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Intimate Relationships, Marriages, and Families Cover Image
Intimate Relationships, Marriages, and Families, 5/e
Mary K. DeGenova
Philip F. Rice

Intimate Relationships, Marriages, and Families in the Twenty-First Century

Chapter Overview

What constitutes a family differs from culture to culture and from one era to another. Both the structure and function of intimate relationships, marriages, and families have changed in the twentieth century. The family once functioned in an instrumental, or institutional, role; now it has an expressive role, filling the need for love and companionship. The ideal family structure has also changed--from patriarchy to democracy. This shift toward greater equality between men and women in the family has been caused by several social factors: the rise of the feminist movement, increased educational and employment needs and opportunities for women, greater equality in sexual expression, and new perspectives about children. The changes in family philosophy during the twentieth century have been accompanied by a drop in the marriage rate; an increase in age at first marriage; declines in the birthrate and in family size; substantial increases in the number of working mothers and one-parent families; an increase in the number of grandparents serving as parents; and increases in the rates of divorce, remarriage, and reconstituted, or blended, families. More teenagers are having sexual intercourse sooner, and more teenage and unmarried women are becoming pregnant. Unmarried teen pregnancies frequently result in negative consequences. An example of an increasing family form is gay male or lesbian families. Many of these have stable relationships, including ones with children. Seven main theories that help explain families are structural-functional theory, family developmental theory, symbolic interaction theory, systems theory, conflict theory, and feminist theory.