Chapter 15 Review

Dr. Ji SOC 242 Contemporary Social Problems Review List for Chapter 15 _______________________________________________________________________ Terms: Family, Household, Cohabitation, Primary group, myths of the family, Life Chances, Downward mobility, Modern Family, Postmodern Family, Nonfamily household, Heterogamy, Homogamy, Dual-worker families, parental leave, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Aid to families with dependent children, Survivors Benefits, ?his? and ?her? divorce, ?his? divorce, ?her? divorce, Stepfamily, Maladjustment, Wife abuse, Child Abuse, Pronatalism Concepts Family- is a construct of meanings and relationships Household- a residential and economic unit Cohabitation- Living together without getting married Primary group- the people with whom one has intimate, face-to-face interaction on a recurring basis, such as parents, spouse, children, and close friend Myths of family: The myth of a stable and harmonious family of past, The myth of the family as a ?haven in a heartless world?, The myth of the monolithic family form, The myth of unified family experience, and The myth of family decline as the cause of social problems Family arrangements in the are closely related to economic development A family?s location in the class system is the single most important determinant of family life Life Chances-Opportunities throughout one?s life cycle to live and to experience the good things in society Downward mobility-Movement to a lower class The changing forms of families are a major consequence of the economic transformation Modern Family- Nuclear family that emerged in response to the requirements of urban, industrial society. The male breadwinner, homemaker wife, etc. Postmodern Family- Multiplicity of family and household arrangements that has emerged as a result of a number of social factors, such as women in the work force, divorce, remarriage, and cohabitation Heterogamy- marriage between partners with diverse values and beliefs Homogamy- marriage between partners with similar values and backgrounds Nonfamily household- persons who live alone or with unrelated individuals The growth of the nonfamily household is one of the most dramatic changes to occur during the past four decades Dual-worker families- both spouses are in the labor force Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993- Requires firms with more than 50 employees to provide their employees with unpaid maternity leave of up to 12 weeks, guaranteed jobs, and the retention of job benefits during the leave Probably the biggest problem facing working parents is finding accessible child care Research has shown consistently that children from single-parent homes are more likely than children from intact families to have behavioral problems such as mental illness, drug abuse, and delinquency Recent divorce rates show that the chances of a first marriage in the ending in divorce is about one in two For women the negatives of divorce clearly outweigh the positives in most cases Stepfamily- a family formed by marriage that includes one or more children from a previous marriage Maladjustment- poor adjustment to one?s social environment Wife abuse- Use of physical force by a man against his intimate cohabiting partner Child Abuse-Distinctive acts of violence and nonviolence and acts of omission and commission that place children at risk Pronatalism- the widespread belief that a women?s only fulfilling activity is motherhood, this ideology forces many women into a role they do not want Discussion Describe one of the myths of the family and its characteristics. What is the single most important determinant of family life? What are usually the disadvantages for women getting a divorce?