美国人的家庭生活状况

Family Types
extended family immediate family nuclear family "blended families" or "step families" "average family" (in 2002) had just 3.21 members. single-parent families
本章重点，要点
Family Concept Family Types The “family” looks like Family Values (“clearly traditional”) Family Values (“More expressive values”) Americans believe Family Feature Changing trends in the USA Divorces per 100 marriages at 2007 report
Family Feature :
➢ The emphasis on individual freedom ➢ Equality in the family ➢ The emphasis on the psychological needs
Changing trends in the USA
Average age of first marriage
Marriage is a legal contract Marriage is an economic arrangement Marriage is a sexual relationship Marriage means commitment Marriage is a political arena
United States Sweden Denmark England Canada France Hungary Netherlands Italy
54.8 44.1 44.0 41.7源自文库38.3 31.5 31.0 28.1 8.0
same-sex marriage Amish
The “family” looks like :
➢A working father, a stay-at-home mother
and two children under 18-----------------------
8%
➢Two parents who are both working and one or more children
male
female
Year
1970 23.2
20.8
2000 26.8
25.1
Divorce
Divorced Americans
4.3 million 19.9 million
Sources: US Census; National Center for Health Statistics
Divorces per 100 marriages at 2007 report
Family Values (“More expressive values”) :
Giving emotional support to other members of the family
Respecting people for themselves Developing greater skill in communicating one’s
under 18----------------------------------
16%
➢Married couples without children-------------
30%
➢Single parents and their children--------------
8%
➢Unmarried couples-------------------------------
Family Concept
The ideal of the American family is group cooperation to help achieve the fulfillment of each individual member, and shared affection to renew each member’s emotional strength.
11%
➢Living alone---------------------------------------
25%
➢same-sex marriage 650000
➢Amish
200000
Family Values (“clearly traditional”) :
Respecting one’s parents Being responsible for one’s actions Respecting authority Married to the same person for life Having faith in God Leaving the world in better shape
That children actually may be better off living with one parent than with two who are constantly arguing.
Children are not embarrassed to say that their parents are divorced.
feelings Respecting one’s children Living up to one’s potential as an individual
Americans believe :
That unhappy couples should not stay married just because they have children.