Declining/Enduring Families

1. Declining/Enduring Families Chapter 2

2. Approaches to family Family Decline Family Transformation Approach that maintains that family – both as a living arrangement and as a social institution- is not disappearing but instead is becoming more diverse and complex as it adapts to changing social and economic circumstances. • Approach that regards recent changes in family life as a sign that the overall importance of family as a social institution is eroding

3. Drop in marriage • Delay in 1st marriage • Reduced tendency to remarry • Increase singlehood • Increase cohabitation • Increase in women working

4. Divorce • Less stigma • Increase in expectations • Less influence of religion

5. Consequences for children • School performance • Deviance • Child abuse/neglect • Depression/Eating disorders • Generational poverty

6. History of Families • Colonial • 19th Century • Early and Mid-20th • Baby Boom • 60s and beyond

7. Myth of the Golden Age • High rates of domestic violence • High rates of depression • Parents spent less time with children

8. Media Images • Compare to content analysis • Notion of the traditional family • Reflection hypothesis – mass media reflect the values of the general population

9. Gendered Expectations and Family Roles • Research shows that happy mothers = happy kids • Fathers more involved

10. Family Policy Implications • The Great Mom and Dad Experiment • Other issues