Cheyenne Tuggle Essays (3207 words) - Human Behavior, Family

Cheyenne Tuggle Contemporary Marriage and Family Lifestyles The University of Valley Forge PSY 414 Abstract Discussed below is a wide variety of different types of the American society of contemporary families and marriages. There have been many changes from the 1960's to our present day and most of them are results of how our society is evolving. The following statistics are completely accurate as to how many children live with families that have two parents, divorced parents, no parents, step parents and many other things. Along with all of this, the research that has been presented here shows cohabitation, interracial marriages and more types of social normality's that the nation is experiencing. There is a vast difference that has shaped the average American's mind about their own thoughts and opinions from ancestors before them and the beliefs that they were raised to have over time. This new generation is breaking old traditions that have been established, instead of keeping the foundation that we once had and is now on the way to completely turning it upside down. Contemporary Marriage and Family Lifestyles Today, we have seen a drastic change between living as the "perfect family" in the 1960s and living more as separated families in our modern time. Speaking on even a more modern type of family, many new families are what we now call blended. There are more children being born to single mothers than any before, more step children and half siblings are coming about, educational groups are mixing and even racially blended families are what we call our social norms'. Cohabitation is at the highest rate that it has ever been and often not expected to end in marriage, but just for two people to live together and have their version of a family. Statistics are always a great way to to put some of the research into perspective. In 1960, 73% of children were living with two parents in the first marriage, 14% two parents in remarriage, 9% single parent households, and 4% no parents. Twenty years later in 1980, we see that the two parents in the first marriage percentile had gone down to 61%, two parents in remarriage went up to 16%, single parents sparked and extra 10% to make 19%, and the no parent percentage stayed at 4%. Since 1980, the latest statistics that have been found in 2014 say, there is a major decline in the two parents in first marriage category being 46%. Two parents in remarriage went up to 16%, a cohabiting parent's category has been added with 7%, single parents had a huge jump to 26% and no parents had on gone up by 1% to make 5% (American Family, 2015). In 1960 people in between the ages 18-32 had a marriage percentage of 65%. Today, it is less than 46% and the median ages to marry are in the late 20's. Comparing the 1960s fertility rates to today, women averaged around 3.5 children, where now they are barley having two altogether. Unmarried women's birth accounts are at an all-time high with a percentage of 44, including cohabitating parents, while back then, it was barely even heard of as a lifestyle. (Krogstad, 2014).Even though statistics are very interesting and an easy way to understand just how big the modern changes are, knowing exactly what we are speaking about is a necessity to fully understand the worth of the research. Marriage is defined as "a sexual, economic, and emotional partnership between a man and a woman that is socially and legally sanctioned (Ambert, 2005)." Since then, this definition has been made to fit for all contemporary type families. As of not long ago, in all social orders of the world, marriage has been at the premise of family arrangement, that is, of generation. It is a foundation: It includes standards directing the rights and responsibilities of companions, of society toward them, and of life partners as parents. Responsibility is a key, multi-faceted part of the organization of marriage as is constancy, despite the fact that, in numerous societies, it is expected of women as it were said for them to just be the parent' (Ambert, 2005). As far as concerns, living together is as a matter of first importance