Chapter 1
SEEKING:
Finding Happiness in Relationships in a Complex
World
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Identify the five key traits in happy relationships.
2. Identify the principal components of marriage and family.
3. Identify the benefits of marriage.
4. Understand the history of families in the early American era, the 19th and 20th
centuries, and the modern era.
5. Understand the economic and demographic trends affecting marriage.
Chapter Summary
1.1 Seeking Happiness through Love & Intimacy
One important way people seek happiness is in intimate relationships. Married people
tend to be among the happiest of people and tend to have higher levels of emotional well-
being. Happy couples exhibit five key traits in their relationships: (1) good
communication, (2) flexibility as a couple, (3) emotional closeness to each other, (4)
compatible personalities, and (5) agreement on how to handle conflict. The couple’s (6)
sexual relationship, (7) choice of leisure activities, (8) influence of friends and family, (9)
ability to manage money, and (10) agreement on spiritual beliefs also affect their
happiness.
1.2 Marriage & Family: The Basic Concepts
Compared with unmarried people, married people tend to get happier over time.
Unrealistic expectations about marriage may prevent the achievement of happiness in a
marriage. Heterosexual marriage can be defined as a socially approved mating
relationship involving five components: (1) emotional, (2) ceremonial, (3) legal, (4)
sexual faithfulness, and (5) parenting.
,Although most people in North America marry for love, some other cultures favor
arranged marriages. Universal to all cultures is some type of ceremony.
Cohabitation requires no license, but marrying does, which has legal implications that
affect property, children, debts, and inheritance. States may set a minimum age for
marriage and establish other requirements such as blood tests and waiting periods.
Common-law marriage, in which a couple living together presents themselves as being
married, is legally recognized in several states.
For many people, a marriage or sexual relationship involves monogamy. However, other
marital forms exist throughout the world, such as polygamy, or marriages involving
several spouses.
From a societal point of view, the main function of marriage is to provide a stable
framework for bearing, nurturing, socializing, rearing, and protecting children.
Unmarried parents are still expected, where possible, to be responsible for their children,
as is evident in the issue of child support.
In the traditional definition, a family is defined as a unit made up of two or more people
who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. The concept of family outside of
marriage can be subjective. The nature and structure of a family can vary. The nuclear
family, once thought of as the modern family, consists of a father, mother, and children
living in one household. The nuclear family was once considered the traditional family.
The nuclear family can be either a family of orientation (the family in which a person is
born and grows up) or a family of procreation or cohabitation (the family a person begins
after getting married and having children). As a result of a variety of social forces, family
structure has evolved beyond the nuclear family into new forms called the postmodern
family, three examples being the binuclear family (a family in which members live in two
different households), the blended family or stepfamily (created when two people marry
and one or both brings into the household a child or children from a previous marriage or
relationship), and the single-parent family. The term extended family further expands the
definition of family to include uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents, and
great-grandparents. Postmodern families may consist of kin that are defined as one’s
relatives by blood, marriage, or relationship. They also may consist of affiliated kin—
unrelated individuals who are treated as if they are related. Members of an extended
family may live in close proximity to one another and even in the same household. The
arrangements may be neolocal (a newly married couple sets up their own household,
which is not connected with the bride’s or groom’s parents), patrilocal (a newly married
,couple lives with the husband’s family), or matrilocal (a newly married couple lives with
the wife’s family).
Living in a family offers four benefits: (1), economic benefits, reflected in the economies
of scale (reduction in costs per unit) because of the increased size of the household; (2)
proximity, when family members live close to one another and so obtaining help or
company is more convenient; (3) familiarity—family members know an individual’s
characteristics during good times and bad; and (4) continuity—family members are
available to offer long-time emotional support, attachments, and assistance.
1.3 A Short History of Families
Family in America can be viewed from the perspective of (1) the early American era, (2)
the 19th and early 20th centuries, and (3) the modern era.
The early American family can be considered according to four groups: (1) Native
American families, (2) white colonial families, (3) African American families, and (4)
Hispanic (Latino) families.
Families in the 19th and early 20th centuries were dramatically influenced by social and
economic forces, including industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The main
impact of industrialization was to shift the production of goods from the home and human
labor to machines and factories located mostly in urban areas, which prompted
population movement to the cities, which resulted in a housing shortage that produced a
decreasing birth rate. The growth of mass transit gave working husbands and fathers
more mobility, but it also reduced their close connection to and supervision of their
children. Kinship networks enabled many immigrants and blacks to survive the adverse
conditions of slavery, poverty, and unemployment. As more people began working
outside the home, the view of the family as a work unit began to decline, women felt
more free to choose marriage partners for compatibility and affection, and children
became less important as economic contributors. Therefore, women began emphasizing
child rearing over childbearing, resulting in a declining birth rate.
