SOCL 4401 THE FAMILY FINAL EXAM NOTES
April 25, 2016
Chapters 9, 10, 11, & 12
Chapter 9: Families and Children
Childbearing in the U.S.
o
Most families have 1 to 3 children (average 2)
o
Family Size has been in decline but diversity has increased
More parents raising kids outside of marriage together
More single motherhood
Childbearing: Trends
Cohabiting
o
About a third of unmarried parents are actually living together
(cohabiting) at the time of birth
More Than Two Parents
o
While fewer parents are married now than in the past, many children
are involved with more than two parents
Women Without Children
o
The number of women reaching age 45 without having any children
has doubled since the 1980’s
Childbearing: Terms and Concepts
o
Fertility
The number of children born in a society or among a particular
group
o
Total Fertility Rate
The number of children born to the average woman in her
lifetime
Childbearing Trends: Unmarried Parents
o
Young adults with children who are not ready or willing to marry
o
Single older women who decide to have children
o
Divorced adults with children
o
Gay and lesbian couples, with children, who are not married
Childbearing: Race and Ethnicity
Childbearing: Education
o
Opportunity Costs
o
The price one pays for choosing the less lucrative of
available options
Adoption
2.1 % US children adopted
37% are adopted through the foster care system;
1

38% are U.S. born and adopted through private services
25% are born in other countries and adopted by U.S. parents
Children’s Living Arrangements: Inequality
African-American children experiencing more rapid shift toward single
mother families than children in other racial-ethnic groups
Single-mother families have fewer resources, lower incomes, and more likely
experience disruption in living arrangements
Children’s Living Arrangements: Transitions
Transitions within family, good or bad, can have long-lasting impacts on
children
Children living in cohabiting parent households may experience multiple
transitions in family composition
There is an increase in multigenerational households because of shifting
economic conditions
Parenting: Competition and Insecurity
Modern parenting in the United State Is increasingly reflecting competition
and insecurity
o
Because modern parents have fewer children, they invest more per
child than in the past
o
Parents have increasing anxiety about the job they are doing and the
quality of their parenting
Intensive Motherhood
Cultural pressure on women to devote more time, energy, and money to
raising their children (this cultural pressure increased as the employment
rates for women increased.
Fatherhood
Dad’s matter for child development, too!
Research has only grown within the last decades
Major shift in attitudes of what makes a “good father”
Parenting: Male Provider Ideal
Fatherhood
o
Male Provider Ideal
The father as an economic provider and authority figure for his
children
o
Involved Father Ideal
o
The father as an emotional, nurturing, companion who bonds
with his children as well as providing for them
o
Chapter 10: Divorce, Remarriage, and Blended Families
2


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- Kamo,Y