; (b) shared sexual division of labour; (c) more egalitarianism in marriage; (d) marriage not centered on procreation; (e) same-sex marriage since 2005
Factors contributing to Change
Economic = urbanization vs need for large families; industrialization created a gendered division of labour; most women participate in the labour force smaller family size, postponement of marriage, or opting out of marriage
Cultural = secularization; individualism; egalitarianism
Trens in Canadian Families
families that contained a married couple in 2011 = 67%; 2001 = 70.5%; 1981 = 83%; 1961 = 92% common-law families in 2011 = 16.7%; 2001 = 13.8% lone-parent families in 2011 = 16.3%; 2001 = 15.7% (mothers head 81%; fathers head 19%) same-sex couples who were married; 2011 = 33%; 2006 = 17% stepfamilies in 2011 =12.6% of all couple families with children mixed unions (re “visible minority status”) in 2011 = 4.6%; 2001 = 3.1%; 1991 = 2.6 Singlehood = 26.8% live in one-person households in Canada Older women are choosing to have children on their own reflecting “the declining importance of marriage as a social prerequisite for reproduction” (Kendall, p. 242) Postponing marriage: Mean age of first marriage for men = 29.5, and for women, 26.9 years Common-law and cohabitation = fastest growing family category today: 18% of all couples Living Apart Together (LAT): 7% of couples do not live in the same residence (Kendall, 237) Dual-earner marriage = more than 60% of all marriages Second shift = women still do more of the domestic work despite men’s growing participation
Same Sex Couples
2005 Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage.
implies equal treatment and legal rights, eg. spousal entitlements
The main difference between families led by hetero couples and those led by same-sex couples is families of lesbians and gay men is the stigmatization by the public, the law, and the state. (O’Brien & Goldberg 1999: 116)
“Despite the recent progress made by same-sex families in Canada, and countless studies that have shown that kids of LGBTTQ parents are as well-adjusted and psychologically healthy as those of opposite-sex couples, children in these families continue to face social discrimination.” (Vanier Institute 2013)
Child Related Issues
Divorce Reproductive freedom, contraception, and abortion New reproductive technologies Adoption Parenting style Unmarried motherhood The “boomerang” phenomenon
The “Boomerang” Generation
Barbara Mitchell, 2005, The Boomerang Age.
Adult offspring return to the family household or delay leaving when job opportunities are limited.
Among those aged 20 to 24, the proportion co-residing with their parents rose from 58.3% in 2001 to 62.6% in 2016. (Statistics Canada, 2017. Census in Brief. Young adults living with their parents in Canada in 2016 http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016008/98-200-x2016008-eng.cfm)
factors = high cost of housing; failed marriages; delayed marriages; the cost of higher education; difficulty in finding a stable job; family needs (Vanier Institute, 2014. Family Living Arrangements: All Under
Domestic Violence
Child abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, and/or neglect; mothers are almost equally likely to abuse their children as fathers (Kendall: 264)
Parental abuse: physical, psychological, and financial abuse by children; mothers are the more likely victims
Spousal abuse is declining but women are 4-5 times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence
Female victims are 6/million women
Male victims are 2/million men
Functionalism Perspective
The family is a key social institution in maintaining the stability of society
Families perform essential functions for members
Critical of divorce, non-traditional family forms
Conflict Perspective
Families are sources of social inequality
Women do more unpaid work in the home than men
This benefits the capitalist class by socializing more workers and supporting family members
But it subordinates women
Feminism
overlaps with Conflict Theory, but notes that male domination occurred before capitalism
even as women’s freedoms have grown, they still struggle in a male-dominated family structure
The idealization of the traditional family conceals another reality: violence
Interactionism
Partners develop a shared reality through interaction
Focus on roles, socialization, changing family patterns and forms of families, and their impacts
Family
Is an institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to care for one another, including children
Kinship
A social netwrok of people based on the common ancestry, marriage and adoption
Very important in preindustrial societies
In many societies the primary kinship unit is the extended family
Extended family
A family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents and children, all f whom live in the same household - very important in pre industrial societies
Nuclear Family
A family unit composed of one or two parents and her/his/their dependent children who live apart from their children
Functions in industrialized society to regulate sexuality, socialize children, and provide family members with affection and companionship
Lone-Parent Families
Have existed in the past often because of a death of one of the parents, and common law and growing numbers for the last half the century.
