How Is Sociology Used in Our Society to Study Marriage and the Family?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you lot will be able to:

• Describe order's current understanding of family
• Recognize changes in marriage and family unit patterns
• Differentiate betwixt lines of decent and residence

The modern concept of family is far more than encompassing than in by decades. What exercise you lot retrieve constitutes a family unit? (Photo (a) courtesy Gareth Williams/flickr; photograph (b) courtesy Guillaume Paumier/ Wikimedia Commons)

Marriage and family are key structures in most societies. While the two institutions accept historically been closely linked in U.S. culture, their connection is becoming more circuitous. The relationship between spousal relationship and family is an interesting topic of study to sociologists.

What is marriage? Dissimilar people define information technology in dissimilar ways. Not even sociologists are able to agree on a unmarried pregnant. For our purposes, we'll define marriage as a legally recognized social contract between ii people, traditionally based on a sexual human relationship and implying a permanence of the marriage. In practicing cultural relativism, we should as well consider variations, such as whether a legal matrimony is required (think of "common law" union and its equivalents), or whether more than than two people can be involved (consider polygamy). Other variations on the definition of marriage might include whether spouses are of opposite sexes or the same sex and how i of the traditional expectations of marriage (to produce children) is understood today.

Sociologists are interested in the human relationship between the institution of union and the institution of family unit because, historically, marriages are what create a family unit, and families are the most basic social unit upon which guild is built. Both marriage and family create status roles that are sanctioned past society.

Then what is a family unit? A husband, a wife, and ii children—maybe even a pet—has served as the model for the traditional U.Due south. family unit for virtually of the twentieth century. Only what almost families that deviate from this model, such as a single-parent household or a homosexual couple without children? Should they be considered families as well?

The question of what constitutes a family is a prime expanse of fence in family unit folklore, as well as in politics and religion. Social conservatives tend to define the family in terms of structure with each family unit member filling a certain function (like begetter, mother, or kid). Sociologists, on the other paw, tend to define family unit more in terms of the mode in which members relate to i another than on a strict configuration of status roles. Here, we'll define family as a socially recognized group (commonly joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of measurement of guild. Sociologists identify unlike types of families based on how one enters into them. A family unit of orientation refers to the family unit into which a person is built-in. A family of procreation describes one that is formed through marriage. These distinctions take cultural significance related to issues of lineage.

Drawing on ii sociological paradigms, the sociological understanding of what constitutes a family tin can be explained by symbolic interactionism too every bit functionalism. These two theories indicate that families are groups in which participants view themselves as family members and human activity accordingly. In other words, families are groups in which people come up together to form a strong master group connexion and maintain emotional ties to ane some other over a long period of time. Such families may include groups of close friends or teammates. In add-on, the functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society—both internally (for the family itself) and externally (for club as a whole). Families provide for ane another's concrete, emotional, and social well-being. Parents care for and socialize children. Later in life, adult children often care for elderly parents. While interactionism helps u.s. understand the subjective feel of belonging to a "family," functionalism illuminates the many purposes of families and their roles in the maintenance of a counterbalanced society (Parsons and Bales 1956). Nosotros will get into more than particular nigh how these theories apply to family unit in.

Challenges Families Face

People in the United States as a whole are somewhat divided when it comes to determining what does and what does not found a family. In a 2010 survey conducted by professors at the University of Indiana, about all participants (99.8 percent) agreed that a married man, married woman, and children constitute a family. Ninety-two per centum stated that a husband and a wife without children still constitute a family. The numbers drib for less traditional structures: single couples with children (83 percent), unmarried couples without children (39.6 percent), gay male couples with children (64 percent), and gay male couples without children (33 percent) (Powell et al. 2010). This survey revealed that children tend to be the key indicator in establishing "family" status: the percentage of individuals who agreed that unmarried couples and gay couples institute a family nearly doubled when children were added.

