Chapter 18: Families

Learning Objectives
Remember the definitions of the key terms throughout the chapter.

Understand variation in families both in the United States and around the world.

Apply sociologys major theoretical approaches to families.

Analyze how and why family life has been changing.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of traditional families and other family
forms.

Create a vision of the choices you face in shaping your own family life.

Families: Basic Concepts

Family
a social institution found all the societies that unites
people in cooperative groups to care for one
another, including any children

Extended family Nuclear family

a family conposed of parents and a family composed of one or two
children as well as other kin; also parents and their children; also known
known as a consanguine family as a conjugal family
 Families: Global Variations
Residential Patterns

Marriage
a legal relationship, usually involving economic
cooperation, sexual activity, and childbearing

Endogamy Exogamy Polygyny Polyandry

marriage marriage Polygamy marriage that marriage that
between people between people marriage that unites one unites one
of the same of different unites a person man and two woman and
social categories or ore two or more
social category Monogamy with two or
more spouses woman man
marriage that
unites two partners

a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or

Patrilocality near the husband's family

a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or

Matrilocality near the wife's family

a residential pattern in which a married couple lives apart

Neolocality from both sets of parents

Patterns of Descent

Descent
the system by which members of a
society trace kinship over generations

Patrilineal Matrilineal Bilateral

descent descent descent
a system tracing kinship a system tracking kinship a system tracing kinship
through men through women through both men and
women