Sociology of the Family Exam 4

Work in the Contemporary U.S.
& Changes in the Economy

- Deindustrialization
- Globalization
- Off-shoring

Deindustrialization

Post industrial, capitalist, service economy
- The slow and steady decline of manufacturing employment, which has occurred in nearly all highly developed societies over recent decades

Globalization

Products, services, and markets have expanded beyond national boundaries

Off-shoring

Moving production and services to developing nations with weaker labor protection, lower wages and fewer environmental protections

5 Social Classes

Determined by SES
1. Wealthy: Their income is generated by economic assets
2. Corporate: They work as CEOs, CFOs, presidents, vice presidents, and other top positions in large corporations
3. Middle: They work as professionals with advanced degrees, career development, salaried wages, and benefits
4. Working class: They work at skilled jobs in production, maintenance, transportation, and skilled service, with no advanced degrees necessary, hourly wages & few benefits
5. Poor: Most of the poor work, but it includes the under-employed and some unemployed

SES

Socioeconomic Status
- Income
- Education
- Occupation
- Address

Polarization

Occurs when there is growth on both the low and high ends of the economic continuum
- Both wealth inequality and income inequality
have increased

Wealth

Accumulated capital assets

Income

The money generated by either occupation or return on capital assets

The Wealthiest 1%

- Owns more privately owned assets than the bottom 80% combined
- Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos own more than the bottom 50%

Income Inequality

The richest 0.1% make 196x as much as the bottom 90%

The Labor Movement of the Early 20th Century

- Progressive policymakers and politicians successfully
decreased income inequality by progressive tax policy, monopoly, and anti-trust legislation increased unionization and other economic reforms
- Those reforms have eroded since 1980 leading to even more income inequality than we experienced during the “gilded age” at the end of the 19th century

CEO to Worker Ratio

The CEOs of S&P 500 Index company made, on average, 354x the average wages of rank-and-file U.S. workers in 2012

CEO vs Workers

- United States- CEO: $12,259,894, Worker: $34,645
- Canada- CEO: $8,704,118, Worker: $43,253
- UK- CEO: $3,758,412, Worker: $44,743
- Australia- CEO: $4,183,419, Worker: $44,983

The Shrinking Middle Class

An average Middle Class household has two workers within the family, this is due to three factors
1. Educational inflation and student loans
2. Stagnation of salaries
3. Decline of benefits

Technology is Replacing Middle
and Working Class Jobs

- Communication technology and computers have made it possible to manage workers remotely
- Robotics have replaced many assembly line workers
- Computers have replaced typists and decreased the need for office workers

Working Class and the Media

Although nearly half of all workers are working class, they are ignored by politicians and the media

The Decline of the Working Class

1. Moving production jobs off-shore
2. Shift to a post-industrial service economy
3. New technology replaces the need for workers
4. Moving service jobs offshore

Poverty

- Not having enough material possessions or income for a person's needs
- The poor lack the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living

Global Standards of Poverty

- The poor in the U.S. are in much better circumstances than those in less developed economies
- Compared to peer countries the poor in America have almost no safety net and lack access to even basic medical care
- U.S. children in particular are more likely to live in poverty than those in peer countries

The Fair Standards Labor Act and the
National Recovery Act

- 1933
- Set the 40 hour work week
- First minimum wage $0.25 an hour

Minimum Wage

- Since 1968 minimum wage has steadily lost
buying power
- From September 1, 1997, through July 23, 2007, the federal minimum wage remained constant at $5.15 per hour
- Under President Obama, there were a series of small increases until it reached $7.25 per hour in 2009
- It has not increased since

Standards of Poverty

1. Absolute: Not enough resources to maintain health
2. Official: Government set poverty levels
3. Relative: Being poor relative to others in one’s society or reference group

Absolute Poverty

This is the absence of enough resources to sustain life. It is
measures by:
- Life expectancy
- Infant, childhood, and maternal mortality
- Diseases associated with malnutrition (including obesity)
- Homelessness

