SOCL 4401 THE FAMILY FINAL EXAM NOTES - 1 SOCL 4401 THE...

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;
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 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
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