Sociology of Families : Readings

by Cheryl Albers

• ISBN13: 9780761986102
• ISBN10: 0761986103
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-11
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

"Cheryl Albers' reader for use in family sociology courses is a cutting edge collection of articles about cutting edge topics. She addresses nine topics central and critical to family sociology and provided thoughtful articles from diverse perspectives for each, from adolescent childbearing to the construction of family policy. This volume of readings is where the students are. It could enrich any instructor's approach to the burning questions in the field of family sociology." Dana Vannoy, University of Cincinnati

Table of Contents

Adolescent Sexuality
What Factors Contribute to and Hinder Teenage Pregnancy?	1	(4)
Then and Now	5	(8)
Mary Pipher
The social life of teenagers today is very different from that of teens in the 1960s
Constructing an Epidemic	13	(14)
Kristin Luker
Historic and political influences affect whether you view teenage pregnancy as a social problem
Risking Pregnancy: Avoidance, Ignorance, and Delay of Contraceptive Use	27	(9)
Ellen W. Freeman
Karl Rickels
What is the role of sexual behavior, contraceptive information, and attitudes in predicting pregnancy for black adolescents?
Using Behavioral Theories to Design Abstinence Programs	36	(7)
Kristin A. Moore
Barbara W. Sugland
Can the promotion of abstinence prevent teenage pregnancy?
Teenage Pregnancy in Industrialized Countries: Policy Implications for the United States	43	(12)
Elise F. Jones
How do the demographics and policies regarding teenage pregnancy in America compare to those of other countries?
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	52	(3)
Commitment: Cohabitation and Marriage
Is Marriage a Dying Institution?	55	(3)
Values, Attitudes, and the State of American Marriage	58	(10)
Norval D. Glenn
Marriage remains important, even though the proportions of Americans that marry decline, as does the permanence of marriage
Marital Status, Gender, and Perception of Well-Being	68	(8)
Harsha Mookherjee
Married people report more satisfaction with their lives than do unmarried people, irrespective of gender
A Comparison of Marriages and Cohabiting Relationships	76	(14)
Steven L. Nock
The differences in levels of commitment and happiness between cohabiting and married couples might be caused by self-selection
Marital Behavior and Expectations: Ethnic Comparisons of Attitudinal and Structural Correlates	90	(13)
M. Belinda Tucker
Claudia Mitchell-Kernan
The Marital behaviors of Latinos, blacks, and whites are related to concerns with the economy and mate availability
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	101	(2)
Childbirth and Infertility
Is Parenthood Biological or Social?	103	(3)
From Baby Farms to Black-Market Babies: The Changing Market for Children	106	(9)
Viviana A. Zelizer
At one point in history, parents paid to board out illegitimate children. Today, desperate couples incur great expense to obtain infants
Stolen Children and International Adoptions	115	(5)
Mary Ellen Fieweger
Poverty and fertility in developing countries affect the availability of children for illegal international adoption
Designer Genes: The Baby Quest and the Reproductive Fix	120	(14)
Elaine Tyler May
In a pronatal culture, infertile couples face growing pressures and options
Lesbian Mothers: ``This Wonderful Decision''	134	(11)
Ellen Lewin
Homosexuals are faced with a wide array of decisions regarding adoption, intercourse, and noncoital routes to parenthood
The Politics of Reproductive Benefits: U.S. Insurance Coverage of Contraceptive and Infertility Treatments	145	(20)
Leslie King
Madonna Harrington Meyer
Social policies regarding reproductive health care encourage births among working-and middle-class families, while discouraging births among the poor
Questions for Writing, Reflection and Debate	162	(3)
Working Families
How Can Men and Women Balance Their Work and Family Roles?	165	(3)
Men at Work	168	(2)
Anna Quindlen
The emotionally distant fathers of the 1950s offered a regularity and a presence that are missing in the way men in professional careers enact the role today
Women, Work, and Family in America	170	(13)
Suzanne M. Bianchi
Daphne Spain
Social changes have contributed to women's increasing participation in the labor force, but women continue to take responsibility for the majority of work within the home
Sharing and Reluctance	183	(4)
Scott Coltrane
Dual-earner Chicano couples use ``economies of gratitude'' in balancing work and family roles
Parental Androgyny	187	(8)
David Popenoe
Has society placed too much pressure on men to take over nurturing roles that are better filled by women?
Understanding the Future of Fatherhood: The ``Daddy Hierarchy'' and Beyond	195	(8)
Arlie Russell Hochschild
When constructing their gender roles, men and women are influenced by cultural valuing of work and devaluing of involvement with children at home
Business and the Facts of Family Life	203	(12)
Fran Sussner Rodgers
Charles Rodgers
Corporations can improve both the family and the work lives of their employees
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	212	(3)
Families in Poverty
How Should the U.S. Government Provide for the Welfare of Families?	215	(4)
Vanishing Dreams of America's Young Families	219	(9)
Marian Wright Edelman
The current economy results in many young families living in, or on the edge of, poverty
When You Get Laid Off, It's Like You Lose a Part of Yourself''	228	(9)
Lillian B. Rubin
Losing a job has devastating effects on family life
