Chapter 1: Social Constructions
Contents of This Chapter:
- Chapter Reading Guide
-
The Family: A Socially Constructed Idea
- Equity, Equality, and Fairness
- 21st-Century American Families
- Changes in Children’s Living Arrangements
- Declining Marriage
- Declining Divorce
- Declining Fertility Rates and Birth Rates
- Multigenerational Households
- Longer Working Lives
- Theoretical Perspectives on Families
- Family as Haven, Fulfillment, and Encumbrance
- The Private and Public Functions of Families
- Licenses and Attributions for The Family: A Socially Constructed Idea
- References
- A Historical Context for Today’s Families
- Social Identities, Social Constructions, and Families
- The U.S. Government and Families
- Looking Ahead: Social Structures and Kinship
- Going Deeper
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