Sociology Ch. 11.4 Review--Changes in Marriage and Family

About 40% of households in the U.S. contain biologically unrelated individuals

Cohabitating couples are more likely to have higher divorce rates than non-cohabitating couples

The following quote from Speaker Paul Ryan references boomerang kids

A problem w/ working families is the lack of parental contact in early developmental years

A blended family can become extremely complicated

Over 90% of American men and women marry at some point in their lives

In dual employed marriages, women work about 15 more hours per week, called the “second shift.”

Men and women split household and childcare responsibilities evenly in a dual-employed marriage

1 in 4 American families is a single parent household, 90% of which are headed by women

Working outside the home is a detriment to women

The relatively high divorce rate in the U.S. has created more of a nuclear family

Cohabitating couples are more likely to have less happy marriages than non-cohabitating couples

Blended families create a new type of extended family--one not based on blood relationships

Research shows that childless marriages are happier than marriages with children

The number of single individuals have fallen over the past several decades

Mothers in dual employed marriages experience role conflict (wife/mother/breadwinner)

The TV show “All in the Family” is an example of a blended family

Daughters of working mothers benefit from having a working woman as a role model

Children from single parent households are more likely to be deviants

There is no longer a stigma of remaining single instead of marrying

Another reason for single mothers is b/c poor fathers are more likely to abandon their children

Some affluent women are choosing to be single mothers today

Another major problem facing blended families is stepchildren disliking the new spouse

The traditional family (mom at home, dad at work) accounts for <25% of households today

Another major problem facing blended families is uncertainty about roles played by step-parents

One major problem facing blended families is lack of money

Research shows cohabitation is not a workable alternative to marriage

There is a rise in the stigma of unwed mothers in today’s society

There is no stigma to childless marriages today

Rates of cohabitation have fallen over the past several decades

Women are usually single-parents b/c courts prefer men & don’t want to saddle them w/ children

Blacks and Latinos are more likely to live in single-parent households

Another reason for single mothers is because poor women are less likely to get remarried