Sociology unit4 - Essay Example

These processes are largely intertwined and result in specific challenges to societies in general and to family life in particular, in both direct and indirect ways.” (Editors' note & Introduction”, 2008) Further it could be suggested that this list is accurate but incomplete as changing gender roles and division of labor both within and outside the family have also evolved. The wealth gap has increased in the United States over the last fifty years. The wealthy have gotten wealthier and the poor have gotten poorer.

This increases the affluence of the wealthy and increases the poverty of the least affluent. Most importantly, however, it increases the differences between the lives of the very wealthy and those of the very poor. This significant wealth gap increases differentiation within American society and between classes leading to resentment and the loss of a sense of shared destiny and cooperation. Second, as a result of the demographic transition families are getting smaller. It was not uncommon at the start of the twentieth century ffor a family to have six or eight children and possibly also have grandparents living with them.

Households were much larger one hundred years ago than they are today. In 2000 the average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.14. Household size refers to persons living under the same roof but not necessarily related. (US Census, 2000, Fact Sheet) That the family size is larger than the household size is evidence of a weakening of the family in terms of families living together. It also speaks to the massive increase in marital breakdown that has become a common feature of modern family life.

According to divorcerate.org, “50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri.” (“Divorce Rate”) John R. Lott Jr., argues that the wider availability of abortion as a birth control option increased casual and pre-marital sex and single-motherhood. He argues that this was the cause of the burgeoining crime rate during the 1980s and 1990s. He arguess that, “more out-of-wedlock births, fewer adoptions than expected, and less pressure on men "to do the right thing"--led to a sharp increase in single-parent families.

” (Lott, 2007) Further he asserts that this led to more children being raised in single-parent families and had no impact on the declining crime rate. “Legalizing abortion increased crime. Those born in the four years after Roe were much more likely to commit murder than those born in the four years prior.” (Lott, 2007) The increasing divorce rate and the increase in single-parent families all point to a weakening of the traditional family. References “Divorce Rate”. Www.divorcerate.org. "Editors' note & Introduction.

" Journal of Comparative Family Studies 39.3 (2008): 1+. Hanisch, Carol. (2006). “New Intro to 'The Personal is Political'. Web. http://web.archive.org/web/20080515014413/http://scholar.alexanderstreet.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=2259. Lott, John R., Jr. (August 13, 2007). "Abortion and crime: one has an effect on the other, but it may not be the effect you think." National Review18. US Census, 2000, F