The Relationship that Differentiates Work from Other Things Essay

The Relationship that Differentiates Work from Other Things Essay

The Relationship that Differentiates Work from Other Things Essay

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This week we have learned about characteristics of the family including definitions, types of family formations, and family relationships.  One particular area of concern is family-work-life balance.  Many families are struggling to balance employment demands (e.g. paid labor), child care and house work demands (e.g. unpaid labor), with leisure/free time.  Write a 1-2 page paper on the following prompt. Please make sure to properly cite sources using the APA style guide.

Prompt: Analyze your own family and discuss their family-work-life balance. 1) How balanced is your family? Explain- Discuss characteristics that may hinder or help the outcome.  For example, if young children are present in the household, parents are retired, social class, etc.  2) Offer advice for how individuals can strive to achieve a better balance.  You can identify strategies you or other family members currently engage in or discuss things you’d like to do to help move toward a more balanced life. Defining Families

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The family has been defined in a number of ways over the last century.  Institutions, such as the government and workplace, often defines families through genetic, marital or adoption relationships, or individuals living in households and sharing resources.  Scholars find that individuals have a much more fluid and diverse definition of the family.

Susan Ferguson says it that if we are going to study the family, we need a working definition of the family that is broad enough to include diverse members and functions, but detailed enough to apply to the study of families across cultures.

She defines the family as a social institution that provides three things:

It gives support to its members (whether it be emotional nurturing, physical caretaking, economic support, or some combination of these).

It binds the individual to a primary social group.

It socializes the person for participating in society outside of the family

The conceptualization of the family as an institution has been challenged by other scholars.  DiMaggio argues the family has become deinstitutionalized.  That is recent shifts in family trends, such as the commonality in cohabitation, the delay in marriage and childbearing, and the large number of divorces, are evidence of changes to family structures and more flexibility in societal “rules”.  This has led to the popularity of cohabiting households and delays in the timing of marriage in one’s life.

Trends of Shaping Family Formations

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Here are some of the most emerging trends that have shaped family formations in recent decades. Think about how these trends challenge or support these definitions in terms of structure and ideology.

Remaining single longer:  According to Pew Research Center, “in 2012, one-in-five adults ages 25 and older (about 42 million people) had never been married. … In 1960, only about one-in-ten adults (9%) in that age range had never been married”.

More couples are cohabiting:  According to Manning and Stykes (2013), “the percentage of women who have ever cohabited has almost doubled over the past 25 years.  Over two-thirds (69%) of women who first married in the last decade cohabited prior to marriage”.

Boomerang families are increasing:  These are families in which children are returning to the parents household after college.  “Women aged 18-34 are living with their parents or other family at rates not seen since the 1940s.  Over a third (36.4 percent) of women aged 18-34 are living with their parents, aunts or uncles, or other non-spouse family member” (Fry 2015).  Men, too, are also increasingly likely to have this household arrangement, with 42.8 percent of men in this age group living with parents or other family (Fry 2015).

Blended families are becoming the norm:  These are families created through remarriage, which can include stepchildren living together, or new children created by the couple.  Blended families include children, remarried may or may not since it is calculated based on the parents.  According to the Census Bureau, 16% of children are living in “blended families”.  This has remained stable since the 90s.

Technology is creating new families, including online dating, adopted families and surrogate parents.  59% of Americans feel online dating is a good way to meet people and 5% of Americans who are in a marriage or committed relationship say they met their significant other online (Pew Research 2015). The share of 18- to 24-year-olds who use online dating has roughly tripled from 10% in 2013 to 27% today.  12% of 55- to 64-year-olds report ever using an online dating site or mobile dating app versus only 6% in 2013. IVF has also increased.  Doctors performed about 113,000 cycles back in 2003. That number jumped by nearly 50 percent to about 165,000 in 2012.

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Multi-generational households for young adults and old is likely to remain a transitional life stage for an increasing number of people.  Over a fifth (21%) of all U.S. older adult households contained more than one generation of family members (Aging In Place 2015).

Single-parent families are common due to divorce, separation, and births taking place outside of marriage.  In 2013, 40.6 percent of all births were to unmarried women. The majority of these women are in their 20s and 30s… The 2016 teen birth rate (births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in a given year) is down nine percent from 2015, when the birth rate was 22.3, and down 67 percent from 1991 when it was at a record high of 61.8.  Single-father households make up 8 percent of households and make up 24 percent of single-parent households (Livingston 2013). Interestingly, “single fathers are more likely than single mothers to be living with a cohabiting partner (41% versus 16%)” (Livingston 2013).

