1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因.docx

1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因.docx

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1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因

1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因

AStudyontheCausesoftheChangesinAmericanFamiliesSincethe1950s

[Abstract]Inthelatterhalfofthetwentiethcentury,greatchangestookplaceinAmericafamilies.Thebread-winner-homemakerfamily,whichwaspopularin1950s,nolongerpredominatedintheUnitedStates,andthenumberofsingle-parentfamily,unmarriedcohabitfamilyandmixedfamilyincreasedcontinuously.Meanwhile,divorcerateincreasedtoagreatextent,birthratedecreasednoticeablyandcohabitationratehasbeenclimbingup.ThussomeonebelievedthattheAmericafamiliesweredeclining.Othersthoughtthatthefamilytypeofbread-winner-homemakerofthe1950sshouldberebuilt.Thispaperpointsoutthatthenuclearfamilyprevailinginthe1950swasonlyaspecialphenomenoninaspecialhistoricperiod.Itsdeclinedidnotindicatethedeathofthefamilyitself.AndtheAmericanfamiliesturntodiversityinwhichnoneofthetypespredominates.

ThepaperaimstoprovideageneraldescriptionofthechangesinAmericafamilysincethe1950s,emphasizingespeciallythechangesinnuclearfamilyandanalyzethecausesofthechanges.

[KeyWords]Americannuclearfamily;familystructure;familychanges

1950年以来美国家庭模式的变化及成因浅析

[摘要]20世纪下半期,美国家庭发生了巨大变化,五十年代男主外,女主内的核心家庭模式不再占主导地位,而单亲家庭,未婚同居家庭,混合家庭的数量却在不断上升。

同时,离婚率大幅度上升,人口出生率下降,未婚同居的比率一直在攀升……。

一些人就此认为美国家庭正在走向衰亡,另一些人认为应该重建20世纪50年代男主外女主内的核心家庭模式。

而本文则认为五十年代核心家庭模式的普遍流行只是特殊历史时期的特殊现象,它的衰落并不代表家庭本身的消亡。

美国家庭的趋势是走向多样化而并非一种模式占主导。

本文旨在描述1950年以来美国家庭变化的总体情况,重点描述核心家庭的变化,同时分析其变化的成因。

[关键词]美国核心家庭;家庭模式;家庭变化

1.Introduction

Inthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury,adiverserangeoffamilytypeshasreplacedthebreadwinner-homemakerfamilythatoncepredominatedintheUnitedStatesinthe1950s.SignificanttrendsoccurredtothefamilylifeintheU.S.Divorceismuchmorecommon.Youngadultsarepostponingmarriageandoftenlivingwithapartnerpriortomarrying.Agrowingnumberofchildrenareborntomotherswhoarenotmarried.Andmanymoremarriedwomenareworkingoutsidethehome.Somepeoplepredictthatthefamilyisintheprocessofdisappearingentirely.Otherslamentrecentfamilychangesandthinkthatfamilypatternwasrootedinunusualhistoricalperiod,anditsdeclinecannotbeseenasasignofdisappearanceofthefamily.

Afamilyisindeedinthemidstofamajorinstitutionaltransformation,andthenthecurrentleveloffamilyinstabilityistemporary.ThemaintrendoftheAmericanfamilyistowarddiversificationoffamilyformsratherthanasinglestandardform.

ThepaperaimstoprovideageneraldescriptionofthechangesinAmericanfamilysincethe1950sandemphasizeespeciallythechangesinnuclearfamilyandanalyzethecausesofthechanges.

2.Definitionoffamily

“Afamilyisdefinedasconsistingoftwoormorepersons,relatedbyblood,marriage,oradoption,livinginthesamehousehold.‖[1]P112Buttounderstandfamiliesandthespecificrelationstheyrepresent,wemustrecognizethattheterm―family‖issociallyconstructed;thatisthemeaningoffamilychangesinresponsetoawidevarietyofsocialandculturalconditions.Toreflectthisunderstanding,weoftenrefertofamiliesintheplural.Multiplemeaningsoffamilyarereflectedinthehistoricalandcross-culturalrecord.Forexample,inancientGreece,―family‖referredtothehouseholdeconomy,includingtheland,house,andservants.InmedievalEurope,peasantswholivedonfeudalestateswereconsideredpartofthelord‘s―family‖andhewascalledtheir―father‖eventhoughtheywerenotrelatedtohimbyblood.Insomecultures,non-kidadultsaretreatedasfamilymembersandactasco-parentstowardchildren.Similarly,incontemporaryNativeAmericanfamilies,thetermsusedtodescribefamilyrelationshipsaremoremeaningfulthannarrowEnglishusagewouldimply:

a―grandmother‖mayactuallybeachild‘sauntorgrandaunt,and―cousin‖mayhavevariousmeaningnotnecessarilybasedonbirthandmarriage.However,sometimeswealsomakegeneralizationsaboutfamiliesbyreferringto―thefamily‖asasocialinstitution—manyexpectationsandactivitiesembeddedinalargernumberofsocial,economic,legal,politicalandculturalpractices.Inthispaper,itplacestheterm―family‖,asasocialinstitutioninthelatterhalfofthe20thcenturyintheUnitedStates.