The written report also revealed that 60 percent of U.Southward. respondents agreed that if yous consider yourself a family, yous are a family unit (a concept that reinforces an interactionist perspective) (Powell 2010). The authorities, however, is not and then flexible in its definition of "family." The U.Southward. Census Bureau defines a family as "a grouping of ii people or more (one of whom is the householder) related past birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together" (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). While this structured definition tin can be used as a means to consistently track family-related patterns over several years, it excludes individuals such as cohabitating single heterosexual and homosexual couples. Legality aside, sociologists would argue that the full general concept of family is more diverse and less structured than in years past. Society has given more leeway to the design of a family making room for what works for its members (Jayson 2010).

Family unit is, indeed, a subjective concept, but it is a fairly objective fact that family (any one's concept of information technology may exist) is very important to people in the U.s.a.. In a 2010 survey past Pew Research Middle in Washington, DC, 76 percent of adults surveyed stated that family is "the most of import" chemical element of their life—just one percent said information technology was "non of import" (Pew Research Heart 2010). Information technology is also very important to society. President Ronald Regan notably stated, "The family has always been the cornerstone of American society. Our families nurture, preserve, and pass on to each succeeding generation the values we share and cherish, values that are the foundation of our freedoms" (Lee 2009). While the design of the family may take changed in contempo years, the fundamentals of emotional closeness and back up are notwithstanding present. Nearly responders to the Pew survey stated that their family unit today is at least every bit close (45 pct) or closer (twoscore percent) than the family with which they grew up (Pew Research Heart 2010).

Alongside the debate surrounding what constitutes a family is the question of what people in the United States believe constitutes a matrimony. Many religious and social conservatives believe that marriage tin only exist between a human being and a woman, citing religious scripture and the basics of human reproduction as support. Social liberals and progressives, on the other hand, believe that marriage can exist between two consenting adults—exist they a man and a woman, or a woman and a woman—and that information technology would be discriminatory to deny such a couple the civil, social, and economic benefits of union.

Matrimony Patterns

With single parenting and cohabitation (when a couple shares a residence merely non a marriage) condign more acceptable in recent years, people may exist less motivated to go married. In a recent survey, 39 percent of respondents answered "yes" when asked whether marriage is becoming obsolete (Pew Research Center 2010). The institution of matrimony is probable to continue, just some previous patterns of marriage will go outdated every bit new patterns emerge. In this context, cohabitation contributes to the miracle of people getting married for the offset time at a later age than was typical in earlier generations (Glezer 1991). Furthermore, marriage will proceed to be delayed as more people place education and career ahead of "settling down."

One Partner or Many?

People in the United States typically equate union with monogamy, when someone is married to but one person at a time. In many countries and cultures around the earth, all the same, having one spouse is not the only form of marriage. In a majority of cultures (78 pct), polygamy, or existence married to more than than one person at a fourth dimension, is accepted (Murdock 1967), with most polygamous societies existing in northern Africa and eastern asia (Altman and Ginat 1996). Instances of polygamy are almost exclusively in the form of polygyny. Polygyny refers to a man being married to more than than one woman at the aforementioned fourth dimension. The contrary, when a adult female is married to more than one homo at the aforementioned time, is called polyandry. Information technology is far less common and simply occurs in near ane percentage of the world's cultures (Altman and Ginat 1996). The reasons for the overwhelming prevalence of polygamous societies are varied but they often include issues of population growth, religious ideologies, and social status.

Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism, is said to have adept polygamy. (Photo courtesy of public domain/Wikimedia Commons)

While the majority of societies take polygyny, the bulk of people do not practise it. Often fewer than x per centum (and no more than than 25–35 percent) of men in polygamous cultures have more than than ane wife; these husbands are often older, wealthy, high-status men (Altman and Ginat 1996). The boilerplate plural marriage involves no more than iii wives. Negev Bedouin men in State of israel, for case, typically have two wives, although it is acceptable to have upward to four (Griver 2008). As urbanization increases in these cultures, polygamy is probable to subtract as a result of greater admission to mass media, engineering science, and teaching (Altman and Ginat 1996).

