Transcript Families_lec03_demtrends_09_23_14

Changing Demographic
Trends & Families in the
U.S.
Lecture 3
Introduction to Family Studies
The Sociological Approach
Macro Level
Micro Level
4/8/2016
The Sociological Approach –
The Macro Level
 Family sociologists examine how these social institutions
interact and how they influence behaviors, attitudes, and
opportunities in families
Economy
Government
Education
Families
Religion
Healthcar
e
4/8/2016
Social Institutions in Society
 A social Institution is any institution in a society that
works to socialize the groups or people in that society
 All social institutions fulfill a roles and are guided by a set
of behaviors
 For example:
 Families socialize the next generation of children who
will become citizens/workers
 The Economy is an institution that insures the
maintenance of society through the production,
distribution, and consumption of good and services
Social Institutions in Society
 A social Institution is any institution in a society that
works to socialize the groups or people in that society
 The Government/Political system is a social
institution through which power is acquired and exercised
by some people and groups
 Education is the social institution responsible for the
systematic transmission of knowledge, skills, cultural
values within a formally organized structure.
 See: http://thecollaboratory.wikidot.com/thompson-socialinstitutions and make sure you understand these social
institutions
Macro-Micro Interaction
 We mostly think of how large social institutions like
government and the economic system influence us as
individuals
 But individuals can come together at the micro level
and make change at the macro level
 Case in point – major social movements – civil rights,
feminist movement.
 Most recently:
http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2014/08/28/market-basketdeal-arthur-t-demoulas-thomas-kochan
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
? What are the trends in
fertility & mortality
? What are the trends in
marriage & divorce, and
cohabitation?
? How have changing
trends transformed
families?
? How have these
trends affected the
living situation of
children?
How have families changed ?
 They differ in size
 Families have fewer children
due to lower fertility
On average, women have 1.7
children…but
How have families changed ?
 Families differ in size and
composition
 Today, more women in their
40s are childless
 In 1970s only 1 in 10 women
did not have children
 In 2008, 1 in 5 women ended
childbearing years with no
children (child free)
Source: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1642/morewomen-without-children
Families are having fewer children…but
 All families’ and individuals’ choices are influenced by the
larger society in which they live
 For ex. the downturn in the economy has caused families to
have fewer children
 And…between 2005 and 2011, the % of young adult men
age 25-34 who are living in parents' home increased
 From 14% in 2005 to 19% in 2011
 From 8 % to 10% for women
 Source:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb11183.html
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
Mortality & Life Expectancy
? What is the average life expectancy for women
and for men in the U.S. 2010 ?
 Average life expectancy for women is age 81
 Average life expectancy for men is age 76
 Increases likelihood that women will spend some of
their “golden” years as widows
 As people are living longer, this increases their
“risk” for divorce
•
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_04.pdf also see chap 16 of
textbook
How have families changed ?
 The reasons people marry have changed
with marital expectations
 Changes in demographics of families
 The age that women and men has
increased
 Cohabitation rates are rising
 Higher likelihood that children will spend
some time in a single parent family
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 Weakening of marriage
 Even though nearly 90 percent of whites and 67% of
African Americans are projected to EVENTUALLY
marry, the power of marriage to regulate individuals
personal life has decreased
 This is due to:
Increased cohabitation (living together)
Sex outside of marriage
Childbirth outside of marriage
Source:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb
11-183.html
Marriage Rate Declining, Cohabitation Rate Rising
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr049.pdf
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 Changes in marriage
 For the first time, more American women are living without a
husband than with a husband
 In 2005, for the first time more women were living without a spouse
 51 percent of women and men today said they were living without a
spouse
 Up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.
 Percent of the population who is “never married” has also
increased
 Average age of marriage has increased
 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/us/16census.html?ei=5090&en=8b61820a
6c4712e5&ex=1326603600&pagewanted=print
Changing Demographic Trends & Families in
the U.S.
Carrie
Miranda
Charlotte
Samantha
Changing Roles of Women
 More women are adopting the “Sex and the City”
lifestyle
 For example:
 Women are seeking more education
 They are entering careers and focusing on moving up in
their jobs
 More women are living in urban areas
 All these behaviors result in women postponing
marriage
 SAT&C clip
 Episode 1 , 3.43 min
Age at First Marriage 1890 - 2011
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
1890 1910 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2003 2010 2011
Men
Source for most recent figures:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr049.pdf
Women
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 More women are pursuing a college education
 Single and married women’s labor force
participation rates have increased increased
This leads to postponing marriage
Why are we postponing marriage?
