Part One American Family

I.The Nature of Familiy

II.Changing Family Structure and Patterns

III.Child-related Family Issues

IV. Family Problems

V. Family Values

VI. The Future of the Family

I. The Nature of Families Traditional Definition:

a group of people who are related to one another by bonds of blood, marriage, or adoption and who live together, form an economic unit, and bear and raise children.

Modified Definition:

relationships in which people live toget

her with commitment, form an econom

ic unit and care for the young, and con

sider the group critical to their identity.

II. Family Structure and Patterns

Traditional Family Structure:

1. Kinship: the basis of the traditional fa

mily structure, a social network of peo

ple based on common ancestry, marria

ge or adoption.

2. Extended family:

a family unit composed of relatives in

addition to parents and children who li

ve in the same household.

3. Nuclear family:

a family unit composed of one or two

parents and their dependent children

who live apart from other relatives.

The Changing American Family Struc

ture

Only 26% of households in the US co

nsist of two parents and their children.

30% are married couples without c

hildren.

8% are single parents and their ch

ildren.

11% are unmarried couples and others

living together.

In 25% of the households, there is som

eone living alone.

Diverse Patterns of ContemporaryFamilies and Intimate Relationships

1. Singlehood: 42 million adults in the United

States who have never been married.

Some people choose singlehood over

marriage because it means greater free

dom from commitments to another pers

on.

Other reasons: more career opportunities, t

he availability of sexual partners without m

arriage, the belief that the single lifestyle is

full of excitement, and the desire for self-su

fficiency and freedom to change and experi

ment.

2. Postponing Marriage Many young people today are remainin

g single into their late twenties. The median age for men to get married is 26.7 years, and for women is 24.5 years.

Why are more people postponing first

marriage? economic uncertainty due to changing job st

ructure in the U.S. women's increasing participation in the labo

r force

the sexual revolution of the 1970s

that made sexual relationships

outside marriage more socially

acceptable

the rising divorce rate----young pe

ople watching their parents divorce

may be less anxious to jump into m

arriage themselves.

3. Cohabitation: it is two unmarried adu

lts living together in a sexual relationsh

ip without being legally cohabit as "un

married couple households"

For some, cohabitation is a form of tria

l marriage, constituting an intermediate

stage between dating and marriage. Ho

wever, this is not necessarily a first ste

p toward marriage.

Cohabitation is illegal in America since 1805 when the anti-cohabitation statute was passed by the legislature.

----“If any man and woman, not being married to each other, shall lewdly and lasciviously associate, bed and cohabitate together, they shall be guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail.”

figuresIn 2000: 6,000,000 couples are currently cohabitatingIn the U.S., 40% are raising children at home.

Each year more than one-third of all American childrenare born out of wedlock.

Laws against cohabitation: Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia & West Virginia

Disadvantages about cohabitation:

Detrimental impact on children

Domestic abuse

Less security& well-being

Future instability in relationships

Does cohabitation contribute to marital success?

Some studies show that cohabitation has little or no effect on marital adjustment, emotional closeness, satisfaction and intimacy.

But other studies indicate that coup

les who cohabit are more likely to

divorce than those who do not.

4. Dual-Earner Marriages

It refers to marriages in which both spo

uses are in the labor force. Over 50% o

f all marriages in the U.S. belong to thi

s category.

Couples with more egalitarian ideas ab

out women's and men's roles tend to sh

are more equally in food preparation, h

ousework, and childcare.

5. Egalitarian Family

A family in which the partners share

power and authority equally.

A trend toward more egalitarian rel

ationship in the U.S. as some wom

en gained new educational and em

ployment opportunities

6. Two-Parent and One-Parent Households

When the mother and father in a two-parent household truly share parenting, children have the benefit of two primary caregivers. However, living in a two-parent family does not guarantee children a happy childhood.

Children whose parents argue constantl

y, are alcoholics, or abuse them have a

worse family experience than do childr

en in a single-parent family where ther

e is a supportive environment.

How prevalent are one-parent households?

The past two decades have seen a

significant increase in one-parent

households due to divorce, death of a

parent, and births outside marriage.

In 1970, about 12% of all children

lived with one parent; by 1995, 27%

did. Today, 88% of one-parent families

are headed by single mothers.