In the 20th century, many economic, educational, and social welfare functions began to
be provided by outside agencies instead of families, and family members became more
attentive to taking care of one another’s emotional needs. Familism was replaced by
individualism, and sexual attraction and compatibility became more important as the
basis for middle-class marriage and family relationships. This led to the so-called
companionate family, in which the purpose of marriage was to provide emotional growth,
, romance, and sexual fulfillment. In the past 100 years, the family has been changed by
several social forces. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, formerly stay-at-home
mothers were forced to seek employment, a trend that had begun during World War I,
when able-bodied men were called to serve in the military, and that was reinforced during
World War II. The shift of women into formerly male-oriented jobs helped to change
traditional views of women as being mainly wives and mothers. The 1950s marked a
return to traditional family values, as a booming economy impelled families to seek the
good life in the suburbs and a stable household with a working father and stay-at-home
mother. The Baby Boom years, 1946–1964, witnessed a massive population explosion
that now constitutes approximately one-third of the U.S. population.
Immigration continues to be a major factor shaping the nature of the American family.
There has been a significant shift in the composition of the immigrant population from
primarily European to Asian and Latin American–born groups.
1.4 Major Forces Affecting Relationships & Families
Traditional family structure is influenced by both economic and demographic trends: the
Industrial Revolution, technological changes, mass media, popular culture, and
globalization. Demographically, the family is also experiencing changes in ethnic and
racial diversity.
Economic forces have compelled families to change from a philosophy of familism
(focused on the family needs) to individualism (focused on the need of the individual).
Technological changes in transportation and communication can have both positive and
negative influences on family. Globalization, the trend toward a more interdependent
world economic system, affects the U.S. economy, resulting in a decrease in well-paying,
low-skilled jobs, and an increase in low-paying service jobs. This, in turn, has an impact
on the stability and happiness of relationships and families.
The mass media are a major source of information and misinformation about success and
happiness, shaping people’s values, beliefs, and ideas about social roles.
The Great Recession beginning in December 2007 has resulted in more multigenerational
families living together and more grandparents raising children. More young adults have
moved back home with their parents, and the rate and number of babies being born have
declined. Fewer Americans now own their own homes or have moved to new residences,
fewer people have gotten married, and fewer immigrants have arrived in the country.
Demography is concerned with such matters as family size, marriage and divorce rates,
and ethnic and racial composition. Ethnic and racial diversity in the United States is
changing, with the number of non-Hispanic whites decreasing while the numbers of other
minorities are increasing. Other significant demographic trends—that people are living
SEEKING:
Finding Happiness in Relationships in a Complex
World
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Identify the five key traits in happy relationships.
2. Identify the principal components of marriage and family.
3. Identify the benefits of marriage.
4. Understand the history of families in the early American era, the 19th and 20th
centuries, and the modern era.
5. Understand the economic and demographic trends affecting marriage.
Chapter Summary
1.1 Seeking Happiness through Love & Intimacy
One important way people seek happiness is in intimate relationships. Married people
tend to be among the happiest of people and tend to have higher levels of emotional well-
being. Happy couples exhibit five key traits in their relationships: (1) good
communication, (2) flexibility as a couple, (3) emotional closeness to each other, (4)
compatible personalities, and (5) agreement on how to handle conflict. The couple’s (6)
sexual relationship, (7) choice of leisure activities, (8) influence of friends and family, (9)
ability to manage money, and (10) agreement on spiritual beliefs also affect their
happiness.
1.2 Marriage & Family: The Basic Concepts
Compared with unmarried people, married people tend to get happier over time.
Unrealistic expectations about marriage may prevent the achievement of happiness in a
marriage. Heterosexual marriage can be defined as a socially approved mating
relationship involving five components: (1) emotional, (2) ceremonial, (3) legal, (4)
sexual faithfulness, and (5) parenting.
,Although most people in North America marry for love, some other cultures favor
arranged marriages. Universal to all cultures is some type of ceremony.
Cohabitation requires no license, but marrying does, which has legal implications that
affect property, children, debts, and inheritance. States may set a minimum age for
marriage and establish other requirements such as blood tests and waiting periods.
Common-law marriage, in which a couple living together presents themselves as being
married, is legally recognized in several states.
For many people, a marriage or sexual relationship involves monogamy. However, other
marital forms exist throughout the world, such as polygamy, or marriages involving
several spouses.
From a societal point of view, the main function of marriage is to provide a stable
framework for bearing, nurturing, socializing, rearing, and protecting children.
Unmarried parents are still expected, where possible, to be responsible for their children,
as is evident in the issue of child support.
In the traditional definition, a family is defined as a unit made up of two or more people
who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. The concept of family outside of
marriage can be subjective. The nature and structure of a family can vary. The nuclear
family, once thought of as the modern family, consists of a father, mother, and children
living in one household. The nuclear family was once considered the traditional family.
