User:Jada Simon/sandbox

Alternate Family Forms

The number of married couples raising children has decreased over the years. In Canada, married and common law couples with children under the age of 25 represented 44% of all families in 2001 . This statistic has lowered since 1991, when married and common law couples raising children under the age of 25 represented 49 percent of all Canadian families . Due to these changing statistics, there are various family forms which are becoming increasingly popular in society.

One-Parent Families In Canada, one parent families have become popular since 1961 when only 8.4 percent of children were being raised by a single parent. In 2001, 15.6 percent of children were being raised by a single parent. The number of single parent families continue to rise, while it is four times more likely that the mother is the parent raising the child.The high percentage of mothers becoming the sole parent is sometimes due to the result of a divorce, unplanned pregnancy or the inability to find a befitting partner. Children who are raised by a single parent are commonly at a disadvantage due to the characteristics of parenting. A mother and father both make significant contributions to the development of a child, therefore one parents ability to raise a child on their own may be hindered.

Cohabitation A residence containing an unmarried couple is called cohabitation . This type of family style is becoming increasingly accepted in Canada and has increased from 8 percent in 1981 to 16.4 percent in 2001. In Sweden and Nordic communities this family form is quite common, with or without the inclusion of children. However in various Catholic regions such as Italy this is uncommon due to the religious aspects (See Catholic marriage).

Gay and Lesbian Couples Gay and Lesbian couples are categorized as same sex relationships. In 1989 Demark was the first nation allow same sex couples to get married to provide equal rights to all citizens . After this many nations began to allow same sex marriages to occur such as Canada and Spain(2005) . Some sates in the United States have changed their laws to allow same sex marrigages but 30 sates have yet to amend their laws and allow same sex marriage.

Singlehood This type of family contains a person who is not married or in a common law relationship. They share a relationship with a partner and they lead a single life style. Jada Simon (talk) 16:54, 29 March 2012 (UTC)

Divorce

Divorce Rates in Canada and the United States fluctuated in a similar pattern, though the United States still has the highest divorce rate in the world (50% higher than Canada’s) .Many of today’s marriages unfortunately end up in divorce, for many different reasons. The following are some of the most common causes:

1. Individualism: In today’s society, families spend more time apart than they do together. Some individuals in a family focus more on personal happiness and earning income to support their family that it consumes the time actual spent with their family.

2. Feelings are no longer mutual: Many people end marriages because they are no longer satisfied by sexual needs or merely because they have lost feelings for one another. This often happens when one partner finds a more exciting relationship and choses to move forward with that new relationship. In some cases, a partner may even commit adultery which also may result in a divorce as a partner discovers their partner being unfaithful to them.

3. Women have become more independent: Now that women have equal rights and have proven over time that they have the potential and ability to support themselves, women find it much easier to leave unhappy marriages. They are also more work focused, thus giving them less time to cope with their relationship.

4. Stress: Stress is a big factor in marriages. Working to support a family, while trying to stabilize finances is a big factor of stress. Also, with both partners working (in most cases), leaves less “family time” which makes raising children difficult. This often happens in the stage where couples are raising young children.

5. Socially acceptable: In today’s generation, divorce is now more socially acceptable. Now, instead of discouraging a divorce in an unsatisfying relationship, it is more widely accepted and sometimes even encouraged. Not only is it now more acceptable, but it is also easier to get a divorce legally than it was in previous years according to the Divorce Act of 1968.

^ Section made by User:Chenelle

Adding to the Literature section

• Brian W, Stacey S and Carl Wahistrom (2008): Marriages, families, and intimate relationships: A practical Introductions (2nd Edition), Pearson,Boston.
• Randall C and Scott C (2000): Sociology of Marriage and the Family: Gender, Love , and Property, Wadsworth Pub Co, Chicago
• David N (2008): Families: A Sociological Perspective, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Boston Mass.
• Nicholas L and Rex F (2002): Making Divorce Easier on Your Child: 50 Effective Ways to Help Children Adjust, Contemporary Books, Chicago

Other

Also did spell check on the article and corrected most mistakes i could find

updating the American statistics

• 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce
• The statistics show that there has been an increase in childrearing from 12% of couples in 1990 to nearly 19% of couples in 2006.
• In January 1980 there were 5 openly gay or lesbian elected officials in the United States of America. "the number has increased by 10 since 1980 - 2011"

ibilolab

Edited the first paragraph of Sociology of the Family

The sociology of the family examines the family as an institution and a unit of socialization. This unit of socialization is identified through various sociological perspectives; particularly with regards to the relationship between the nuclear family and industrial capitalism, and the different gender roles and concepts of childhood which arose with it.

Edited minor errors in Focus section

Changing roles of family members. Each member is restricted by the sex roles of the traditional family. These roles such as the father as the worker and the mother as the homemaker are declining. The mother is becoming the supplementary provider and she retains the responsibilities of child rearing. Bajwaai1 (talk) 17:13, 29 March 2012 (UTC)