In the Usa, polygamy is considered past most to be socially unacceptable and it is illegal. The act of entering into matrimony while withal married to another person is referred to every bit bigamy and is considered a felony in nigh states. Polygamy in the Us is often associated with those of the Mormon faith, although in 1890 the Mormon Church officially renounced polygamy. Fundamentalist Mormons, such equally those in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), on the other hand, still hold tightly to the historic Mormon beliefs and practices and permit polygamy in their sect.

The prevalence of polygamy amid Mormons is often overestimated due to sensational media stories such as the Yearning for Zion ranch raid in Texas in 2008 and popular television shows such as HBO's Big Love and TLC'south Sister Wives. Information technology is estimated that at that place are about 37,500 fundamentalist Mormons involved in polygamy in the U.s., Canada, and Mexico, but that number has shown a steady subtract in the final 100 years (Useem 2007).

U.Southward. Muslims, however, are an emerging group with an estimated twenty,000 practicing polygamy. Again, polygamy among U.Due south. Muslims is uncommon and occurs merely in approximately one per centum of the population (Useem 2007). For at present polygamy among U.S. Muslims has gone adequately unnoticed by mainstream society, merely like fundamentalist Mormons whose practices were off the public'southward radar for decades, they may someday find themselves at the centre of social debate.

Residency and Lines of Descent

When considering one'south lineage, most people in the The states look to both their father'south and female parent's sides. Both paternal and maternal ancestors are considered function of one'south family. This pattern of tracing kinship is chosen bilateral descent. Note that kinship, or one's traceable ancestry, can be based on blood or wedlock or adoption. Sixty percent of societies, generally modernized nations, follow a bilateral descent pattern. Unilateral descent (the tracing of kinship through 1 parent just) is practiced in the other forty percent of the world's societies, with high concentration in pastoral cultures (O'Neal 2006).

At that place are iii types of unilateral descent: patrilineal, which follows the begetter'south line only; matrilineal, which follows the mother's side only; and ambilineal, which follows either the father's only or the mother's side only, depending on the situation. In partrilineal societies, such every bit those in rural China and India, simply males conduct on the family surname. This gives males the prestige of permanent family membership while females are seen as only temporary members (Harrell 2001). U.South. society assumes some aspects of partrilineal decent. For instance, most children presume their male parent'due south last name even if the mother retains her nascency name.

In matrilineal societies, inheritance and family ties are traced to women. Matrilineal descent is common in Native American societies, notably the Crow and Cherokee tribes. In these societies, children are seen equally belonging to the women and, therefore, one's kinship is traced to one's mother, grandmother, neat grandmother, and then on (Mails 1996). In ambilineal societies, which are most common in Southeast Asian countries, parents may choose to associate their children with the kinship of either the mother or the father. This choice maybe based on the desire to follow stronger or more prestigious kinship lines or on cultural customs such as men following their father'southward side and women following their mother'southward side (Lambert 2009).

Tracing ane'southward line of descent to one parent rather than the other can be relevant to the issue of residence. In many cultures, newly married couples move in with, or nearly to, family members. In a patrilocal residence system information technology is customary for the wife to live with (or near) her hubby'south blood relatives (or family or orientation). Patrilocal systems tin can exist traced dorsum thousands of years. In a DNA analysis of 4,600-year-sometime bones establish in Germany, scientists found indicators of patrilocal living arrangements (Haak et al 2008). Patrilocal residence is thought to be disadvantageous to women considering it makes them outsiders in the dwelling and community; it also keeps them disconnected from their own blood relatives. In China, where patrilocal and patrilineal customs are common, the written symbols for maternal grandmother (wáipá) are separately translated to mean "outsider" and "women" (Cohen 2011).

Similarly, in matrilocal residence systems, where it is customary for the husband to live with his wife's blood relatives (or her family unit of orientation), the husband tin feel disconnected and can be labeled every bit an outsider. The Minangkabau people, a matrilocal gild that is indigenous to the highlands of W Sumatra in Indonesia, believe that home is the place of women and they give men little ability in bug relating to the home or family (Joseph and Najmabadi 2003). Most societies that utilise patrilocal and patrilineal systems are patriarchal, only very few societies that utilize matrilocal and matrilineal systems are matriarchal, as family life is often considered an of import part of the culture for women, regardless of their ability relative to men.