Official Poverty

- This is the way in which the government measures
poverty
- (3 * ($ for an adequate diet)) * # household
- This formula assumes 1/3 of income is used to provide food, a third for housing and a third for all other needs

Poverty in a Family of 4

- The poverty level for a family of four with no special needs was $24,300 in 2020
- The median household income for the most recent year was $62,037 (2019)

Poverty in the US

- In 2020 the poverty level for a household of 4 was $26,200
- According to the U.S. Census, more than 16% of the population fell below official poverty levels
- Children are disproportionately likely to live in poverty (20%)
- Extreme poverty (households living on less than $2.00 per day per person) included 1.5 million households
- Over 2.8 million U.S. children live in extreme poverty

Relative Poverty

- This measure reflects how impoverished people feel compared
to a reference group. Whether one feels impoverished is therefore dependent on which reference group is used
- Relatively impoverished individuals are not able to take part in what is considered the acceptable standard of living in their society

Work Structure and US Poverty

- Low Wage Jobs Increasing
- Comp Time Replaces Overtime
- Non-Standard Work Hours
- Contract Employment

Low Wage Jobs Increasing

The modal salary for all jobs is the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour

Comp Time Replaces Overtime

Workers are paid in hour taken off rather than dollars

Non-Standard Work Hours

This decreases worker productivity and increases the cost of
daycare for workers

Contract Employment

Workers must pay a higher rate of social security taxes and must provide their own disability insurance. There is also no unemployment insurance for contract workers

Average Number of Hours Worked

34.4 hours per week (2019)

% of Adults Voluntarily Not Working

39% of Adults are unemployed

Men's Role in the Workforce is Declining

Since 1960 prime age male workers have been decreasing in the U.S. workforce, women are the majority (50.4%)
1. Aging workers (particularly baby boomers) are more likely to be male
2. They can’t find work at their skill or educational level
3. They are staying home with the children while their wife works
4. They are going back to school to re-tool for anincreasingly technical workforce

Women's Role in the Workforce is Increasing

1. Information and communication-related jobs have expanded opportunities for jobs in fields with more women workers
2. Anti-discrimination legislation has made the exclusion of women from the workforce more potentially costly to employers
3. Birth control technology has made it possible for women to plan both family and careers. So employers are less likely to avoid hiring a woman of reproductive age.
4. An increasing number of women can not afford to stay out of the labor force

Economic Roles Within
Marriage

- Male only breadwinner families
- Two person single career
- Two-income families
- Dual earner
- Dual career
- Stay at home fathers w/ working wife

Dilemmas

- Trailing spouse
- Commuter marriages
- When wives earn more
- Inequality in the workforce
- Gender pay gap
- Job segregation
- Short track careers
- Interruptions for child bearing
- Comparable worth

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

There are 2 types of sexual harassment:
1. Quid Pro Quo: Latin for “this for that”, it means that a reward or punishment is implied unless the victim gives sexual favors to the person in authority
2. Hostile environment: The work environment is made difficult by supervisors, co-workers, and/or clients

Family and Work Policies

- Bringing babies and children to work
- Flextime
- Telecommuting
- Pregnancy policies and penalties
- Family Medical Leave
- Care for dependents
- Child care
- Elder care

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

Includes physical and emotional violence between intimate
partners. It’s difficult to measure IVP because it is usually carried out in private and is seldom reported

Three Types of IVP

1. Physical Abuse: This occurs when partners use physical force
- Throwing objects, hitting, kicking, pushing grabbing, biting,
beating, choking
2 Sexual Abuse: This is forcing a partner to take part in a sex act
when she or he does not consent
- Rape or taking part in an unwanted activity such as oral or anal sex or the submissive role in a sadomasochistic act
3. Emotional abuse: Threatening a partner, his or her loved ones,
or possessions or harming a partner’s self-worth

Prevalence and Severity of IPV

- IVP calls are the most frequent call to police departments
and the most dangerous calls for police officers
- Among women age 15-44 IPV is the leading cause of death
- SC consistently ranks among the top 5 states for IPV deaths among women
- Most IPV involves mutual battery, however, the consequences of battery are not equal

