new family and crime

Arranged Marriage

marriage partners are chosen by older family members rather than people choosing their marriage partner

Beanpole family

a family with only one child or very few children; combined with rising life expectancy this leads to family trees that look very tall and this with few people in each generation, rather than bushy, with lots of siblings, aunt, uncles and cousins

Birth rate

the number of live births per 1000 people in the population per year

Boomerang family

a family in which the adult children have left home but then return

Cereal packet family

the stereotypical nuclear family of mother, father and children with traditional gender roles that is often shown in advertisements

Child centredness

when the child's needs and wishes are the most important considerations

Civil partnership

a relationship between two people of the same sex that has been formally registered giving them similar rights to married couples

Cohabitation

two people who are not married to each other living in an intimate relationship

Commune

a group of people who choose to live together and share at least some of their property

Conjugal roles

the roles taken by the husband and wife within the family resulting from the domestic division of labour

Dark side of family

the negative aspects of family life such as arguments, abuse, neglect and violence

Death rate

the number of deaths per 1000 people in the population in one year; also called the mortality rate

Demographic trends

patterns in the changes of demographic measures such as the birth rate and death rate

Divorce

the formal, legal ending of a marriage

Divorce rate

the number of divorces per year per 1000 people

Domestic division of labour

the way in which tasks in the home (such as cooking, cleaning, childcare and repairs) are divided between the man and woman

Domestic violence

violence within the family, usually but not always by males against females; refers not only to physical violence but also to patterns of controlling behaviour that may include emotional manipulation

Dual burden

women who do paid work as well as look after the home and family are said to have a dual burden - the term 'triple burden' or 'triple shift' is also sometimes used, adding to work and the home and the expressive role of looking after the emotional needs of family members

Dual worker families

families in which both the man and woman do paid work

Dysfunctional family

a family that fails to carry out the functions expected of it; for example, where the children are neglected

Empty shell marriage

a married couple continue to live together but without love or affection

Empty-nest families

parents living at home together after their adult children have moved out

Extended family

a nuclear family living with other relatives such as grandparents or great-grandparents or aunts, uncles and cousins

Family diversity

the increase in the number of different types of families

Family functions

the functions the family has, that is, what roles it plays and for whom, according to functionalist theory

Family roles

the parts played by different members of the family

Feminism

a theoretical perspective that is mainly interested in issues of gender inequality and on the position of women in the family and in society

Fertility rate

the number of live births per 1000 women of child-bearing age in the population

Gender equality

when men and women have equal roles, status and rights.

Household unit

the group or people living together in the same residence and sharing living space

Industrialisation

the process in history in which societies changed from being mainly rural and based on agriculture to being urban and with more people working in industries

Joint conjugal roles

the husband and wife carry out many tasks and activities together, so that there is no clear separation of roles; the opposite of segregated roles

Kinship

when the ties between people are related by descent (having a common ancestor) by marriage and by adoption

Marital breakdown

when a marriage has broken down so that the couple are no longer living as husband and wife; some breakdowns lead to divorce

Marriage

the formal joining of a man and a woman in a relationship with rights and responsibilities; some countries now allow same sex marriage, that is, of two men or two women

Matriarchy

when the mother is the head of the household, with authority over the men and children in the household

Matrifocal families

one in which the mother heads the family and the father has a less important role in the family and bringing up children

Modern industrial societies

created by industrialisation; societies that today have industrial economies and high urban populations

Monogamy

being married to one person at a time

Nuclear family

made up of an adult man and an adult woman who are marries, or in a relationship, and living together with dependent children

One-parent or single-parent family

one parent and their dependent living together

One-person household

when only one person lives in a residence

Patriarchy

a term used by feminists to describe societies and organisation (including the family) in which men are dominant and women are subordinate

Pologyny

when a man has more than one wife at the same time

Polyandry

when a woman has more than one husband at the same time

Polygamy

being married to more than one person at the same time; for example, a man with several wives or a woman with several husbands

Primary socialisation

the process by which infants and young absorb the basic norms and values of their culture

Reconstituted family

after the death of a partner or a divorce, a new family that is created by someone remarrying