The effect of one-parent household on children

poor academic achievement, high dropout rates, more drug and alcohol abuse, and higher rates of teen pregnancy, early marriage, and divorce.

They are often less pressured to co

nform to rigid gender roles. Rather,

they take on a wider variety of tas

ks and activities.

They show high levels of maturity and

self-sufficiency earlier because they ha

ve to help out at a younger age than chi

ldren in other families.

7. Step families (blended families) They consist of mothers, their biologic

al children, and stepfathers. Because women usually win custody of children in divorce cases, 90% of stepchildren live with their biological mothers and stepfathers.

Given the high rates of divorce and

remarriage stepfamilies reach some

7.3 million and account for 16% of all

married couples with children under

age 18.

The happiness of stepfamilies

depends largely on how well the

stepfather gets along with the

children.

The presence of stepchildren has b

een a major reason why second ma

rriages fail at a higher rate than firs

t marriages.

8. Gay and Lesbian Marriages

Same-sex couples now number over 1.6 mil

lion in the United States. Gay marriages hav

e recently been approved in only a few coun

tries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

In theUS, gay couples do not have the same

legal protections and financial benefits as "s

traight " couples, such as tax exemptions an

d deductions or social security survivor's be

nefits.

In 1993, the Supreme Court of Hawaii

ruled that the ban on same sex marriages violates the state constitution's ban against sex discrimination. the first state in the US to legalize gay marriages.

Gay couples are far more egalitarian in

their relationship than heterosexual co

uples, for gay partners have been social

ized to the same gender role

Upper, Middle, and Working-Class Families

Putting families in the class context shall

provide us a structural dimension in looking

at different families in the United States.

1. Upper-Class Families

members of the upper class in the

US receive a distinct education fro

m infancy through young adulthoo

d.

Upper-class families tend to be

endogamous, that is, children are

encouraged to marry someone of

their own social class.

the most frequent occupations of m

en of the upper class are business a

nd finance.

Since upper-class families are at th

e top of the social hierarchy in Am

erican society, they do not aspire to

be upwardly mobile.

2. Middle-Class Families

People in middle-class families in the US te

nd to work in service occupations with othe

r people. Their occupations focus on the ma

nipulation of ideas and symbols that require

creativity.

parents have a strong desire for their ch

ildren to have a better life than they ha

ve experienced. Consequently, they em

phasize education as the means for up

ward social mobility.

middle-class families are geographical

ly mobile. They are frequently asked to

move when their company needs them

to work at another site.

As more middle-class-family women w

ork outside the home, middle-class fam

ilies are becoming more committed to

equality of the sexes.

3. Working-Class Families

Stable working-class families participate in

production, reproduction, and consumption

by sending out their labor power in

exchange for wages.

Working-class families in the US are usuall

y nuclear, and many studies seem to indicat

e that working-class couples marry for love,

not for money.

they have jobs that require less skill th

an middle-class jobs, that have less roo

m for independent judgment, and that l

eave them with little freedom.

Working-class families typically hold to the

traditional notions of gender in marital roles.

A higher degree of gender segregation exist

s within the family.

Because of their limited resources in capital and skills, working-class families are not as geographically mobile. They tend to live close to their kin and form an extensive network of mutual help.

Working-class people place less empha

sis on upward social mobility and the i

mportance of achieving immediate goa

ls such as attending college.

III. Child-Related Family Issues

1. Abortion Today, many U.S. women spend about

90% of their fertile years trying to avoid pregnancy. By 1900, most states had enacted laws forbidding abortion.

Abortion is a solution for some pregna

nt women and their families but a probl

em for others, particularly when they fa

ce religious or family opposition to thei

r decision.

2. Teen Pregnancy and Unmarried Motherhood

The teenage birth rate remains high in the U. S. . The number of births among unmarried teenaged females has jumped from about 22 to 45 per 1,000 in the last two decades.

Despite the myth that most births to

unmarried teenagers occur in the central

cities of large urban areas, the greatest

member of teen births occur in the South

and in less urbanized areas.

It is widely believed that teens from mi

nority racial and ethnic groups are mor

e likely to be unwed mothers, but the m

ajority of teen births occur among whit

e teenagers.

