Chapter 1 Questions:
1. The definition of family has changed over time as a result of legal, cultural, and institutional shifts. Select EITHER one broad OR one contemporary theoretical perspective presented in the chapter to discuss two ways that the definition of family has changed over time and include which factors created this change. Based on what you read in the chapter, how might the theory you selected explain the historical rise of the breadwinner-homemaker family and the subsequent movement away from this structure as a family norm and/or away from the “family norm” altogether?
2. List at least one advantage for each of the following: surveys, in-depth interviews, and time-use studies. Why would sociologists choose one method over another to study families?
3. Name at least two ways that family life changed as families transitioned from the patriarchal to companionship structure and was this transition the same for families who were part of racial or ethnic minority groups; briefly explain.
4. Based on what you read in Chapter 2, if you had to select one particular social phenomenon or movement that affected the family’s movement away from the 1950s “ideal”, what was that event/phenomenon/movement, and what is one way that this phenomenon changed how families are formed (hint: this phenomenon changed how families functioned because it changed the roles of women in particular).