Test 2

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have during her lifetime.

Nonmarital birthrate

The percentage of births occurring outside of marriage, which has increased to about 40 percent in the U.S. today.

Cohabitation

A family form where couples live together without being married, which has become widely accepted.

Nuclear family

A family unit consisting of two parents and their children, often idealized in discussions of 1950s family structure.

Postmodern family

A contemporary family structure that reflects diverse forms beyond the traditional nuclear family.

Ambivalent about family change

Describes individuals who accept some aspects of family evolution while being unsure or resistant to others.

Divorce rate

The measure of how many divorces occur in a given population, which has been declining over recent decades.

Importance of grandparents

An increased likelihood of children living with grandparents today compared to previous decades.

Marriage desire trends

A significant portion of never-married adults, 58 percent, expressing a desire to marry someday.

Sociocultural shifts

Changes in societal attitudes and norms that impact family structures and relationships.

Gender norms in the 1950s

Expectations surrounding male and female roles within families, including the ideal of male breadwinners and female homemakers.

Family-decline perspective

The viewpoint that cultural shifts towards individualism have negatively impacted family structures and relationships.

Family-change perspective

A belief that family transformations can lead to positive outcomes and adaptations.

Age at first marriage

The median age at which people first marry, which has increased over the decades to 28 for women and 30 for men in 2021.

Foreign-born parents

The growing percentage of U.S. children living with at least one foreign-born parent, rising to about 25 percent.

Media-induced family values

Representation of ideal family life in media, often projecting unrealistic or overly simplistic norms.

Prevalence of same-sex couples

A significant increase in households consisting of same-sex couples, from half a million in 2008 to approximately 1.4 million by 2024.

Functional parent-child relationships

Recognition of non-biological parent-child relationships by courts, facilitating legal recognition of caregiving roles.