ADA Ch 6

Adult Development & Aging: 

Adult Development & Aging Chapter 6 Families: Interdependent Relationships

Types of Households: 

Types of Households Households of related individuals Married couples with or w/out children Female-head households Male-head households Nonfamily households One-person households Households of nonrelatives

Types of Families: 

Types of Families Nuclear Family Husband, wife and children Only 25% of families Extended family Nuclear family and other relatives Alternative family forms will be discussed later in this presentation

Interdependent Relationships: 

Interdependent Relationships Defined: A group (in our case, a family) where everyone has a specific role Each person must fulfill their specific role as everyone else is depending on them to do so E.g., Dad has his role, mom has hers, etc. Types of dependencies Physical (provide food, aid, etc.) Emotional (support, love, etc.)

Interdependent Relationships: 

Interdependent Relationships In what is some thing of a paradox: Adolescents want to become independent…but what does that mean? Ironically, independence often leads to interdependency

Issues Related to Marriage: 

Issues Related to Marriage Small Group Discussion Why do people get married? You should be able to come up with a number of reasons What factors go into choosing a mate? What do/did you look for in a potential mate In the traditional male-female union, what do you see as the roles of the male and female?

Issues Related to Marriage: 

Issues Related to Marriage Marriage Contract Exercise Pairs of two, in which you will decide How many children you will have Who will care for the children How will household chores be divided Who is the primary wage-earner Who will manage the money Obligations to each partner’s family What conditions permit dissolution of marriage

Issues Related to Marriage: 

Issues Related to Marriage The Filtering Process of Mate Selection Overhead 87 Class Discussion Discuss the reasons people had children in the past Why do people have children today? How many of these reasons are selfish in nature? What are the pros and cons of having kids?

Issues Related to Marriage: 

Issues Related to Marriage Class Discussion From your perspective, as it relates to parenting roles, what roles belong to: The mother The father Both parents

Grandparents: 

Grandparents Small Group Discussion Describe your experiences with your grandparents and discuss how they influenced your lives E.g., Did you discuss things with your grandparents that you couldn’t talk about with your parents? What role did/do they play in your family E.g., Patriarch/matriarch, Spoiler, peacemaker, the voice of reason, etc.

Grandparents: Bengtson’s Four Symbolic Roles: 

Grandparents: Bengtson’s Four Symbolic Roles Stabilizer The one constant during times of trouble or transition Family guardian Turn to in times of financial or job distress Arbiter Settle disputes within the family Family historian

Adult Children & Their Parents: 

Adult Children & Their Parents Some terms: Filial responsibility Personal obligation adult children feel as it relates to their parents well-being Filial maturity Refers to the adult child’s ability to recognize the needs of the aging parent, while also recognizing the parent’s need to maintain a sense of autonomy

Alternative Family Forms: 

Alternative Family Forms Living alone Includes Young adults Adults who are delaying marriage People who are divorced or separated Widowed people As you might suspect, the older the person the greater the likelihood they live alone

Alternative Family Forms: 

Alternative Family Forms Single-mother families Scary hypothesis: It is estimated that almost 50% of children born since 1975 have/will live in a single-mother family before turning 18 years of age That rate is estimated at 86% for black children

Alternative Family Forms: 

Alternative Family Forms Single-mother families Biggest difference between married couples and single-mother families…finances Three reasons single mothers tend to have lower incomes Lower earning capacity Lack of paternal child support Insufficient funds provided by assistance programs

Alternative Family Forms: 

Alternative Family Forms Single-mother families Across racial and ethnic groups, children growing up in mother-only families tend to Be less educated (leave school for various reasons) Have lower earnings as adults and are more likely to be poor Marry early Have children early, whether married or not Have higher rates of divorce

Cohabitation: 

Cohabitation Quite prevalent, and often viewed as a “trial marriage” Almost 50% of U.S. adults in their 20s and 30s have cohabitated People who cohabitate often have Lesser beliefs about marriage as an institution More liberal views toward divorce The above two help explain why the divorce rate is higher for those who cohabitate prior to marriage

Homosexual Relationships: 

Homosexual Relationships Panel Discussion Similar, yet different from, heterosexual relationships Similarities Emotional adjustment Activity patterns

Homosexual Relationships: 

Homosexual Relationships Differences Lesbians are more likely to display an equality pattern Share or take turns doing household tasks Male couples display a balanced pattern Each male tends to do specific tasks, but the tasks are balanced in terms of the amount of work Married couples tend to display a segregation pattern (wife does most of the household work)

Homosexual Relationships: 

Homosexual Relationships Kinship (family) ties are often threatened Less social support Support tends to come more from friends than family More difficulty adopting children Basic rights of married people are denied them Visitation rights (partner is in a hospital or similar environment and family doesn’t want them around) Insurance, inheritance, etc.