 What percentage of Americans over age 25 – 29
have a college degree?
 Only 33.5%
 Women are more likely to graduate from college
than men
 Data like these can be found on the U.S. Census
website www.census.gov
 Click American Fact Finder
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 More couples cohabit (live together) prior to
marriage
 This increases the average age at which people get
married
 In other words you don’t have to marry once you fall
in love, you can live together and marry at a later
age
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 According to a recent survey of 30-44 year-olds
 What percentage of women had EVER cohabited prior to marriage?
 58%
 What percent of women CURRENTLY cohabiting with a man?
 7%
 As behavior becomes more common, attitudes change as well
Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/8128/Moving-In-Teen-Views-Cohabitation.aspx
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/06/27/living-together-the-economics-ofcohabitation/
Cohabitation vs. Marriage
 At what age do you think more couples are marrying
then couples living together?
 http://www.gallup.com/poll/109402/Age-24-MarriageWins.aspx
Families vary by race/ethnicity
Family/household types by race/ethnicity
70
4.1
60
12.1
7.2
50
40
17.4
Single Mother
60
30
51.2
51
20
29
10
0
White
African
American
Asian
Race/Ethncity
Hispanic
Husband-Wife
Greater acceptance of gay marriage
 Gay marriage is now legal in 19 states and
D.C.
 And there are nearly 650,000 unmarried
gay couples
 The majority of Americans (53 percent)
support gay marriage
 About 46 percent oppose it
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 Lessened economic dependence of women (on men or
marriage)
 Decline in homemaker role (women who stay at home and
do not work for pay outside the home)
 Movement of women into the labor market
 BIGGEST CHANGE: Married, middle-class mothers
started working for pay
 Remember – women probably had less economic
independence in the 1950s than 50 -70 years BEFORE
(when we lived on farms or worked in factories)
Mother’s Labor Force
Participation Rate
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100507.htm
Labor Force Participation
among Mothers
 The labor force participation rate of mothers with
children under 18 years of age was 70.9 percent
in March 2011.
 64.1% of mothers with children under 6 are
employed
 Only 19 percent of all families are
breadwinner/homemaker model
 In general women are more independent
financially – thus less dependent on marriage
Source: Data were collected in the 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the
CPS. Retreived from http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf, Auguste 18, 2013
Changing Demographic Trends &
Families in the U.S.
 Of all married couples, 54% are dual-earner couples
 Dual-earner = both husband and wife in the labor force
 20% of married couples have husbands working
 8% of married couples have only wife working
 So the majority of married couples today – BOTH wife &
husband have paid jobs
 Husbands are still more likely to earn more than their wives
 But 29% of wives outearn their husbands
 Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm

Source:
Divorce
 What is the divorce rate?
Refined Divorce Rate per 1,000 Marriages
Shaded areas indicate unreliable data collection periods
United States, 1860-2010
Divorce Rate 1970-2010
Based on ACS (All States Reporting)
Kennedy & Ruggles, 2014
The fine print, always read the details!
Kennedy & Ruggles, 2014
What is the Divorce Rate?
50 percent of first marriages for men
age 45 and under will EVENTUALLY
end in divorce – but remember that
is over the lifetime of a marriage!
Divorce
 What is the divorce rate?
 In a given year, your RISK (chance) of divorce is much
lower!
 For example, in 2009 about 36 out of 1,000 people (U.S.
population) got divorced
 In other words, 3.6 percent of all people in the U.S.
received a divorce in 2009
Source: NCHS, retrieved on 09/10/10 from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm
To find demographic data on
New Jersey
 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html
Changing Demographic Trends & Families
in the U.S.
 Summary
 Men and especially women are postponing marriage
 Rates of cohabitation are four times higher now then in
1974
 Married mothers have high rates of labor force
participation
 Divorce rates increased steadily over the 20th century and
have leveled off
And while we are on the topic
of attitude change..
 Let’s look at some recent findings from the Gallup Poll
 What percent of Americans do you think support
 Abortion?
 Sex before marriage?
 Gay relations?
 An extramarital affair?
 http://www.gallup.com/video/107374/Whats-MorallyAcceptable-2008.aspx