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Chapter 8:
Enduring Marriages & Families:
Successful Patterns of
Commitment

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What Are The Characteristics of
An Effective Marriage & A
Successful Family?
Americans & the Family

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What is Commitment?
• Short-Term Commitment – the decision to love someone
else
• Long-Term Commitment – the decision to maintain the
love for a person over time
• Commitment not only affects the happiness of married
couples, it is associated with fewer behavioral problems &
conflicts with children

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The Role of Fathers
• David Popenoe
• Other studies report that interaction with fathers are as,
if not more, important than interactions with mothers
• Fathers should have an active “hands-on role” in
parenting
• Our society needs to find ways to encourage the positive
and supportive roles and father figures in the lives of
children

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Factors that Affect Commitment
• Career & Work
• Dual-Earner Family – a family in which both parents hold a
job
• Work-Family Conflict – discord between roles adopted in the
work place & in the family
• Role Perception in Marriage
• Role Perception – the view of the role one assumes within
the family or society
• Willingness to Sacrifice
• Encourage success without being overbearing
• Helicopter parent – a parent who pays extremely close attention
to his or her child’s problems & experiences, particularly in the
area of education

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Factors that Affect Commitment Continued
• Family Relationships & Communication
• Family communication is necessary for development of
relationships & commitment
– This also reduces deviant behavior
○ Deviant Behavior – set of actions that deviate
from the common accepted cultural rule
• Health
• Health problems increase stress which can minimize
commitment
• Attitudes & Overall Happiness
• Creating & maintaining a positive attitude is important

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Listen, talk, & be nice!
Help, then help some more
Become a cheerleader
Bring your souls together
Remember the trinity of happiness
Show that you mean it
Marriage is fun!
Be together in the trenches
Trust & be trustworthy
Divide & conquer
Put yourself in your partner’s shoes
Celebrate change
 12 Characteristics of Successful Marriages

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Characteristics of Effective Families
• Effective Families – families that promote the satisfaction
of both the individual members & the family as a whole
• Effective Marriage
• Parents support & respect their children & spend time
with them
• Can cope with adversity by maintaining open lines of
dialogue & creatively redefining roles & responsibilities in
ways that enrich the family experience
• International Family Strengths Model
• Family strengths are similar across cultures

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The Family Today & Tomorrow
• What is a Family?
• Some say it’s declining; others say it’s changing
• Redefining the Concept of Family
• With the rates of cohabitation, marriage can no longer
be considered the only basis of the American family
• Class, race, & ethnicity are also important factors
– Ethnicity – a group of people sharing the same
language, geographical origin, culture, & traditions
• Same-sex couples & their families also have to be
considered

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The Family Today & Tomorrow
• Redefining the Concept of Family Continued
• In 2010, over 1/3 of cohabiting couples had children
• The number of cohabiting couples was 12 times as
large in 2006 as compared to 1960
• Sharp decline in traditional family
• A significant increase in new family forms
• The American family is resilient
• Recent data indicates that most Americans do not see
marriage as the only thing that defines a family

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The Family Today & Tomorrow Continued
• Family According to Law
• Alternate family forms are being recognized across the country
• Questions regarding child custody are also arising
• Families Around the World
• Birthrates are decreasing
– Birthrate – the average number of births in a given year
• Divorce rates are increasing
– Divorce Rate – the average number of divorces in a given year
• Globalization & recent international events, such as the economic
crisis that exploded in 2008, are also reshaping traditional family
systems around the world

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The Family Today & Tomorrow Continued
• Future of the Family
• Paradigm Shift around the world
– Paradigm – a set of assumptions shared by a community at a
given time
– Including if monogamy will become more or less popular
○ Monogamy – custom of sharing a permanent sexual relationship
with only one partner
Marriage & Families in the 21st
Century: US Families in Social Context
• Religion

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Marriages & Families in the 21st
Century Continued
• Work
• Industrialization & egalitarian gender roles are still affecting
how families function
• Legislation
• Wide variety of family issues on which the government
legislates from tax benefits to alimony
• Leadership
• What image of the family do our leaders promote?
• Mass Media
• Can positively & negatively affect families
• Mass Media & Parenting
– Again, can positively & negatively affect families

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Century Continued
• Mass Media Continued
• 2009 study found that children watch an average of 53
hours a week using various media. This number has
increased by 11 hours a week in just 10 years

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Century Continued
• Future Families
• International organizations such as the U.S. President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are assisting to
help aid families with members who have HIV and AIDS
through counseling and medical assistance
• How do you think such programs will affect the dynamics of
families with HIV and AIDS?

Think Marriages & Families
What Are the Theories That Analyze Family Relationships & the Role of
the Family in Society?
Marriages & Families: Theoretical Perspectives
• Functional Theory
• Nuclear family helps to fulfill many societal needs
– Sexual Regulation – the practice of restricting sexual
activity to the spouse only
– Social Placement – the transmission of role & social
status from one generation to the next

Think Marriages & Families
Marriages & Families: Theoretical Perspectives Continued
• Conflict Theory
• Control of resources lead to inequality within families
& between families in society including transnational
families
– Transnational Families – Families settled in one
place but with relationships across countries
• Symbolic Interaction Theory
• Socially constructed appropriate & inappropriate
behavior & meanings

Discover Marriages & Families in Action
How Does Research Define A Successful Family?
• Measures of Success
• People identify with dysfunctional families
• Criteria of a successful family?
– One in which parents are able to raise well-
adjusted children in an atmosphere of support &
affection
– The ability to deal with stress & maintain open &
constructive communication

What Organizations Can Assist Stepfamilies & Blended
Families?
• The Stepfamily Foundation – offers professional
counseling for stepfamily members via telephone & in
person
• The National Stepfamily Resource Center (NSRC) –
serves as a clearinghouse of information for stepfamilies
• The Second Wives Club – offers a variety of resources
specifically targeted at stepmoms & second wives
• Sharekids.com – online co-parenting system

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