Substantial change occurred in the structure of families until the turn of the century
Are Canadian Families in Decline
One person is the highest category, followed by two person
Monogamy
A marriage between two people, either heterosexual or homosexual
Polygamy
Is widely practised outside high income countries
Polygamy has been practised with no prosecutions being considered until relatively recently
Marriage was once a cultural imperative - 1970s
2009- BC Blackmore and Jim Oler - religion under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Marriage trends
Became much less of an economic necessity with women having new jobs opportunities and rising incomes
National Survey - Angus Reid - 2/3 of Canadian adults strongly agreed that their families were the greatest joy of their lives
1995 (GSS) 98% of those in marriages and 96% of those in common law unions feel that a long term relationship is important for thief happiness
Serial Monogamy
“For as long as love allows” - marriage, divorce, and marriage
Some think that this is a natural adaptation others think that this is a natural adaptation to other social changes within society
Functionalist Perspective
family fulfills an eccentrically function in society at the Macrolevel
Families are the primary source of inequality and times abuse and violence in society
Functionalist Perspective: Family
Replica of the larger society
Involve mental and moral fusion of physically distinct individuals
Division of labour contributed to greater efficiency in marriage and families
Instrumental Role of the husband is to meet the families economic needs
Expressive Role: household, caring for children and emotional needs
Functionalist Perspective: Family Functions
Regulate sexual behaviour
Socialize and educate children
Provide economic and psychological support
Provide social status
Functional families provide social order and economic stability
Changes in religion, education contribute to family related problems
Conflict Perspective
Family problems are idealized and inadequate
Rather than operating for the benefit of all members are sources of social inequality and conflict over values goals, and access to resources and power
Women are dominated by men just as men are dominated by managers in capitalist factories
The Feminist Perspective
Women’s subordination
Feminist Perspective
Women’s labour is undervalued
15% of families are undervalued in Canada
Family problems derive from inequality
Political, social and economic arenas as well
The rate of female victims of homicide has dropped from 11 per million women to 3, the rate of male victims has remained stable at 2
Interactionist Perspective
how husband, wives and children act to their roles and react to the parts played by others
Women have gained more choice - individualized
Consequences is that women have few role models to follow
Women and men experience marriage differently
Different realities of marriage
Diversity in Families
Singlehood - 10% of population remains single for life, when combined with, widowed, divorced, separated this is 30%
Structural changes in the economy many young people cannot marry
Postponing marriage
Robin Wolfe four key factors:
1) Economic uncertainty
2) Women’s increasing participation in the labour force
3) the sexual revolution of the 1970s - sexual relations outside of marriage more acceptable
4) the rising divorce rate - anxious to jump into marriage
Common Law or Cohabitation
Common-Law or Cohabitations two adults living together in a sexual relationship with being legally married Margaret Mead (1966) Dating patterns do not adequately prepare people for marriage and parenting 50% of cohabitation culminated into marriage - 37% broke up
Living Apart Together
1.9 million Canadians - 7% were living apart
80% wanted to live together
Of the older couples only 30% wanted to live together
Dual Earner Marriages
Dual Earner Marriages Generation Y - men (65 hours) women (76) Generation x - men (69 hours) women (8) Boomers - men 48 women 79 Second shift
Comparing Two parent and One Parent Households
Increasingly parents are receiving joint custody
Two parent families doesn’t guarantee a happy household
16.3% single parent families
80% headed by mothers
One biological family member at risk of serious academic achievement
Pros - less pressure to conform to gender norms
High levels of self efficacy and high levels of maturity
Reproductive Freedom, Contraception and Abortion
Implies both the desire to have and the desire to not to have
1869 the Canadian government banned abortion
1967 - Pierre Elliot Trudeau - legalized homosexuality and contraception
1971 the pill was the most popular form of contraception
GGSS 1995- the use of contraceptive sterilization doubled in that time
1976 - decline in the pill and increase in condoms
Abortion
2005 abortion was down from 3.2% from 2004
Microlevel - solution for families
Macrolevel level - problem and solution
1967 - the law permitted abortion
Some provinces were not sympathetic and did not set up clinics
Dr. Henry Morgentaler - performed abortions, but no jury would convict him
opposition to abortion was strong in the 1990s - doctors shot and clinics bombed
Infertility and Technocolgies
50% of inferticle couples seak Treatment
$7000 up to $10,000 with travel and drugs per attempt
OHIP will pay for one cycle
Adoption
The adopted child has all of the rights as a biological child
Some provinces have made disclosure a right
2009 Ontario is this possible to unseal birth records, unless a veto has been signed
Fewer infants are available for adoption so parents go outside of the country - because they are not white
Parenting Style
Child living with parents that had poor parenting skills were fie more time to have developmental problems as aggression, hyperactivity and depression
Parenting changed from punitive to non punitive 2-3to 8-9 - all aggressive beahaviour declined.
Teen Pregnancy
Since the 1990s the proportion of births to teenagers declined from 11% to 6% of all births.
Mother have few skills in adequate child development
Older single never married have a higher rate 20-24 - 29%
30, 34, 35 to 39 went up to 18.8, 14.4, 14, 13 respectively
Divorce and Remarriage
Redefined Divorce rate to define the number of divorces
Misleading to compare the number of marriages in one year to divorces
60% of couples have at least one child
8% of children aged 15 and up experienced a change in parental structure - grandparents wanting to see a child - custody
Blended Families
The social norms governing divorce and remarriage are ambiguous so people are forced to make decisions about family life - who is invited to weddings, birthdays
Child Abuse
Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) - a nation wide study to examine the incidence of reported child maltreatment
The most frequent in neglect - not meeting the child’s basic needs for security warmth, food, shelter, clothing and protection
Physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect - 9% were substantiated
Sexual Assault ( Assault Level 1)
8% of investigations- insufficient evidence to support, maltreatment
Over 5 years no changes but increases in maltreatment and exposure to domestic violence
Children are most likely t be assaulted in their own homes
Teens and children less likely than adults to be victim of violent crime
Child Sexual Abuse
22% of sexual offences committed agains children and teenagers are child specific, include sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, luring a child via computer and corrupting children.
Despite the lower crime rate, children are most at risk of this crime
Children are 5 times more likely to become a victim of this type of crime
Intimate Partner Violence
Female and male victim rates for homicide dropped for the past 12 years
Needing medication are experienced more strongly by women
Some of these women end up victims of homicide
7 times as likely as men to be killed by their spouses or intimate partners
Shelters
80% of these women and children were attempting to flee an abusive situation
25 of the women sought shelter so their children would not witness violence
90% of women who left the shelter did not return to their spouse.