Family support is extremely import

ant to unmarried pregnant teens be

cause spouse support is often lacki

ng.

Children of unwed teenage mothers

tend to have severely limited education

al and employment opportunities and a

high likelihood of living in poverty.

IV. Family Problems

1. Divorce and Remarriage

Divorce is the legal process of dissolving a

marriage that allows former spouses to rema

rry if they so choose.

Why do divorce occur?

Getting married during the teenage years.

Getting married after only a short acqu

aintanceship.

Having relatives and friends

disapprove of the marriage.

Having limited economic resources

and earning low wages.

Both partners having a high school edu

cation or less.

Having parents who were divorced or

who had unhappy marriages.

Having children present at the beginnin

g of the marriage.

These factors are interrelated with such

factors as class, race, and age.

In more than 40% of all marriages, eith

er the bride, the groom, or both have pr

eviously been married.

Blended family

It consists of a husband and a wife, children

from previous marriages, and children (if

any) from the new marriage.

Binuclear families refer to families

in which the children live with one

biological parent and a stepparent part

of the time but with the other biological

parent and another stepparent the rest

of the time.

2. Violence

It is estimated that about 12 million wives a

re beaten by their husbands and that somew

here between 1 and 2 million children are a

bused every year in the U S.

Violence Between Husband and Wife

Researchers estimate that it actually oc

curs in some form in about one of ever

y two marriages.

Many victims find that the police are

reluctant to be of much help. First, most

police officers are male, and tend to hold

a traditional view of gender roles. Second,

many victims drop the charges against their

attackers.

Child Abuse

According to one estimate, 14 percent of

American children are severely beaten by

their parents each year.

Traditionally, severe physical puni

shment was considered essential to

the learning process.

Abused children are much more likely

to come from single-parent homes and

large families. The lower the parents' social and economic status, the more they tended to abuse their children.

Child abuse can be psychological as

well as physical. Countless parents ca

use severe emotional damage to their

children without being physically viol

ent.

3. Work and Family Inequality

The ideas about the proper role of wive

s and husbands have been undergoing s

ome remarkable changes.

How fairly are the family burdens divided? In general, men work more hours outside

the home and perform automobile and home repairs and other heavy household tasks. Women tend to work fewer hours outside the home but generally do most of the work that needs to be done around the house.

V. Family Values

Traditional Values: Respecting one's parents Being responsible for one's actions Having faith in God

Respecting authority

Married to the same person for life

Leaving the world in better shape

A Blend of Traditional and Newer Values

Giving emotional support to other members of the family

Respecting people for themselves

Developing greater skill in communicatin

g one's feelings

Respecting one's children

Living up one's potential as an individual

VI. The Future of Families

----Is Family Going to Die?

In 1949 Carle Zimmerman concluded t

hat "We must look upon the present co

nfusion of family values as the beginni

ng of violent breaking up of a system."

Today, many continue to predict the

demise of the family pointing out as

evidence the increase in divorce,

out-of-wedlock births, cohabitation,

and singlehood.

Many traditional families have merely

changed into two-career families, whic

h still hang together as nuclear families

rather than disintegrate.

Despite the increased number of people

staying single, an over-whelming majo

rity of those who now live alone will e

ventually marry.

Although divorce rates have doubled over t

he last two decades, three out of four divorc

ed people remarry.

Most of the young adults who live together

before marriage will also marry eventually.

According to a recent survey, 60% of

married individuals said "very happy",

36% said "pretty happy", and only 3%

said "not too happy".

2. What will families be like in future?

As American society becomes more di

versified (or rather more fragmented), f

amilies in the US will manifest diversit

y without destroying the basic family v

alues.

Research shows that the vast majority

of young people in the U. S. still value

marriage, parenthood and family life,

and plan to marry, have children, and

be successful in marriage.

Part Two Old Age

I. Causes for an Aging Society

II. Problems of the Elderly

III. Solutions to These Problems

I. The Causes of an Aging Society

1. Continued Low Fertility Rate Until the 20th century high fertility and

high mortality kept the U.S. a youthful nation. However, during this century, the birth rate has fallen.

