Sociology ; Life at Home: Families and Relationships

Family

A social group consisting of individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption living in the same household.

Fictive Kin

Close relations with people considered "like family" but not related by blood or marriage.

Sandwich Generation

Three generations in the household, including grandparents, parents, and children.

Boomerang Kids

Young adults or adult children who move back in with their parents after living independently.

Mate Selection

The process of choosing a partner for marriage.

Endogamy

Marriage to someone within one's social group, such as race, class, ethnicity, education, religion, region, or nationality.

Exogamy

Marriage to someone from a different social group.

Propinquity

The tendency to marry or have relationships with people in close geographic proximity.

Monogamy

The practice of being married to one person at a time, which is the only legal form of marriage in the U.S.

Polygamy

The practice of having multiple spouses.

Polygyny

When a man is married to many wives.

Polyandry

When a woman has multiple husbands.

Polyamory

A relationship style where multiple partners can be involved with each other.

Structural Functionalism

A sociological perspective that views the family as one of the basic institutions that keep society running smoothly, with functions such as producing children, socializing children, economic production, and gender roles.

Conflict Theory

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the conflict and competition within families over scarce resources and the production of future exploited workers.

Symbolic Interactionists

Sociologists who examine the social dynamics and interactions that create and sustain families, focusing on the socially created experiences of family bonds and the distinction between "the family" and "families."

Family and the Life Course

The ways in which family shapes children and how children shape the family based on factors such as family size, birth order, presence/absence of parents, socioeconomic status, etc.

Divorce and Breakups

The dissolution of marriages and relationships.

Cohabitation

Living together as a couple without being married.

Intergenerational Transmission

The passing down of values, behaviors, and resources from one generation to the next within families.

Types of Cohabitation

Different forms of cohabitation, including spousal cohabitation (with the intention to get married), one-time cohabitation (living with one person, breaking up, and marrying someone else), and serial cohabitation.