The Choice Between Welfare and Work	237	(9)
Kathryn Edin
Laura Lein
Families in poverty weigh their ability to exist on low-wage work against relying on welfare
Mothers with Children and Mothers Alone: A Comparison of Homeless Families	246	(6)
Jennifer E. Glick
Many mothers call on members of their social network to provide care for their children while they themselves live in shelters
A New Look at Poverty in America	252	(14)
William P.O'Hare
Social policies that address family poverty need to be based on an understanding of the demographics of poverty in the United States
Tyrone Mitchell	266	(5)
Studs Terkel
A young father develops marketable skills that provide a means of escaping the gangs, drugs, and violence that confront the underclass
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	269	(2)
Family Violence
How Is Domestic Violence a Social, Rather Than a Personal, Problem?	271	(5)
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha	276	(2)
Roddy Doyle
A child reacts with fear and confusion to his father's violence toward his mother
Violent Men or Violent Women? Whose Definition Counts?	278	(15)
Dawn H. Currie
How individuals define violence influences their responses on surveys and the statistics researchers compile
Behind Closed Doors: Domestic Violence	293	(3)
Steve Friess
The gay and lesbian community also experiences domestic violence
Violence Against Women and Girls: The Intolerable Status Quo	296	(3)
Charlotte Bunch
Tolerance and encouragement of violence against women are evident in many cultures
Through a Sociological Lens: Social Structure and Family Violence	299	(10)
Richard J. Gelles
Social structures and institutions contribute to domestic violence
The Powers of the Weak: Wife-Beating and Battered Women's Resistance	309	(8)
Linda Gordon
A historical perspective helps us understand the role of violence against women in producing and enforcing male dominance
The Women of Belize	317	(8)
Irma McClaurin
The women of Belize engage in collective action to counter a culture of subordination
Old Problems and New Directions in the Study of Violence Against Women	325	(14)
Demie Kurz
The experience of violence cannot be compartmentalized; it pervades many aspects of social life
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	337	(2)
Divorce and Remarriage
What Can Be Done to Reduce the Financial, Emotional, and Social Costs of Divorce?	339	(4)
Uncoupling: The Breakdown of the Cover-Up	343	(9)
Diane Vaughan
The interpersonal disintegration of a marriage includes patterns of blaming, planning for leavetaking, and the initiator's confrontation of the partner
The Economic Consequences of Divorce	352	(11)
Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr.
Andrew J. Cherlin
The economic results of divorce are different for men, women, and children
After Divorce: Investigations into Father Absence	363	(14)
Terry Arendell
Interviews with divorced men reveal their attitudes toward fathers' rights, fathers' obligations, and planned withdrawal from children's lives as a means of managing the emotional aftermath of divorce
Divorcing Reality: New State Laws That Slow Down Divorce	377	(3)
Stephanie Coontz
Proposed legislation to ``slow down'' divorces as a means of saving potentially healthy marriages may have unintended negative outcomes
Stepfamilies over the Life Course: Social Support	380	(7)
Lynn White
Demographics suggest that the increasing trend toward stepfamilies will reduce the social support that families give individuals
The New Stepfamily Requires a New Public Policy	387	(10)
Mary Ann Mason
Jane Mauldon
Stepparents who provide financial support to stepchildren could be empowered by being granted de factor parental rights that would parallel those of biological parents
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	395	(2)
Family Transitions
How Will Family Life Change as the U.S. Population Ages?	397	(4)
Some Economic Complexities of Child Care Provided by Grandmothers	401	(11)
Harriet B. Presser
Grandmothers often combine paid employment with caregiving for grandchildren
Legacy, Aging, and Succession in Farm Families	412	(5)
Norah C. Keating
The transfer of a family farm involves long-term, intergenerational negotiations
Social Security and Medicare Policy: A Personal, Intergenerational Story	417	(4)
Mal Schechter
One man describes the role of public assistance in determining the financial conditions of aging for himself and elderly family members
Aging and the Family: Present and Future Demographic Issues	421	(17)
Kevin Kinsella
A cross-cultural look at the changing demographics of aging helps us understand the impact of these changes on families
Programming for Family Care of Elderly Dependents: Mandates, Incentives, and Service Rationing	438	(9)
Amanda Smith Barusch
There is a growing trend toward using public policy to increase the involvement of families in caregiving for elderly relatives
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	445	(2)
Social Change and Family Policy
How Are Politics Shaping Family Life?	447	(3)
Virtual Social Science and the Politics of Family Values	450	(14)
Judith Stacey
How have liberal and conservative views of family values and family change developed?
Family Privacy: Issues and Concepts	464	(10)
Felix M. Berardo
The erosion of privacy in family life removes the ``back stage'' where families can be out of the public eye
Wishful Thinking and Harmful Tinkering? Sociological Reflections on Family Policy	474	(15)
Carol Smart
Human behavior is transforming the nature of contemporary family life; however, policy has not been responsive to this change
Questions for Writing, Reflection, and Debate	488	(1)
Index	489