Most households are dual earner. The Labor force participation today stands at 70% among all mothers of children younger than 18, and 64% of moms with preschool-aged children.  About three-fourths of all employed moms are working full time (Pew Research 2014).  This is slightly below the peak in 2000, where 73% of  mothers were employed. COHABITATION

Is cohabitation a prelude to marriage or a substitute for marriage? People have different reasons why they cohabit and thus we must continue to think about them as diverse groups.  Due to the popularity or acceptance of cohabitation, it has had several implications for how we think about unions:

It changes the meaning of being “single”.  Singlehood no longer means unattached living.

Due to cohabitation, marriage is a less specific marker of other transitions such as sex, living arrangements, and parenting.Cohabitation affects the timing of marriage. For some couples, cohabitation is a trial period of marriage and some feel their marriage began when they started living together.  Many couples may plan to marry but have to wait until they are more financially or emotionally secure. Cohabitation means less of a rush to get married until all the pieces fit.

“Premarital divorces” help keep the divorce rate from going even higher.  Cohabiting unions have high break up rates. Thus, if these couples were to go straight into marriage, our divorce rate could be higher. Provides an alternative union formation to marriage. Many couples choose to never marry and cohabit for the rest of their lives.

Who are the people that marry?

90% of Americans marry at one point in their lives, many marry several times. In general, people enter into marriage at different points in their lives and for different reasons including love, economic stability, citizenship, pregnancy/children, pressure from family, etc (and these are not necessarily mutually exclusive from each other).The remaining 10% are people who:

Choose to reject marriage (may cohabit or remain single instead)

Have physical or mental disabilities that prevent them from finding a suitable mate (although it should be noted that not all people with these characteristics do not marry)

Still want to marry but for one reason or another have not found someone whom they would consider a suitable partner.

While most people experience marriage at some point in their lives, scholars find that marriage rates have dropped largely due to the delay in marriage (people marrying later in life) as opposed to people never marrying.  Currently, the US is experiencing a historic low in the marriage rate at 6.5 per 1000 adults.  As scholars note, marriage has significant consequences on people’s economic well-being and social support.  For an interesting perspective on the decline of the marriage rate as it relates to the stay a home order of COVID19.

Is marriage more beneficial than cohabitation?

There are mixed results as to whether marriage provides more benefits than cohabitation. A recent study finds marriage is more beneficial in some areas, but not necessarily others. Both the married and cohabiters report: Spending less time with family and friends and more time with their partners. Improved psychological well-being.

Marriage is more beneficial in:

Healthy behaviors. It is not clear if people who are healthier are more likely to marry or if marriage itself causes behavior changes that limit unhealthy behavior- most likely it is a combination of both. The unmarried are far more likely than the married to die from all causes, including: heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, many kinds of cancer, auto accidents, murder, and suicide. Marriage drives down drug and alcohol use, while divorce seems to encourage a return of these habits. Marriage also provides a spouse who encourages the other*s health and self-regulation, which is particularly important for older adults.

The married have greater economic resources than the unmarried.  In 1999, the median household income for a married couple was 61,500 compared to 43,500 for single men and 30,000 for single women.  But this economic benefit is greater for middle and upper class individuals rather than those in the working and poor classes. Economic stability results partly from males greater work productivity and increased wages shared resources when both spouses are in the labor force and a greater likelihood for married individuals to save more often than non-married individuals.

It is unclear if those who are economically stable are more likely to marry or if marriage itself brings economic stability.  Also, the benefits of health and happiness that are associated with marriage may be partly explained by one’s economic status that gives them greater access to health care, greater likelihood to live in a better neighborhood, enjoy more travel and participate in more leisure activities which may help reduce stress.

Cohabitors report more benefits in:

Self-esteem and overall happiness.  It could be that the roles of marriage create stress in the couples lives.  There are greater expectations within the marriage itself, and among relatives.  Cohabitors may not feel this institutionalized pressure as much.  Cohabitors aren’t expected to live happily ever after, as much as married individuals are.

