Family Decline?

Popenoe’s article, American Family Decline: 1960-1990: A Review and Appraisal argues that there is a concerning decline of the American family resulting in negative consequences. To prove the latter, Popenoe brings to light the decrease of the number of children in families, the increase of divorce rates and it’s connection to the feminist movement, and the “me-centered” attitude in modern society. This article is just asking to be criticized from the start when Popenoe tries to define the family; “a relatively small domestic group of kin consisting of at least one adult and one dependent person”. Not intending to leave out the different types of families such as single-parent families, stepfamilies or homosexual families, he constantly reverts back to a structural-functional definition of the nuclear family. His inconsistency and weak arguments are not enough to prove a correlation between the family decline and it’s negative social consequences. As Cowen states in his response to Popenoe’s article, “correlation does not establish proof of causation”. Another problem with Popenoe’s arguments can be seen from a feminist perspective. Stacey’s responds by pointing out Popenoe’s assumptions on this matter, including his correlation between the increase in divorce rates and feminism. I see Popenoe’s issue with the change in society as more of a shift away from the traditional nuclear family rather then a decline in family values. Thus in my opinion this shift promotes openness, acceptance and humanity rather than associating so much negative change when using the word “decline”.

Questions:

1. Popenoe associates serious negative change with his use of the word “decline”. Do you agree with this choice of word? What word(s) might you have used instead of the word “decline”.
2. From your personal experience, what negative consequences, if any, have you observed in the non-nuclear families around you?
3. A new reality tv show will be coming out about a polygamous relationship between a man and three sisters. They all live under the same roof with children between all of them. How do you think Popenoe would respond to this family structure? What are your thoughts about media and the decline of the American family?