Stages of Family unit Life

As we've established, the concept of family has changed greatly in recent decades. Historically, it was often idea that many families evolved through a series of predictable stages. Developmental or "stage" theories used to play a prominent role in family sociology (Potent and DeVault 1992). Today, however, these models have been criticized for their linear and conventional assumptions likewise every bit for their failure to capture the diversity of family forms. While reviewing some of these once-popular theories, it is important to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The set of anticipated steps and patterns families experience over time is referred to as the family life cycle. One of the start designs of the family unit life bike was developed past Paul Glick in 1955. In Glick's original design, he asserted that most people will abound upward, establish families, rear and launch their children, feel an "empty nest" menstruum, and come up to the terminate of their lives. This bike will then continue with each subsequent generation (Glick 1989). Glick'southward colleague, Evelyn Duvall, elaborated on the family life bicycle by developing these classic stages of family (Strong and DeVault 1992):

This table shows one example of how a "stage" theory might categorize the phases a family goes through.

Stage Theory
Stage	Family Type	Children
one	Spousal relationship Family	Childless
2	Procreation Family unit	Children ages 0 to 2.5
3	Preschooler Family unit	Children ages two.5 to 6
4	Schoolhouse-age Family	Children ages vi–13
5	Teenage Family unit	Children ages 13–20
half-dozen	Launching Family	Children begin to leave home
7	Empty Nest Family unit	"Empty nest"; adult children have left dwelling house

The family life cycle was used to explain the different processes that occur in families over fourth dimension. Sociologists view each stage as having its own construction with different challenges, achievements, and accomplishments that transition the family from ane stage to the side by side. For instance, the issues and challenges that a family experiences in Stage i as a married couple with no children are likely much different than those experienced in Phase 5 equally a married couple with teenagers. The success of a family can be measured by how well they adjust to these challenges and transition into each stage. While sociologists use the family life cycle to study the dynamics of family overtime, consumer and marketing researchers have used it to determine what goods and services families need every bit they progress through each stage (Murphy and Staples 1979).

As early "stage" theories take been criticized for generalizing family life and non bookkeeping for differences in gender, ethnicity, culture, and lifestyle, less rigid models of the family unit life bike accept been developed. One example is the family life course, which recognizes the events that occur in the lives of families but views them as departing terms of a fluid course rather than in consecutive stages (Strong and DeVault 1992). This type of model accounts for changes in family development, such equally the fact that in today's club, childbearing does non always occur with marriage. Information technology also sheds light on other shifts in the style family life is practiced. Social club'south modern understanding of family unit rejects rigid "phase" theories and is more accepting of new, fluid models.

The Evolution of Television Families

Whether you grew up watching the Cleavers, the Waltons, the Huxtables, or the Simpsons, about of the iconic families you saw in idiot box sitcoms included a begetter, a mother, and children cavorting under the aforementioned roof while comedy ensued. The 1960s was the height of the suburban U.S. nuclear family unit on television with shows such every bit The Donna Reed Show and Male parent Knows Best. While some shows of this era portrayed unmarried parents (My 3 Sons and Bonanza, for instance), the single status almost e'er resulted from beingness widowed—not divorced or unwed.

Although family dynamics in real U.S. homes were changing, the expectations for families portrayed on television were non. The U.s.' first reality show, An American Family (which aired on PBS in 1973) chronicled Bill and Pat Loud and their children as a "typical" U.S. family. During the serial, the oldest son, Lance, announced to the family that he was gay, and at the series' conclusion, Bill and Pat decided to divorce. Although the Loud'south wedlock was among the 30 percent of marriages that ended in divorce in 1973, the family unit was featured on the embrace of the March 12 upshot of Newsweek with the championship "The Broken Family" (Ruoff 2002).

