Family Development Family Key social institution l l

Family Development

Family Ø Key social institution l l Caregiving Socialization Ø Definition? Ø “group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption” Ø Changing definition l l Structures Blended families

Ø Nuclear (co-residing) Ø Extended (do not co-reside) Ø Family of orientation (birth/adoptive) Ø Family of procreation (having own children)

Statistics Canada Ø Census Family l l Married (legal, common-law) with or without never-married children, or Lone parent with at least one never-married child Ø Economic Family l l 2 or more people related by blood, marriage, common-law, adoption Living in same household

Stats Can Ø Private Household l Person or group of people who occupy a private dwelling Ø Family Household l Private household that contains at least one census family Ø Non-Family Household l Private household that consists of one person living alone or group of people who do not constitute a census family

Ø Complexities of categorizing Ø Change over lifespan l l l Problem in “co-residency” as defining characteristic of families Why? E. g. , widowed woman living with granddaughter – family member but in “nonfamily household”

Family Development

Family Development Ø Dynamic l l Reciprocity Changing Ø Birth Rates in Canada l Dropping – Why? Ø Economics Ø Delayed Parenthood

Average at first birth increasing

Increased percentage of women in labour force

Economics of Parenthood

Family Life Cycle Ø Evelyn Mills Duval (1997) Ø 8 stages Ø Relation to marital satisfaction l l Changing perceptions of equity (fairness) Why?

Robert Havinghurst (1953) Ø Family Developmental Tasks Ø l Ø Growing responsibilities Problems (Butler, Duval, Havinghurst Family Development models) l l l Assumption of universality Increase in off-time childbearing (applicability to late life families? ) Increased life expectancy, earlier retirement: need for pre-, early-, and post-retirement stages?

Assumption of Universality Ø No accommodation of individual variations Ø Increase in blended families Ø Increase in lone-parent families Ø Reduced family size Ø Changing parental roles

Myths about families in the past Ø Traditional nuclear family Ø But: demographics of past generations l l l High infant, child mortality rates Maternal mortality Life expectancy

% People with one parent alive Age of Parent Birth Year of child 1860 1960 40 42% 82% 50 16% 60 2% 23%

Ø Multigenerational families rare in past Ø Wealth of elderly family members determined treatment/status

Structure of Aging Families Ø Marital status of males and females l Middle to late adulthood

Males

Females

Gender differences Ø Older men more likely to be married than older women Ø Widowhood “expected life event” for women in late adulthood l l Greater life expectancy Age difference between spouses Ø Men more likely than women to remarry l l Demographic reality: fewer unmarried older men Sexist social norms: age differences

Divorce Ø More commonly experienced life event l l Data unclear with growing incidence of common-law marriages Preceding cohabitation more likely to end in divorce Negative economic consequences for women, not as likely for men Ø Remarriage after divorce decreasing Ø l l Ø Partly due to increases in cohabitation Men more likely to remarry after divorce Current elderly not likely to have experienced cohabitation, divorce, remarriage l l Implications for future generations? More complexity, financial security?

Living Arrangements Ø Living with spouse l l Ø 60% elderly men 40% women Living alone l l Women: 3050% Men: 13 -20%

Ø Increases in female life expectancy Ø Declining fertility Ø Economic feasibility not a significant factor l But pension improvements may be important Ø Normative changes related to independence, privacy, individualism

Multigenerational Living Ø Approximately 13% of Canadian elders Ø Influence of ethnic origin l Foreign-born, more likely to live in 3 generation household Ø “beanpole” families l l l 4 -5 generations Not common Late childbearing age: age gap between generations

Ø Sandwich generation l l Needs of dependent children and elderly parents Not commonplace in Canada Ø Empty nest vs. “cluttered nest” l l Children leaving home at older ages Adult children more likely to “boomerang” back

Grandparenthood Ø Majority of elderly Ø Contribution to grandchildren Ø Gender differences: affect

Affect differences Women more likely to be grandparents for longer time Ø Grandparent-child tie more emotionally close among grandmothers Ø Mediated by middle generation: opposite effects Ø l l Divorce in middle generation: possible denial of contact Grandparents as “parents” if middle generation unable to care for children

Widowhood Ø “expected” life event Ø Associated with financial difficulty Ø Stress l l Change in identity New relationships with children, other family members, friends, other men

Adult sibling relationships Ø Importance varies over life course Ø Later life l Growth in importance Ø Influenced by l l geographical proximity Gender (sisters closer) Marital status (more importance to nevermarried) Parental status (more important to childless)

Family Conflict Ø Elder Abuse l l l Extreme form of conflict/elder maltreatments Physical, psychological, financial Not as common as other forms 4 -8 percent victims of abuse/neglect in home and institutional settings Family • Spouses more likely to be perpetrators than children • Men more likely to be physically abusive • Women more likely to be abusive through neglect

Violence against elderly Ø Related to four factors l l Problems of abuser (mental illness, drug addiction) Dependency of abuser on victim (especially financial dependency) Social isolation External stresses on family members Ø Perpetuation of wife abuse into later life Ø Need for social solutions

Review l Cognitive development • Intelligence: change, stability, growth • Distinction: cross-sectional vs. longitudinal l Social development • theories, friendship, mate selection, sexuality l Family development • structure, changes, relations