After reading Chapter Twelve, the student should be able to:
Explain why it is difficult to define the term "family" and provide definitions of the different family systems and types.
Identify the common cultural themes that run through marriage and the family.
Contrast the functionalists, conflict, and symbolic interaction perspectives regarding marriage and family with emphasis on how gender and power are related.
Outline the major developments in each stage of the family life cycle, including love and courtship, marriage, childbirth and child rearing, and family transitions in later life discussing the social factors that produce variations within each of these stages.
State the unique conditions experienced by African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and Native-American families.
Identify the major concerns of one-parent families, families without children, blended families, and gay and lesbian families.
Discuss U.S, family trends including postponing marriage, cohabitation, unwed motherhood, grandparents as parents, and the sandwich generation.
Discuss divorce and remarriage including difficulty in measuring divorce, children of divorce, serial fatherhood, and remarriage.
Explain the patterns of abuse within the family setting, including battering, child abuse, and incest.
Explain why happy and unhappy couples approach problems differently.
List some of the characteristics that tend to be present in marriages that work.
Summarize conclusions regarding the future of marriage and family in the United States.