Less traditional family structures in sitcoms gained popularity in the 1980s with shows such as Diff'hire Strokes (a widowed man with ii adopted African American sons) and One Day at a Time (a divorced adult female with two teenage daughters). Notwithstanding, traditional families such as those in Family Ties and The Cosby Bear witness dominated the ratings. The tardily 1980s and the 1990s saw the introduction of the dysfunctional family. Shows such as Roseanne, Married with Children, and The Simpsons portrayed traditional nuclear families, but in a much less flattering light than those from the 1960s did (Museum of Broadcast Communications 2011).

Over the past ten years, the nontraditional family has get somewhat of a tradition in television. While almost situation comedies focus on single men and women without children, those that do portray families oft devious from the classic structure: they include unmarried and divorced parents, adopted children, gay couples, and multigenerational households. Even those that do characteristic traditional family structures may show less-traditional characters in supporting roles, such as the brothers in the highly rated shows Everybody Loves Raymond and Two and Half Men. Even wildly popular children'due south programs every bit Disney's Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody feature single parents.

In 2009, ABC premiered an intensely nontraditional family with the broadcast of Modernistic Family unit. The prove follows an extended family that includes a divorced and remarried father with one stepchild, and his biological developed children—one of who is in a traditional two-parent household, and the other who is a gay human being in a committed relationship raising an adopted girl. While this dynamic may exist more complicated than the typical "modern" family, its elements may resonate with many of today's viewers. "The families on the shows aren't as idealistic, only they remain relatable," states goggle box critic Maureen Ryan. "The well-nigh successful shows, comedies especially, take families that you tin can look at and meet parts of your family in them" (Respers France 2010).

Summary

Sociologists view marriage and families equally societal institutions that help create the basic unit of social construction. Both marriage and a family may be divers differently—and adept differently—in cultures across the world. Families and marriages, similar other institutions, adapt to social change.

Short Answer

1. According to research, what are people'south full general thoughts on family in the United States? How do they view nontraditional family structures? How do you think these views might modify in twenty years?
2. Explain the difference between bilateral and unilateral descent. Using your ain association with kinship, explain which blazon of descent applies to yous?

Glossary

ambilineal

a type of unilateral descent that follows either the male parent's or the female parent'due south side exclusively

bilateral descent

the tracing of kinship through both parents' ancestral lines

bigamy

the human action of entering into marriage while notwithstanding married to another person

cohabitation

the human action of a couple sharing a residence while they are not married

family

socially recognized groups of individuals who may be joined by blood, marriage, or adoption and who form an emotional connexion and an economic unit of society

family unit life course

a sociological model of family that sees the progression of events as fluid rather than as occurring in strict stages

family life bicycle

a set of predictable steps and patterns families experience over time

family of orientation

the family into which one is born

family of procreation

a family that is formed through spousal relationship

kinship

a person'due south traceable ancestry (past blood, marriage, and/or adoption)

wedlock

a legally recognized contract between ii or more people in a sexual human relationship who have an expectation of permanence near their relationship

matrilineal descent

a type of unilateral descent that follows the mother'south side only

matrilocal residence

a system in which information technology is customary for a husband to live with the his wife's family

monogamy

the act of existence married to only one person at a time

patrilineal descent

a blazon of unilateral descent that follows the father's line only

patrilocal residence

a organisation in which information technology is customary for the a married woman to live with (or virtually) the her hubby's family

polyandry

a form of marriage in which i woman is married to more than than 1 man at once

polygamy

the state of being committed or married to more one person at a time

polygyny

a form of marriage in which one man is married to more than one woman at one time

unilateral descent

the tracing of kinship through one parent simply.

Further Research

For more than data on family development and lines of descent, visit the New England Historical Genealogical Society's spider web site, American Ancestors, and discover out how genealogies have been established and recorded since 1845.

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/American_Ancestors

References

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Glezer, Helen. 1991. "Cohabitation." Family unit Matters 30:24–27.

Glick, Paul. 1989. "The Family Life Cycle and Social Alter." Family unit Relations 38(2):123–129.

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