Marriage: From Social Institution to Private Relationship

(family father)

—that is, they fashion their relationships with little regard to traditional norms.

• that many of the benefits associated with marriage (higher income and wealth, along with better health)
• —therefore actually result from the personal characteristics of those who choose to marry

something about the experience of being married itself causes these benefits

By getting married, partners accept the responsibility to keep each other primary in their lives and to work hard to ensure that their relationship continues.

The cultural ideal according to which spouses promise to have sexual relations with only each

. A marriage agreement in which couples exchange partners to engage in purely recreational sex.

. Society in which the main concem is with on's own interests (which may or may not include those of one's immediate family).

. The family in which an individual grows up. Also called family of origin

. A marriage system in which a person takes more than one spouse.

. A marriage system in which one or both spouses retain the option to sexually love others in addition to their sm)uses.

. The cultural milieu that emerged in Europe with industrialization and that values personal self- actualization and happiness along with individual freedom.

. Parents and other relatives, such as in-laws, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins See also extended family Family including relatives besides parents and children, such as aunts or uncles.

. The family that is formed when an individual marries and has children.

. A type of legal marriage in which the bride and groom agree to be bound by a marriage contract that will not let them get divorced as easily as is allowed under no-fault divorce laws.

. A religious belief system that encourages spouses to see their marriages as ordained by God and hence having divine significance.

. One component of the marriage premise, according to which individuals enter marriage expecting that mutual affection and commitment will be lasting.

. A situation in which time-honored family definitions are changing and family-related social norms are weakening so that they "count for far less" than in the past

. The single-earner, breadwinner—homemaker marriage that flourished in the 1950s. Although husbands and wives in the companionate marriage usually adhered to a sharp division of labor, they were supposed to be each other's companion—friends, lovers—in a realization of trends beginning in the 1920s.

. Having children with more than one biological

. Society in which the main concern is with ones own interests (which may or may not include those of one's immediate family).

. A society in which people identity with and conform to the expectations of their relatives or clan, who look after their interests in return for their loyalty. The group has priority over the individual. A synonym is communal society.

. Marriage as a social institution based on dutiful adherence to the time-honored marriage premise (which see), particularly the norm of permanence. "Once ensconced in societal mandates tor permanence and monogamous sexual exclusivity, the institutionalized marriage in the united States was centered on economic

. Concept associated with the argument that contemporary marriage in the United States and other fully industrialized Westem societies is no longer institutionalized. Four interrelated characteristics distinguish individualized marriage () it is optional; () spouses' roles are flexible—negotiable and renegotiable; () its

. Series of federal programs and initiatives put forth by President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960ss; included the Job Corps or the Neighborhood Youth Corps, Head Start, and Adult Basic Education. Although most measures have ended, Head Start and the Job Corps continue to exist.

. A society in which people identity with and conform to the expectations of their relatives or clan, who look after their interests in return for their loyalty. The group has priority over the individual. A synonym is communal society.

. The idea that the independent variable in a hypothesis is responsible tor changes to a dependent variable. With regard to marriage, the experience hypothesis holds that something about the experience of being married itself causes certain results for spouses. See also the antonym, selection hypothesis The idea that

. A system of patterned and predictable ways of thinking and behaving—beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms concerning important aspects of people's lives in society Examples of major social institutions are the family, religion, government, the economy, and education.

. children do best when raised by two caregivers rather than by a single caregiver

Improvising a course of action as a way of renacting a role. In role-making, we may use our acts to alter the traditional expectations and obligations associated with a role. This concept emphasizes the variability in the ways different individuals enact a particular role.

. A society which people identify with and conform to the expectations of their relatives or clan, who looafter their interests in return for their loyalty. The group has priority over the individual A synonym is communal society.

. The idea that many of the changes found in a dependent variable, which might be assumed to be associated with the independent variable, are really due to sample selection. For instance, the selection hypothesis posits that many of the benefits associated with marriage—for example, higher income and wealth, along with better

. children are most likely to display healthy growth and evelopment when they are raised by married parents

. marriage advocated by some Christian organizations where partners agree to be bound by a marriage "covenant" (stronger than an ordinary contract) that will not let them get divorced easily.

permanence and—for some societies, particularly Western cultures—monogamous sexual exclusivity.

"love-based personal happiness and love"

the child’s neighborhood and peers, family conflict, parental nurturance and involvement in the child’s school activities, parents’ participation in religious services, and parents’ available social support

in those in intact nuclear families

for the population as a whole.

children’s education

parents and children living in poverty

• “family breakdown” include high federal dollars spent on “welfare” for poverty-level single mothers, and irresponsible socialization of children
• possible cause: cultural, such as changes in individuals’ values and attitudes regarding marriage.

marital decline-perspective

marriage education, some offering money incentives for couples to participate

“welfare reform bill,”