Family Structures and Bonds

The family is more than a man and a woman married with children (preferably a boy and a girl but more seem a blessing) and a dog living in a nice house with a front yard. The “ideal” nuclear family that has been portrayed in the media and that is culturally “accepted” has (fortunately, in my belief) been challenged. Family structures have been transformed in recent years and gender roles are also changing (although slower). In the readings of this session we are reminded of these transformations. As sociologists, it is important to go beyond the assumptions of the nuclear family. Vern Bengston (2001) alerts the importance of multigenerational bonds, Barbara Risman (1986) shows that fathers are competent as primary parents; Amato (2000) reviews the literature on the impacts of divorce for adults and children and shows that individuals react differently depending on protective factors, adjustment reactions and other stressors; Umberson and colleages (2005) use a life course perspective to show how marital quality is dynamic; and Fustenberg and colleages (2004) write about the changing definitions of the transition to adulthood. Do you think that at some point the news of a stay home dad (like the one we saw in the video) will end to be a news of a “rare” event?

One of the issues that I have stressed in the discussions of previous sessions is the relationship between selection and causation. Amato (2000) and Umberson and colleagues (2005) do a good job (from my point of view) delineating the blurry boundaries between these concepts and explaining when one seems to weigh more than the other. The readings also point out to the need of appropriate data to study family dynamics and in this sense, we need not only longitudinal data, but data designed to capture the complex and changing family patterns. As researchers, how do wwe deal with data gathering and use of limited data available? How can we contribute to those in charge of gathering the data to have better empirical research?

QUESTIONS:
1. From Amato’s findings and perspective of the divorce process, how do you think that policy could be designed to make this process less stressful? For example, do you think that it should be considered a public health problem and policies including broader access to therapists and mental health providers should be considered? Would social programs providing cash or other economic resources be useful? If fathers can “mother”, how should custodial decisions be taken? Would you think adoption regulations should be reviewed to include single fathers?
2. If transition to adulthood seems to be segmented by class, then what are the implications and consequences of this? What is the relationship between poverty, intergenerational mobility, family structures and different trajectories of transition to adulthood? Fustenberg and colleagues mention the role of the economy and education in delaying marriage and parenthood. How do you think the findings of the readings differ by class and cross-nationally?
3. How are family structures transformed due to migration and mobility? How are the bonds of immigrant families affected by structures that are not nuclear?