Family: Intro lesson, Definitions, Types, Alternatives

Question 1

What is Giddens’ definition of the family?

Answer 1

A group of persons directly linked by kin connections, the adult members of which assume responsibility for caring for children’.

Question 2

What is kinship?

Answer 2

relationships based on biological or marital ties.

Question 3

What is a household?

Answer 3

The place of domesticity - home and family life.

Question 4

Allan and Crow (2001) definition of the family

Answer 4

the definiton of tfamily is complex due to marriage, cohabitation and divorce

Question 5

Finch and Mason (1993)

Answer 5

Divorce doesn’t always end relationships between all family members.

Because whil they are legally divorced there still may be an emotional connection. Divorced parent still look after thei child

Question 6

Murdock’s definition of the nuclear family

Answer 6

2 generations: parents and children. the adutls assume responsiblity for the chldren - biological or adopted

Question 7

Edmund Leach - cereal packet family

Answer 7

Media portrays a happy, smiling nuclear family - male breadwinner, female housewife, consuming product

Media promotes the nuclear family as default - hypodermic syringe

Question 8

Barrett and McIntosh

Answer 8

Critical - nuclear family devalues other ways of living, makes those who aren’t in a nuclear family feel inadequate

highlight the dark side of the nuclear family - institution of abuse and neglect

Question 9

Cohabitation

Answer 9

lviing together not married

Question 10

extended family

Answer 10

Family of several generations, extends past nuclear family - grandparents, aunts/uncles

Question 11

Nuclear Family

Answer 11

a family consisting of an adult male and female with one or more children (including adopted)

Question 11

kin

Answer 11

relatives based on marriage or genes

Question 12

monogamy

Answer 12

marriage/relationship with only one person at a time

Question 13

Serial monogamy

Answer 13

During our lives we have serveal monogamous relationships one after the other

Question 14

Confluent love

Answer 14

Giddens. We flow from one intimate, loving relationship to the next

Question 15

Polygamy

Answer 15

Marriage with more than one person at a time

Question 16

Polygyny

Answer 16

man with multiple wives

Question 17

Polyandry

Answer 17

woman with multiple husbands

Question 18

Oneida

Answer 18

Christian community founded by John Humphrey Noyes.

Complex marriage: no man or women could be married exclusively. All men and women were married to each other

Free love: anyone was free to have sexual activity with anyone

Children raised by the community.

Question 19

Kibbutz

Answer 19

type of settlement in Israel

Intentional community: Designed for social cohesion and teamwork

Children generally raised apart form their parent in age groups, spent family time each evening and weekend with their biological parents

Today most children eat and sleep with their parents

Question 20

Young and Wilmott (1973) - extended family

Answer 20

Extended family developed into the nuclear family with the process of industrialisation.

Large families lived on farms. When the industrial revolution happened, people started moving into cities. The family had to shrink in order to move into and around cities easier

Question 21

Classic extended family

Answer 21

family (blood, marriage, adoption) that extend beyond the nuclear family, all living in the same household

Question 22

Vertically extended

Answer 22

Extended to include older relatives - grandparents

Question 23

Beanpole family

Answer 23

Family becomes long and thin - less aunts and uncles

grandparents live longer, women have less children

Question 24

Horizontally extended

Answer 24

Aunts, uncles, cousins - 2 generations

Question 25

Modified extended

Answer 25

lives far apart but keeps in touch by phone, letters, email, visits, social media.

Question 26

Park et al (2001)

Answer 26

used findings from a British SOcial Attitudes survey and found evidence of extended kin contact.

Asked 18+ how often they saw close family members they didnt live with.

More than half saw their mother once a week or more. see siblings less often.

Question 27

Wilmott (1988)

Answer 27

Research in North London suburb.

EVen when people didnt live really close to their extended family ther was still a lot of contact and family support.

Question 28

ONS estimates grandparents are an important source of what % of childcare?

Answer 28

40-70%

Question 29

Hillman and Hastings

Answer 29

in families with disadvantage (lone parenthood, disability), grandparents played the role of emotional, practical, financial support.

Question 30

Caring for the elderly

Answer 30

As older people live longer there is also a burden of care on some families.

This burden often falls upon women- they may have jobs and also be caring for the children and their own parents

Question 31

Sandwich generation

Answer 31

women, often in their 50s, who are supporting elderly parents, their children and their parents at the same time.