family variation

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Chapter 7:
Family Variation

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What Types of Families Exist in the 21st Century?
Families in the United States
• Both cultural & legal definitions have expanded
• Psychological Parents – a person serving as a parent who
is not biologically related to the child
• Recognized in certain cases in Canada
• Postmodern Family – a term meant to include all family
variations existing today

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• Single-Parent Families
• A family in which one parent is responsible for the
children in a household
• Non-Residential Parents
• A parent who does not live in the primary residence of
their children
• One-half of children with a nonresidential father do not
receive financial support
• Part of this increase in non-residential fathers can be
explained in the growing number of teen and adult
unmarried fathers

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• Traditional or Nuclear Families
• Americans still idealize traditional families
• 6-10% of American children live with both of their biological
parents
• Enjoy a better financial situation than single or divorced
parents
• Married people live longer
• Married people have better mental health
• Married people enjoy better sex lives
• 87% of Asian children live in traditional families
• 78% of non-Hispanic whites live in traditional families
• 69% of Hispanics live in traditional families
• 38% of Blacks live in traditional families

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• Cohabitating Families
• A heterosexual coupling living together without being
married
• Types of Cohabitation
– Trial Marriage – cohabitation to assess whether
parents are sufficiently compatible for marriage
○ Recent studies suggest that many cohabitating
couples have no intention of getting married

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• Heuveline & Timberlake’s 5 categories of cohabitation
– Prelude to Marriage
– Stage in the Marriage Process
– Alternative to Singlehood
– Alternative to Marriage
– Indistinguishable from Marriage
• Disadvantages of Cohabitation
– Cohabitation Effect – A phenomenon in which couples
who cohabit before they marry are more likely to divorce
– More negative couple communication
– Higher levels of physical aggression
– More symptoms of anxiety & depression
– Religious objections
– Negative Effects on children

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Singles
• Perceptions of singles have changed
• About 33% of adults; 48% if widowhood & divorced
peoples are included
• Reasons include preference to focus on education or
career goals, intending to marry later; not having found
“soul mate”; & lack of available time
• Successful women report they don’t have time to date
and that men are intimidated
• Most practice Serial Monogamy
• An involvement in a single exclusive relationship
followed by another exclusive relationship

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• Same Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, & Domestic Partnerships
– Until 2000 no same-sex couples were entitled to legal
benefits married couples were
• Same-Sex Marriage – a marriage in which same-sex couples
are united legally with the legal rights guaranteed by the
federal government to traditional married couples
• Civil Union – Same-sex couples recognized in certain states
without the legal rights guaranteed by the federal
government
• Domestic Partnership – Same-sex or cohabitating couples
recognized in certain states, but without the legal rights
guaranteed by the federal government

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• Same Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, & Domestic Partnerships
• 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, prohibiting federal benefits to same-
sex couples
• As of 2011, five states allow civil unions, three allow same-sex
marriage, four states grant almost all state-level spousal rights to
domestic partnerships, and three states and Washington D.C. give
some state-level spousal right to domestic partnerships
• Current Trends & Attitudes
– 54% of Americans oppose making same-sex marriage legal
• Parent-Child Relationships
– Children show little difference in emotional & social
development
– No difference in gender-identity confusion

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• Remarried, Blended, or Stepfamilies
• The family of a person who remarries after divorce or death of the
spouse, including all children
– A man or woman may marry but not legally adopt the spouse’s
children
• Issues in Creating a Stepfamily
– Stage 1: Fantasy – fantasize what life will be like
– Stage 2: Immersion – reality sets in
– Stage 3: Awareness – begin to make sense of situation
– Stage 4: Mobilization – stepparents take a firmer role
– Stage 5: Action – couples work together to begin building new
family
– Stage 6: Contact – stepparents & stepchildren begin to get to
know each other
– Stage 7: Resolution – family relationships are solid & reliable

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• Divorced Families
• Divorce – the legal
termination of a
marriage
– Rates rose from
1960-1980 & then
declined to 1970
level

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• Polygamous Families
• Polygamy – marriage between one person & more than one
spouse
– Polyandry – a woman with multiple husbands
– Polygyny – a man with multiple wives
• 20,000-40,000 estimated to practice polygamy
• Bigamy – entering into a marriage with one person while still
married to another
• Negative Effects
– Negative psychological & physical effects on wives &
children
– Lower educational achievement of children
○ Another study found no differences
– Increased rates of poverty, physical abuse, & illiteracy

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• Grandparent Families
• Rates increasing
• Effects on Grandparents
– Challenges of raising children along with issues relating
to age & circumstances
– Develop & maintain close relationships with
grandchildren
○ More so for grandmothers
• Effects on Grandchildren
– Have issues related to negative circumstances of their
parents’ leaving
– No ill effects when compared to other non-traditional
families

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Think Marriages & Families
What Theories Are Used to Analyze Family Organization &
Relationships?
• Functionalism
• Variations in the family lead to societal dysfunction
• Conflict Theory
• “Haves”’ ideology can operate as a justification for
promoting inequality
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Socialization or self development process is reciprocal
between parents & children

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Discover Marriages & Families in Action
What Family Issues Are Currently Being Debated in the United
States?
• The Gay Blogger & Miss California