Secularisation

the process by which religion has become less important in the daily lives of many people in modern industrial societies

Segregated conjugal roles

the husband and wife have clearly different roles within the family and different interests and activities; the opposite of joint roles

Serial monogamy

when someone has more than one marriage partner during their life, but only one at any given time

Step-child

a child who lives with one biological parent and one-step parent

Step-parent

after remarriage a step-parent shares with their new partner parental responsibility for children from previous marriages

Symmetrical family

a family in which the conjugal roles have become more equal

Traditional conjugal roles

the segregated roles assumed to be normal in the traditional nuclear family

Traditional societies

non-modern societies, contrasted with modern industrial societies

Urbanisation

the growth of cities, so that a higher proportion of the population live in cities

Agencies of social control

organisations, institutions, and groups that guide or coerce people into conforming to norms

Anomie

when the social bonds and shared system between a society and individuals are broken, so people do not respect these social values and feel they are outside society

Community sentencing

punishments that involve non-custodial sentences, such as carrying out work for the community

Conformity

matching attitudes and behaviour to those of a group

Corporate crime

crime committed by corporations or organisations, usually in pursuit of profit for the corporation rather than the benefit of individuals

Crime

acts that break formal written laws

Crime prevention

attempts by governments to reduce crime, enforce laws and maintain criminal justice

Crime rates

statistical measure of crime

Cybercrime

crime involving use of new technologies such as computers

Dark figure

The unknown number of crimes not included in official statistics

Deterrent

when a punishment is intended to stop the offender or others from committing the offence so as to avoid the punishment

Deviance

behaviour that breaks (or violates) the norms or values of a group

Deviancy amplification

when responses to deviance create further deviance

Deviant career

In labelling theory this term describes the choices that individuals make which lead them to behave in ways labelled as deviant and they go on to follow a deviant path or career

Dominant values

beliefs that form a basis for action and are held by most people or by those with the power to force their values on others

Formal social control

ways in which a government or it agencies, such as police and law courts, get people to conform to laws

Inadequate socialisation

socialisation that fails to fully instill norms and values and so makes individuals more likely to become deviant

Informal social control

ways in which people get others to conform to norms, for example by ridiculing them or with looks of disapproval

Internet crimes

crime involving use of internet

Judicial system

the system of courts that apply and interpret laws

Juvenile delinquency

deviant acts by young people that would be considered crimes if they were older

Labelling

the way in which acts and people are defined as deviant by the social reaction to their behaviour

Law enforcement agencies

government agencies with powers to make people conform to the law in. their area, such as police forces or, in the USA, the federal Bureau of Investigation

Masculinity

the attitudes and behaviour associated with being a man in a particular culture

Master status

a status that overrides all others and becomes they way that individuals see themselves and are seen by others

Material deprivation

being short o the material goods needed in a society

Moral panic

exaggerated social reaction to deviance, creating a demand for action against it

Official crime statistics

official figures of the number of crimes and offenders

Ostracism

punishment involving being excluded from the community

Peer group

a group that individuals identify with because they share characteristics such as age or status

Penal system

the formal organisation of punishments for crime in a society

Policing

the ways in which the police carry out their work such as investigating crimes and arresting offenders

Prison

a place for physically confining offenders, depriving them of their freedom

Rehabilitation

when the punishment involves work or education to help offender realise they were wrong to commit the crime and to help them resume a law-abiding life

Relative deprivation

the feeling of having less than others with whom a comparison can legitimately be made

Rewards

positive benefits received for an act (also called positive sanctions)

Sanctions

penalties imposed for not conforming to norms and values

Self-report studies

research that asks people what crimes or deviant acts they have committed

Socialisation

the process by which individuals learn the norms and values of a social group

Sociological explanation

attempts to account for phenomena such as crime (as opposed to, for example, psychological or biological) insights

Status frustration

when people are unable to achieve the socially approved goals because of their position in society

Stereotyping

representations of groups in popular culture or views held by individuals that assume that all members of a group have the same characteristics

Stigma

a label that changes the labelled person's positive self-image into a negative one