2. Ever-greater Life Expectancy Rate

Greater longevity because of advances in m

edical technology has increased the life exp

ectancy of Americans. The average life exp

ectancy in 1900 was 49 years, and in 1990 i

t was 75.6 years.

3. The Baby Boom Generation Reaching Old Age

The baby boom generation refers to the 75 million people born from 1946 to 1964. This generation will reach old age, beginning in 2011 and ending in 2030.

II. Problems of the Elderly

The plight of the aged has recently come to

be regarded as a major social problem in the

US. In a sense, the elderly (sixty-five and o

ver) are a "newly-discovered" minority grou

p.

1. Health

One of the severest problems of the aged is

that of declining health and of how to pay

for the needed medical treatment.

Although the elderly represent only 10%

of the total population, they represent a th

ird of hospital populations and consume a

quarter of the drugs prescribed each year.

Many elderly people have trouble getting

the care and treatment they need for their

ailments. Most hospitals do not have the

facilities or personnel to treat the chronic

degenerative diseases of the elderly.

And even with the help of Medicare, th

e elderly in the United States often hav

e a difficult time paying for the health

care they need.

2. Physical and Psychological Abuse

Elder abuse involves psychological as

well as physical violence. Actually, psychol

ogical threats, verbal attacks,

and social humiliation are probably more co

mmon than outright violence.

Many elderly persons are also financially

victimized by their caregivers; some

caregivers intimidate them into turning

over their savings or pension checks;

others simply take their property without

permission.

3. Financial Problem Poverty among the elderly is higher

than it is for those in their middle years,

especially among widows and members of the

minority groups. Medical bills increase, and

as the elderly grow more feeble, they must

hire others to do many of the chores.

One source for these financial prob

lems

is that as people grow older, they a

re less likely to be employed.

Another problem arises from technolog

ical changes that may suddenly make t

he skills that older workers have acqui

red over a

lifetime obsolete.

Retired men and women receive income

from a variety of sources, including

pensions, Social Security, and personal

savings. Only a minority of the elderly

receive any pension at all.

4. Housing Housing for the elderly often lacks pro

per heating. Those who are physically handicapped or disabled also need wheelchair ramps, elevators, and other special facilities.

Even owning a home is not easy for ma

ny elderly people. There may be mortg

age payments to meet, and rising taxes

and insurance premiums must also be p

aid.

Almost a quarter of all Americans over

age of 84 live in nursing homes.

Most of these institutions are profit-ma

king businesses.

5. Problems of Transition

The three most significant personal tra

nsitions that the elderly must face are r

etirement, the loss of friends and loved

ones, and their own death.

III. Solutions to These Problems

1. Social Security It is the only source of income for

about half of the retired people and a major source of income for 80 % of the elderly in U.S..

Social Security has reduced povert

y significantly among the elderly (f

rom 35.2% in 1959 to 10.8% in 19

96).

Social Security also provides life insur

ance benefits to the survivors in case of

the death of a breadwinner and disabilit

y payments when a wage earner is una

ble to work.

2. Health Care

Of all age groups. the elderly are the most a

ffected by ill health. Health problems occur

especially from age 75 onward, as the dege

nerative processes of aging accelerate.

Although the elderly make up 13

% of the population in 1998, they

consume more than one-third of all

health care in the U.S..

3. Medicare and Medicaid

With the advent of Medicare in 1965,

persons 65 and older experienced improved

access to medical care and hospitalization.

Medicare is a federal health insurance

program for the aging that is divided in

to two basic components: Part A, hospi

tal insurance, and Part B, supplemental

medical insurance.

Part A pays for hospital care and fo

r restricted amounts of skilled nurs

ing care and home health care.

Part B covers physician services,

hospital outpatient services, additional

home health care, diagnostic laboratory

and X-ray services, and so on.

The Medicaid program, enacted by

Congress in 1965, represented a major

expansion in federal contributions to the

states for the provision of health care to

needy persons of all ages.

Individuals whose income and assets are

below a designated level established by

the federal government are eligible for

Medicaid.

4. Older Americans Act

The Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965 a

nd its Comprehensive Service Amendments

of 1973 and 1978 represent an attempt to es

tablish a system of coordinated social servic

es for elderly citizens.