Introduction to the Family

HDFS 444: Spring, 2011

What is Family?

Our text defines family as “networks of people who share their lives over

long periods of time bound by ties of marriage, blood, law, or commitment, legal or otherwise, who consider themselves as family and who share a significant history and anticipated future of functioning in a family relationship.”

How Do You Define Family?

Common Definitions

A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.All the members of a household under one roof.A group of persons sharing common ancestry.

Other Definitions of Family

Wamboldt and Reiss (1989) developed a process definition of family as “a group of intimates who generate a sense of home and group identity; complete with strong ties of loyalty and emotion, and experience history and future.”

Other Definitions of Family

In her essay on redefining families, Martha Minow (1998) argues that it is not important whether a group fits a formal legal definition; instead what is important is “whether the group of people function as a family: do they share affection and resources, think of one another as family members, and present themselves as such to neighbors and others?”

The “Whole” Picture

In this course we will be examining aspects of family and relationships from an ecosystems perspective.

What’s an Ecosystem?

American Heritage Dictionary:

Ecosystem: a collection of living things and the environment in which they live.

Family & Ecosystems

The concept of family can't be explained by a single definition or idea - but rather by a complex system.

So - why is theory important?

Theories of human interaction should provide a way of making sense of events that have happened in the past, and then allow us to make predictions about what may happen in the future.

Human Ecological Theory

Bubolz & Sontag (1993)“A human ecosystem includes human beings existing in interaction with the total environment.”

– (Bubolz, Eichler & Sontag, 1979))

Biological, social, and physical aspects of the organism are considered within the context of their environments.

Human Ecological Theory

Natural Physical-Biological Environment

The Family as a System

The family is seen as a system, with boundaries between it and other systems, such as the community, and the economic system. – Inputs– Throughputs– Outputs

The Family as a System

Families are semi-open, goal directed, dynamic, adaptive systems. They can respond, change, develop, act on and modify their environment. Adaptation is a continuing process in family ecosystems.

The family interacts with more than one environment since it comes in contact and resides in multiple environments.

Important to Remember….

The environment is actually a network of social institutions and events.– Important to recognize the “chains” of

relationships that bind everyone together.– Reveals connections that might otherwise

go unnoticed.

We will explore this concept more as the semester progresses.

Family Types

Two-parent biological family– Parents and their

biological children– Defining factors: blood ties

and marriage

This “Leave It to Beaver” family is no longer the norm.– Only 12% of families fit this

stereotype.

Family Types

Single-parent family– One parent and one or more children– No involvement of other parent

• Death, abandonment, single-parent adoption

Primary parent family– More than one parent takes responsibility

for child(ren),although usually unequal.

Family Types

Blended family– Stepfamily– Adoptive family

Extended familyIntentional (or voluntaristic) familyCommitted partners

Changing Demographics

Americans continue to marry. – 52% of households are

married couples– Median age: 25 years

Changing Demographics

Divorce rate is stabilizing– 43% of first marriages end within15 years.

Remarriage rates are dropping– 5 out of 6 men and 3 out of 4 women

eventually remarry after a first divorce. – The mean length of time between divorce

and remarriage is four years.

Changing Demographics

Stepfamilies continue to increase through remarriage and cohabitation.

One out of every three Americans is now a step parent, a stepchild, a step sibling, or some other member of a step family.

Changing Demographics

The number of single-parent families continues to increase.

Families continue to be constructed– through adoption.– scientific technologies

Changing Demographics

More adult children are living at home.– 1 in 5 men and 1 in 8 women in their late

20s live at home– Will you? Why or why not?

The number of cohabitating partners is rising.

Changing Demographics

Families of lesbians and gay males are increasing.

Extended families continue to flourish.

Families increasingly represent four or five generations.– Why? Life expectancy is greater.

Economic Issues

Two income couples are becoming the norm. – Yet 70% of all parents do not feel they

spend enough time with their children (Families and Work Institute, 1998).

Over 70% of single mothers are working.

Economic Issues

Children have replaced seniors as the poorest segment of the population.

1/3 of the homeless are families w/children. – Although a large number of poor families

contain two parents, the female single parent is 5X more likely to live in poverty than two-parent family (Coontz and Folbre, 2002).

Ethnic Issues

Ethnic heritage has a long term effect on family functioning

Unequal impact of poverty across racial and ethnic groups

Ethnic composition of U.S. families is changing.

Remember…..

Everyone comes to this course with some understanding (and opinions) of how families function and interact. However, no two people have the same familial experiences!

Each person has something to offer AND something to learn.