Women Victims of IPV

- 1,200 Deaths per year
- 2 million injuries requiring medical treatment
- 75% of all attacks are against women

Men Victims of IPV

- 330 Deaths per year
- 600,000 injuries requiring medical treatment
- 25% of all attacks are against men

Women Victims of Homicide

- 23% stranger
- 40% acquaintance
- 9% relative
- 16% boyfriend
- 9% husband
- 4% ex-spouse

Men Victims of Homicide

- 49% stranger
- 44% acquaintance
- 3% relative
- 2% girlfriend
- 1% wife
- 1% ex-spouse

Women Experiencing IPV

- 26%
- 54% of female victims are aged 18-34
- Multi-racial and American Indian households have the highest rates of victimization

Men Experiencing IPV

- 12%
- 39% of male victims are aged 18-34
- Multi-racial and black households have the highest rates of victimization

Marital Rape

- Marital rape is an abusive act in which a man forces his wife to have unwanted intercourse or to perform an unwanted sexual act
- An estimated 25% of women have been raped by their spouse
- Marital rape is the most frequent type of sexual assault, but it is the most difficult kind of sexual assault to prosecute
- Until 1993 it was not even illegal in some states
- In SC a person could not prosecute while living with the spouse until recently

The Cycle of Domestic Violence

1. Tension Building: Minor incidents of battering occur accompanied by emotional abuse and threats
2. Acute Battery: A precipitating incident triggers an explosion of violence
- The incident may be very minor
3. Calm: The abuser is remorseful and may seek forgiveness

Why Do They Stay?

- Negative self concept
- Belief that the abuser will change
- Economic hardship or homelessness
- Need for child support
- Shame or guilt
- Blaming themselves
- Fear
- The home becomes a prison

Child Maltreatment

- Physical Abuse: Causing bodily harm to a child
- Sexual Abuse: The child is involved in sexual activity to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit
- Neglect: Failure to provide basic life necessities
- Emotional Abuse: Psychological maltreatment conveying that the child is inferior, worthless, unloved or unwanted

Declining Rates of Child Maltreatment?

- Reported cases of child maltreatment rates have decreased
- Most child victimizations are not reported and funding for agencies charged with detecting child maltreatment has drastically decreased in the past decade

Who are the Victims?

- 52% girls
- 48% boys
- Victimization decreases with the increasing age of the child
- Children under 1 year account for 12% of those victimized
- African Americans have the highest rate (16.7/1000)
- Asian Americans have the lowest (2.4/1000)

Who are the Perpetrators?

- About 80% are parents
- Half of these are mothers because women spend more time alone with children
- Another 8% are other relatives or intimate partners of a parent
- Over 95% of sexual abuse perpetrators are men
- 90% are a relative or friends of the family

Who are the Reporters?

1. Educators/School personnel: 21 %
2. Law enforcement: 19%
3. Social Services: 11%
4. Family members: 11%
5. Friends: 8%
6. Neighbors: 8%
7. Other people: 10%
8. Anonymous sources: 12%

Stranger Danger

"Stranger danger” gets lots of media attention, but more than 90% of sexual abuse and incest is perpetrated by family members

Sexual Abuse and Incest

- Most victimization is chronic rather than acute.
- The most common age for child victims is between 8 and 12

Incest Offenders are Most Often

- Fathers or stepfathers
- Grandfathers
- Brothers
- Uncles

Hidden Victims

- The most frequent type of domestic violence is violence between siblings
- The most difficult abuse for authorities to recognize is violence against adolescents
- 30% of children ages 2-17 have been assaulted by a sibling at least once during the preceding year

Types of Sibling Abuse

- Name calling and ridicule
- Degradation
- Intimidation
- Torturing or killing a pet
- Destroying personal possessions
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse

Types of Elder Abuse

- Physical abuse
- Negligence
- Financial exploitation
- Psychological abuse
- Deprivation of basic necessities
- Isolation
- Not administering needed medication

Who are Elder Victims?