Divorce

How many marriages end in divorce? Scholars disagree on the specific number, but most report between 40 and 52 percent first time marriages end in divorce.  However, the stats also show that divorce has been declining from it’s high in 1979/80, with it 25% lower today.  It also varies by a number of characteristics such as age of first marriage, social class and race, geographic location. Comparing numbers in a historical sense we know that:

Divorce has been steadily rising since 1860. This is important in that when we think about the causes of divorce we need to think about characteristics that have existed from generation to generation that may be impacting divorce.  Not just characteristics that are specific to our present society.

The current divorce rate is near the historical peak (which took place in the 70s) but it has been steadily declining since.  So, if we are thinking about things that prevent divorce maybe there are things in our society that differ from the past: Have recent generations had changes in attitudes? Are there structural forces that have prevented people from divorcing, etc.?

The divorce rate is affected by social and economic conditions.  The divorce rate increases after wars (the Civil War ended in 1863, WWI ended in 1919, and WWII in the 1945, Vietnam officially ended in 1973 but troop withdraws had been taking place since 1969).  It decreases in time of economic hardship (such as during the Depression and Great Recession) and it increases in times of prosperity. Divorce Characteristics Today, the United States has the highest divorce rate of all the Western nations.  The odds or chance for divorce in the US is about 1 in 2.  In Europe, the odds are about one in 3 or 4. There are several factors that scholars have associated with the divorce rate.

Premarital Cohabitation: premarital cohabitation has been associated with divorce.  Studies find that after 10 years of marriage, 40% of the couples who lived together prior to marriage broke up, compared to 31% of those who did not live together. What are the possible reasons for this?  Scholars proposed that people who live together have more liberal attitudes toward their relationship and may be more likely to accept divorce as a option then those who don*t live together prior to marriage.  Cohabitors are also more likely to have divorced parents, which leads to higher risks in marriage, or have been previously divorced themselves. Although more and more people are beginning to cohabit before marriage which may mean that the differences found between cohabitors and non-cohabitors may be beginning to fade.

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Age at first marriage:  younger people at first marriage (teens) have a higher risk for divorce than those who are older when they marry (twenties). About half of all marriages of teenagers end in divorce compared to a third of those in their mid to late twenties and a fourth of those who marry in their 30s. Those in their twenties are usually more mature and have greater education and financial stability.  Younger people may not have been dating for as long as older people and may not have developed their relationship as much.

Children:  The presence of children has mixed results in terms of making marriages more or less stable.  Overall, couples with children are less likely to divorce than childless couples.  The likelihood of divorce also decreases as family size increases, although this is only true for up to four children.  Having four or more children makes couples more likely to divorce than those with fewer children.  Age of children is also important, where families with children under the age of three are less likely to divorce than families with children over three. Having children prior to marriage increases one’s chance of divorce.  The presence of stepchildren for remarried couples increases one’s chance of divorce.  And families with all girl children have a higher divorce rate than families who have all boy children.

Income and employment:  Those with lower incomes have a higher chance of divorce.  Poor two parent families are twice as likely to break up as those not in poverty.  The likelihood of marital breakup also increases when a husband does not work, and is even greater when neither spouse works.  Findings regarding women’s employment are inconsistent.  One the one hand, some find that women’s employment is associated with divorce and scholars argue that their economic capability for independence allows women and their husbands greater freedom to choose divorce as an option versus those who do not work.  On the other hand, some scholars find no association between women’s employment and divorce and argue that choosing employment may give women greater marital satisfaction and thus marital stability.

Religion: Jews have the highest divorce rate of all religious groups (30%).  Among Christian denominations, Baptists have the highest rate (29%), Protestants and Mormons are around the national Average (25%).  Atheists, Lutherans, and Catholics were all below the norm at 21%.  Most people associate the lower divorce rate of Catholics with their religious guidance, however some scholars suggest that this may underscore the importance of social, demographic, and economic influences.  Although divorce rates have a tendency to move in tandem for all religious groups so that when the divorce rate rises for Protestants it also rises for Catholics, suggests a strong influence beyond religion.

No fault divorce law:  Studies show that the introduction of the no fault divorce law has caused a surge of divorces.  Some suggest that it may have influenced widespread changes in behaviors and values in society and allows people an “easy” way to get divorced.

The Relationship that Differentiates Work from Other Things Essay

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