The nuclear family can be either a family of orientation (the family in which a person is
born and grows up) or a family of procreation or cohabitation (the family a person begins
after getting married and having children). As a result of a variety of social forces, family
structure has evolved beyond the nuclear family into new forms called the postmodern
family, three examples being the binuclear family (a family in which members live in two
different households), the blended family or stepfamily (created when two people marry
and one or both brings into the household a child or children from a previous marriage or
relationship), and the single-parent family. The term extended family further expands the
definition of family to include uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents, and
great-grandparents. Postmodern families may consist of kin that are defined as one’s
relatives by blood, marriage, or relationship. They also may consist of affiliated kin—
unrelated individuals who are treated as if they are related. Members of an extended
family may live in close proximity to one another and even in the same household. The
arrangements may be neolocal (a newly married couple sets up their own household,
which is not connected with the bride’s or groom’s parents), patrilocal (a newly married
,couple lives with the husband’s family), or matrilocal (a newly married couple lives with
the wife’s family).
Living in a family offers four benefits: (1), economic benefits, reflected in the economies
of scale (reduction in costs per unit) because of the increased size of the household; (2)
proximity, when family members live close to one another and so obtaining help or
company is more convenient; (3) familiarity—family members know an individual’s
characteristics during good times and bad; and (4) continuity—family members are
available to offer long-time emotional support, attachments, and assistance.
1.3 A Short History of Families
Family in America can be viewed from the perspective of (1) the early American era, (2)
the 19th and early 20th centuries, and (3) the modern era.
The early American family can be considered according to four groups: (1) Native
American families, (2) white colonial families, (3) African American families, and (4)
Hispanic (Latino) families.
Families in the 19th and early 20th centuries were dramatically influenced by social and
economic forces, including industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The main
impact of industrialization was to shift the production of goods from the home and human
labor to machines and factories located mostly in urban areas, which prompted
population movement to the cities, which resulted in a housing shortage that produced a
decreasing birth rate. The growth of mass transit gave working husbands and fathers
more mobility, but it also reduced their close connection to and supervision of their
children. Kinship networks enabled many immigrants and blacks to survive the adverse
conditions of slavery, poverty, and unemployment. As more people began working
outside the home, the view of the family as a work unit began to decline, women felt
more free to choose marriage partners for compatibility and affection, and children
became less important as economic contributors. Therefore, women began emphasizing
child rearing over childbearing, resulting in a declining birth rate.
In the 20th century, many economic, educational, and social welfare functions began to
be provided by outside agencies instead of families, and family members became more
attentive to taking care of one another’s emotional needs. Familism was replaced by
individualism, and sexual attraction and compatibility became more important as the
basis for middle-class marriage and family relationships. This led to the so-called
companionate family, in which the purpose of marriage was to provide emotional growth,
, romance, and sexual fulfillment. In the past 100 years, the family has been changed by
several social forces. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, formerly stay-at-home
mothers were forced to seek employment, a trend that had begun during World War I,
when able-bodied men were called to serve in the military, and that was reinforced during
World War II. The shift of women into formerly male-oriented jobs helped to change
traditional views of women as being mainly wives and mothers. The 1950s marked a
return to traditional family values, as a booming economy impelled families to seek the
good life in the suburbs and a stable household with a working father and stay-at-home
mother. The Baby Boom years, 1946–1964, witnessed a massive population explosion
that now constitutes approximately one-third of the U.S. population.
Immigration continues to be a major factor shaping the nature of the American family.
There has been a significant shift in the composition of the immigrant population from
primarily European to Asian and Latin American–born groups.
1.4 Major Forces Affecting Relationships & Families
Traditional family structure is influenced by both economic and demographic trends: the
Industrial Revolution, technological changes, mass media, popular culture, and
globalization. Demographically, the family is also experiencing changes in ethnic and
racial diversity.
Economic forces have compelled families to change from a philosophy of familism
(focused on the family needs) to individualism (focused on the need of the individual).
Technological changes in transportation and communication can have both positive and
negative influences on family. Globalization, the trend toward a more interdependent
world economic system, affects the U.S. economy, resulting in a decrease in well-paying,
low-skilled jobs, and an increase in low-paying service jobs. This, in turn, has an impact
on the stability and happiness of relationships and families.
The mass media are a major source of information and misinformation about success and
happiness, shaping people’s values, beliefs, and ideas about social roles.
The Great Recession beginning in December 2007 has resulted in more multigenerational
families living together and more grandparents raising children. More young adults have
moved back home with their parents, and the rate and number of babies being born have
declined. Fewer Americans now own their own homes or have moved to new residences,
fewer people have gotten married, and fewer immigrants have arrived in the country.
Demography is concerned with such matters as family size, marriage and divorce rates,
and ethnic and racial composition. Ethnic and racial diversity in the United States is
changing, with the number of non-Hispanic whites decreasing while the numbers of other
minorities are increasing. Other significant demographic trends—that people are living
