CHAPTER 1
MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS:
MAKING CHOICES IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
1. Understand why researchers and policy makers need to define family, even though
definitions are not always agreed upon and can be controversial.
2. Relate ways that family structure, or form, is increasingly diverse.
3. Explain why there is no typical American family.
4. Describe and give examples of various society-wide, structural conditions that impact
families.
5. Discuss why the best life-course decisions are informed ones made consciously.
6. Explain and give examples of how families provide individuals with a place to belong.
7. Understand why there is a tension in our culture between familistic values on the one
hand and individualistic values on the other hand.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Overview
This text has three goals: 1. appreciate the variety and diversity among families today. 2.
Understand your past and present family situations and anticipate future possibilities. 3. Be more
conscious of the personal decisions you make throughout your life and of the societal influences
that affect those decisions.
,II. Defining Family
This text defines family as: any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin relationship in which
people—usually related by ancestry, marriage, or adoption—1. form and economic or otherwise
practical unit and care for any children or other dependents, 2. consider their identity to be
significantly attached to the group, and 3. commit to maintaining that group over time.
A. Family Functions
1. Raising children responsibly
2. Providing economic order and other practical support
3. Offering emotional security
B. Traditionally, both law and social science specified that the family consisted of
people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Some definitions of the family
specified a common household, economic interdependency, and
sexual/reproductive relations.
C. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as two or more persons sharing a household
and who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
D. America is increasingly postmodern. Ultimately, there is no typical family.
1. Until the last 50 years, the nuclear family was considered the modern family.
2. As families have become less traditional, the legal definition of a family has
become much more flexible.
3. The text defines family as any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin
relationship in which people—usually related by ancestry, marriage, or
adoption—form an economic unit and care for any children or other
dependents; consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group;
and are committed to maintaining that group over time.
E. “Family Decline” or “Family Change?”
1. A discussion on “Family Decline” or “Family Change” explores the debate as
to whether current changes in the family are positive or negative according
to the views of social scientists and researchers.
III. A Sociological Imagination: Personal Troubles and Some Social Conditions That
Impact Families
A. Ever-New Biological and Communication Technologies
, 1. Assistive Reproduction Technologies involve the manipulation of sperm or egg
or both in the absence of sexual intercourse including: artificial insemination,
donor insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, egg sale or donation,
embryo transfers.
2. Communication Technologies
1. Communication by cell phones, internet sites and GPS facilitate constant and
global access to children, parents and extended family.
2. Internet access causes family boundaries more permeable.
3. Reproductive possibilities broadened and complicate family possibilities.
A. Economic Uncertainty
1. Over the past 35 years, the inequality gap has increased.
2. The recent recession affected nearly all of America’s families.
3. Income, wealth, and poverty rates diverge by race/ethnicity, education, and parents’
education.
B. Historical Periods and Events
1. The shift from an agricultural to industrial economy change family life irrevocably.
2. Historical periods also influence attitudes and values.
C. Demographic Characteristics
1. Age: Life expectancy has increased dramatically and has had vast consequences for
family life.
2. Religion: Religious affiliation and practice is a significant influence on family life.
3. Race and Ethnicity: Although race is a social construction, there are very real
practices and outcomes associated with different races.
i. America is increasingly diverse ethnically due to immigration, refugees in
America, and higher fertility rates among racial and ethnic minorities.
ii. Transnational and binational families add to America’s diversity.
iii. Racial and ethnic stratification continues to exist.
D. Family Policy: A Family Impact Lens
1. Family policy involves all the procedures, regulations, attitudes, and goals of
programs and agencies, workplace, educational institutions, and government that
affect families.
2. Political decisions regarding families should take a family impact lens approach.
IV. The Freedom and Pressures of Choosing
A. The best personal decisions are made knowledgeably. Social pressures, beliefs,
and values influence personal decisions. People can and do influence
society through individual and group opinions and participation.
B. Personal Troubles, Societal Influences and Family Policy
1. Because personal troubles often reflect societal influences, people must
understand themselves in the context of the larger society.
2. Individual choices largely depend on the alternatives that exist in society.
, 3. Individual choices are influenced by the speed at which societal changes
occur.
C. Social Influences and Personal Choices
1. Social factors limit choice options and make normative choices easier.
2. Sometimes, decisions are made by default.
3. Although social conditions limit choice options, conscious awareness of
these forces allow for more knowledgeable decision making.
D. Choosing by Default
1. People make decisions by default when they are not aware of all the
alternatives or they choose the easiest options (e.g., when spouses focus on
career success and neglect their family relationships, their decision is likely
the result of default).
E. Choosing Knowledgeably
1. Choosing knowledgeably involves rational consideration of many
alternatives and the recognition of the social pressures that influence
choices.
2. Knowledgeable decision making has respect for personal feelings and
includes regular testing of decisions against those feelings (as well as the
changes in the social environment).
3. Today, adulthood is viewed as a time for continued personal development.
Contemporary adulthood can be described as a life spiral in which
individuals incorporate traditional and alternative roles and accommodate a
variety of lifestyle choices throughout their lifetimes.
VI. A Family of Individuals
Americans place a high value on the family. Family values such as family togetherness,
stability, and loyalty focus on the family as a whole. Placing family well-being over
individual interests and preferences is termed familism.
A. Families as a Place to Belong
1. Families create a place to belong by creating both physical and psychological
boundaries between themselves and the rest of the world.
MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS:
MAKING CHOICES IN A CHANGING SOCIETY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to do the following:
1. Understand why researchers and policy makers need to define family, even though
definitions are not always agreed upon and can be controversial.
2. Relate ways that family structure, or form, is increasingly diverse.
3. Explain why there is no typical American family.
4. Describe and give examples of various society-wide, structural conditions that impact
families.
5. Discuss why the best life-course decisions are informed ones made consciously.
6. Explain and give examples of how families provide individuals with a place to belong.
7. Understand why there is a tension in our culture between familistic values on the one
hand and individualistic values on the other hand.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Overview
This text has three goals: 1. appreciate the variety and diversity among families today. 2.
Understand your past and present family situations and anticipate future possibilities. 3. Be more
conscious of the personal decisions you make throughout your life and of the societal influences
that affect those decisions.
,II. Defining Family
This text defines family as: any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin relationship in which
people—usually related by ancestry, marriage, or adoption—1. form and economic or otherwise
practical unit and care for any children or other dependents, 2. consider their identity to be
significantly attached to the group, and 3. commit to maintaining that group over time.
A. Family Functions
1. Raising children responsibly
2. Providing economic order and other practical support
3. Offering emotional security
B. Traditionally, both law and social science specified that the family consisted of
people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Some definitions of the family
specified a common household, economic interdependency, and
sexual/reproductive relations.
C. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as two or more persons sharing a household
and who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
D. America is increasingly postmodern. Ultimately, there is no typical family.
1. Until the last 50 years, the nuclear family was considered the modern family.
2. As families have become less traditional, the legal definition of a family has
become much more flexible.
3. The text defines family as any sexually expressive, parent-child, or other kin
relationship in which people—usually related by ancestry, marriage, or
adoption—form an economic unit and care for any children or other
dependents; consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group;
and are committed to maintaining that group over time.
E. “Family Decline” or “Family Change?”
1. A discussion on “Family Decline” or “Family Change” explores the debate as
to whether current changes in the family are positive or negative according
to the views of social scientists and researchers.
III. A Sociological Imagination: Personal Troubles and Some Social Conditions That
Impact Families
A. Ever-New Biological and Communication Technologies
, 1. Assistive Reproduction Technologies involve the manipulation of sperm or egg
or both in the absence of sexual intercourse including: artificial insemination,
donor insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, egg sale or donation,
embryo transfers.
2. Communication Technologies
1. Communication by cell phones, internet sites and GPS facilitate constant and
global access to children, parents and extended family.
2. Internet access causes family boundaries more permeable.
3. Reproductive possibilities broadened and complicate family possibilities.
A. Economic Uncertainty
1. Over the past 35 years, the inequality gap has increased.
2. The recent recession affected nearly all of America’s families.
3. Income, wealth, and poverty rates diverge by race/ethnicity, education, and parents’
education.
B. Historical Periods and Events
1. The shift from an agricultural to industrial economy change family life irrevocably.
2. Historical periods also influence attitudes and values.
C. Demographic Characteristics
1. Age: Life expectancy has increased dramatically and has had vast consequences for
family life.
2. Religion: Religious affiliation and practice is a significant influence on family life.
3. Race and Ethnicity: Although race is a social construction, there are very real
practices and outcomes associated with different races.
i. America is increasingly diverse ethnically due to immigration, refugees in
America, and higher fertility rates among racial and ethnic minorities.
ii. Transnational and binational families add to America’s diversity.
iii. Racial and ethnic stratification continues to exist.
D. Family Policy: A Family Impact Lens
1. Family policy involves all the procedures, regulations, attitudes, and goals of
programs and agencies, workplace, educational institutions, and government that
affect families.
2. Political decisions regarding families should take a family impact lens approach.
IV. The Freedom and Pressures of Choosing
A. The best personal decisions are made knowledgeably. Social pressures, beliefs,
and values influence personal decisions. People can and do influence
society through individual and group opinions and participation.
B. Personal Troubles, Societal Influences and Family Policy
1. Because personal troubles often reflect societal influences, people must
understand themselves in the context of the larger society.
2. Individual choices largely depend on the alternatives that exist in society.
, 3. Individual choices are influenced by the speed at which societal changes
occur.
C. Social Influences and Personal Choices
1. Social factors limit choice options and make normative choices easier.
2. Sometimes, decisions are made by default.
3. Although social conditions limit choice options, conscious awareness of
these forces allow for more knowledgeable decision making.
D. Choosing by Default
1. People make decisions by default when they are not aware of all the
alternatives or they choose the easiest options (e.g., when spouses focus on
career success and neglect their family relationships, their decision is likely
the result of default).
E. Choosing Knowledgeably
1. Choosing knowledgeably involves rational consideration of many
alternatives and the recognition of the social pressures that influence
choices.
2. Knowledgeable decision making has respect for personal feelings and
includes regular testing of decisions against those feelings (as well as the
changes in the social environment).
3. Today, adulthood is viewed as a time for continued personal development.
Contemporary adulthood can be described as a life spiral in which
individuals incorporate traditional and alternative roles and accommodate a
variety of lifestyle choices throughout their lifetimes.
VI. A Family of Individuals
Americans place a high value on the family. Family values such as family togetherness,
stability, and loyalty focus on the family as a whole. Placing family well-being over
individual interests and preferences is termed familism.
A. Families as a Place to Belong
1. Families create a place to belong by creating both physical and psychological
boundaries between themselves and the rest of the world.