One to two million Americans aged 65 and older have been abused or neglected by family members and/or caretakers
- About 77% are white
- About 66% are women
- About 43% are 80 or older

Why Do They Do It?

- Living arrangements
- Social isolation
- Alcohol abuse
- Impairment of the caregiver and/or care recipient
- Dependency
- Medial costs and financial stress
- Personality

Theories Explaining Abuse and
Violence

- Patriarchal Male Dominance Theory
- Social Learning Theory
- Resource Theory
- Social Exchange Theory
- Ecological Systems Theory

Patriarchal Male Dominance Theory

- Feminist Theory
- Male aggression against women, children and the elderly is
common in patriarchal societies in which men have power,
status and privilege
- Women are marginalized and expected to accept male
domination
- Women’s growing independence has resulted in some men resorting to physical violence to reestablish their power
- Although some women are violent, they are less likely to
do serious injury and more likely to comply even in the
event of mutual battery

Social Learning Theory

- We learn by observing others
- Continuous exposure to abuse and violence during childhood increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to become both an assailant and a victim
- If there is both physical and emotional abuse, children engage in sibling abuse instead of learning communication skills
- Couples can also learn violence and emotional abuse from each other. While most basic personality traits don't change little over time, aggressive behavior does

Resource Theory

- Because men usually command greater financial and social resources compared to women, they have more power
- However, men with relatively few resources are more likely to resort to power
- A decline in resources can also increase stress and provoke violence

Social Exchange Theory

- Both assailants and victims engage in or tolerate violent or abusive behaviors because they believe the benefits outweigh the risks
- For example, many battered women remain in abusive relationships because of economic dependence or out of fear for themselves or their children
- Abusers find that violence releases anger and frustrations, as well as adds to their sense of power and control over their family

Ecological Systems Theory

- The larger social systems such as the economy, state agencies, education, and communities interact with families and individuals
- Abuse is higher when there is a combination of factors both at the micro (individual) and macro (structural) levels
- For example, when victims are isolated from community or community resources, they are more likely to be physically and socially isolated as well
- Children that attend schools in high poverty areas where educational resources are limited are also more likely to be victims

Combating Domestic Violence

- Prevention
- Interception

Micro Prevention

- Teaching children how to regulate their emotions and interact
effectively with their others
- It can also be used with adults (both couples and caregivers for elderly relatives) to re-educate them to show respect, manage
conflict and care for others

Macro Prevention

- Focus on increasing resources for schools, communities, legal services, and economic opportunities
- Ex. funding domestic violence shelters and programs and family homeless shelters

Micro Intervention

- Focus on improving relationship by identifying behaviors that cause anguish and loss of control
- Learning new behaviors to diminish the chance of recurring violence
- Home visitation programs are also effective at reducing recurring violence and maltreatment because they reduce social isolation

Macro Intervention

- Laws, policies, and programs designed to intervene in family crises or provide resources to victims
- For example, the Violence Against Women Act lowered the homicide rate among abused women by 65%. In February 2019
lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on changes to the program and it was not reauthorized
- Other programs such as Camp Hope and Watchful Shepard help abused children recover or provide contact when they are afraid

Other Family Health Issues

- Lifestyle Choices: Smoking, Vaping
- Obesity
- Substance Abuse: Alcohol

Smoking

- The leading cause of preventable disease in the U.S.
- 1 of every 5 deaths
- Children whose parents smoke are more likely to become addicted to tobacco products
- About 15% of adults smoke, but young, men without a high school diploma and racial minorities are disproportionately likely to smoke
- State profit from the sales of tobacco products via taxes and lawsuits, but spends only about 2% of their tobacco revenue
on prevention

Vaping

- E-cigarettes, vape pens, and vaping devices
- Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but still not safe
- Flavoring and other additives are toxic
- Vitamin E acetate and THC additives are especially dangerous
- E-cigarettes are just as addictive as other cigarettes. Among youth e- cigarettes are the primary method by which tobacco addiction begins

