ch.11 notes

Essay text:

Family Structure & characteristics ? Kinship ? a social network of people based on common ancestry, marriage or adoption o In a pre-industrial society ? kinship networks operate to acquire basic necessities for life, to transfer property, to produce and distribute goods and gain power o In an industrialized society ? families serve fewer and more specialized purpose and are responsible for regulating sexual activities, socializing children and providing affection and companionship for family members ? FAMILY OF ORIENTATION ? the family into which a person is born and in which early socialization usually takes place ? FAMILY OF PROCREATION ? the family that a person forms by having or adopting children ? FAMILIES WE CHOOSE ? social arrangements that include intimate relationships between couples and close familial relationships among other couples and other adults and children o FICTIVE KIN ? persons who are not actually related by blood but who are accepted as family members (Judy Root Aulette 1994) ? EXTENDED FAMILY ? a family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents and children who live in the same household o Family members share resources ? Horticulture/agriculture societies: extended families are important to survive ? Found in Latin America, Africa, Asia and parts of Eastern/Southern Europe ? Industrialization societies: maintaining extended family pattern is more difficult ? The nuclear family becomes the predominate family form ? NUCLEAR FAMILY ? a family composed of 1 or 2 parents & their dependent children, all whom live apart form other relatives o From 1970 to 2000 > a significant decline in the % of US households comprising of a married couples B...