Obesity

- Obesity is the second leading cause of death and disability in
the U.S.
- Among adults 33% are overweight (BMI 25-29), 38% are obese
(BMI 30-39)
- Among children 15% are overweight and 17% are obese
- The rate of obesity has increased alarmingly since 1990, not a single state had an obesity rate of over 15% compared to all states having rates over 20% now
- Family behavior patterns affect weight

Substance Abuse

Over-indulgence and dependence on both or either legal or illegal substances

Alcohol

- 3rd leading cause of lifestyle related death
- 6% of the population abuses alcohol
- 80,000 deaths per year

Drinking Patterns

1. Continuous drinkers: Daily drinking without binges
2. Frequent heavy drinkers: Drinking 3 or more days per week with frequent intoxication
3. Episodic drinkers: Less frequent, irregular alcohol consumptions with longer sober periods
4. Binge drinkers: Have a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of at least .08. Most binge drinkers are not alcohol dependent
- Binge drinking is twice as common among men and is especially common among young people

Illicit Drugs

- Illicit drug use includes the non-medical use of a variety of drugs that are prohibited by international law
- Some legal drugs are used illicitly include psychotherapeutic drugs and pain relievers

Types of Illicit Drugs

- Amphetamines
- Cannabis
- Cocaine
- Heroin and other opioids
- MDMA: Ecstasy
- Hallucinogens: LSD, PCP, Ketamine, and toxic seeds or mushrooms

Marijuana Statistics in 2020

- 55 Million American adults currently use marijuana (16.9%)
- 3,700 adolescents use marijuana every day
- 30% of marijuana users have a substance abuse disorder
- In 2020, retail marijuana sales in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak increased by 159% in California, 100% in Washington State, and 46% in Colorado

Depression

A mental disorder characterized by persistent sadness and loss of interest in everyday life
- About 15% of adolescents and adults experience at least one major depressive episode

Women and Depression

- Women are more likely to experience Depression than men
- 1/8 women in the United States have Depression
- Women ages 40 to 59 have the highest rate of Depression in the US (12.3%)

LGBTQ and Depression

- Over 30% of LGBTQ individuals experience anxiety or depression at some point in their lives
- A rate that is 1.5-2.5x higher than their heterosexual
counterpart

Suicide

- Depression may lead to Suicide
- The country has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy nations
- In 2018, there were 48,344 recorded suicides and 1.4 suicide attempts
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.
- Suicide rate is highest for middle aged white men
- White males account for 69.7% of all suicides in the U.S.
- In 2014, there were 5,079 suicides in the 15 to 24 age group, making it the second leading cause of death for that age range
- The suicide rate for veterans was 1.5x the rate of non-veteran adults

Annulment

- The marriage is declared null because a pre-existing condition renders the contract invalid
- Must show why the parties to the contract could not consent to marriage or fulfill the conditions of the contract
- Anyone with knowledge that the marriage is invalid
may petition
- There is no time limit, nor does the couple having had sex matter

Conditions That Lead to Annulment

- Falsifying age or marital status
- Mental incapacity
- Prohibited pre-existing kinship

Separation

- Occurs when spouses in a marriage stop living together without getting divorced
- Separation may lead to divorce.
- Can be a temporary “time out” during which problems are resolved
- Can be a permanent arrangement
- In S.C. separation is referred to in legal documents as a “limited divorce”

Phases of Separation

1. Pre-separation
2. Early separation
3. Mid-separation
4. Late separation

Pre-Separation

- One or both people think about what it would be like to live alone
- They experience gradual emotional alienation while maintaining a pretense that nothing is wrong

Early Separation

Couples experience doubt about the leaving the marriage

Mid-Separation

Realities of living apart realized

Late Separation

Learning to live single and how to redefine joint friendships and family

When is a Legal Separation Necessary?

- If a couple has children or marital obligations that must continue to be met
- In S.C. a separation agreement can be filed
that defines how joint responsibilities will
be apportioned
- It is called a “limited divorce”
- Temporary child custody and maintenance agreement can also be filed