3.ChangesofAmericanfamily

“AcarefullookatwhatdidanddidnothappentoAmericafamiliesinthepostwarperiodwouldbehelpfulforustoavoidanymisleadingnotionsaboutthetrendsandtoexamineitsunderlyingcauses.‖[2]P20

3.1Achangingnuclearfamily

Anuclearfamily,inwhichfatheractedasbreadwinnerandmotherashomemaker,consistsofaconjugalcoupleandtheirchildren.Inthe1950s,itwasveryprevalent.Butnowithasevolved.Thepapershowsthechangesonthemarriage,divorceandbirthrateinAmericanfamilysincethe1950s.

3.1.1Marriageanddivorce

OneofthekeychangesinAmericanfamilyisthatmarriagerateshavefallensignificantlysince1950despiteasmallascentfrom1960to1970.Itwentupmoderatelyin1980andthenwentdowninthefollowingyears.Asthemarriageratewentdown,thedivorcerose,withitspeakinthelate1970s.

Therisingtrendinthedivorceshasbeengoingonforalongtimesincethe1950s,andweseeaslowdrop-offinthe1980sand1990s.Duringthe1980sandearly1990s,fiveoftenmarriagesendedindivorce.Inthecomingdecade,wecanexpectcontinualhighlevelsofdivorce,perhapsdippingdownabitsothatfouroftenmarriageswilldissolve.

AnothersignificantchangeinfamilyunionformationprocesshasbeenthepostponementinmarriagesincetheBabyBoom.Chart1showsthemedianageatmarriageamongAmericanwomenandmenoverthepastcentury.

Aschart1shows,forwomen,ageatmarriagehoveredaround21-22yearsbetween1890and1950,declinedsignificantlyduringtheBabyBoom,andbeganrisingthereafter,reachingslightlyover25yearsoldin2000.Patternsformenaresomewhatdifferent,withageneraldeclineinageatmarriagebetween1890andtheBabyBoom.Likewomen,however,ageatmarriageformenbeganrisingaftertheBabyBoom,andintheyear2000,washigherthanatanytimeinthepastcentury（nearly27.

Chart1[3]p35

3.1.2Theshiftinmaritalandnon-maritalfertility

Between1960and1990,maritalfertilityrates—birthstomarriedwomenbetweentheagesof15and44—declinedsharply,whilenon-maritalfertilityrates—birthstounmarriedwomenofsimilarages—increasedgradually.Together,thesemarriedandnon-marriedtrendsrepresentedareductioninoverallfertilitywhileincreasingtheproportionofchildrenbornoutsideofmarriage.Beginninginthemid-1970s,maritalfertilityratesstoppeddeclining,non-maritalfertilityratesbegintorise,andtheageatfirstmarriagecontinuedtorise.After1975,theriseintheillegitimacyratiowasduetoincreaseinnon-maritalfertilityaswellastoincreaseinthenumberofwomenatriskofhavinganon-maritalbirth.chart2[4]p20

Changesinmaritalandnon-maritalfertilityalteredfamilylifeintwomajorways:

theyreducedtheprevalenceofparenthoodoverallandtheyincreasedtheproportionoffamiliesheadedbysinglemothers.

3.1.3Cohabitation

Atthesametimemarriageisbeingpostponed,unmarriedcohabitationhasincreased.Chart3showsthenumberofopposite-sexcohabitingcouplehouseholds.In1960,thenumberwasestimatedatlessthanhalfamillion;atthe2000Census,therewerenearly5millionsuchhouseholds.

Cohabitation,thatislivingwithsomeoneinasexualunionwithoutaformalmarriagehasbecomeincreasinglycommon.Threemillionhouseholdsin1991hadcohabitingcouples,nearly60percentofwhowereunderage35.

“Cohabitationhasincreasedsixfoldssince1970whenonly500,000householdshadcohabitingcouples.Onlyopposite-sexcouplesarecountedinthesefigures,sothesedataunderestimatetheextentofcohabitationintheUnitedStatestoday‖[5]P27.Aboutone-thirdofallcohabiting,opposite-sexcouplesin1991hadchildrenunderage15presentintheirhomes,butfarmorecohabitingcouplesareparents.Whereoncenon-maritalbirthwasarelativelyminorphenomenon,ithasnowreachedconsiderableproportions.―Byoneestimate,almosthalfofcohabitingcoupleshavechildreneitherlivingwiththemorlivingelsewherewithacustodialparent.‖[6]P913Cohabitationisoftenseenaspreludetomarriage.Only5percentofwomenages15to44werecohabitingwithamalepartnerin1988,andone-thirdhaddonesoatsometimeinthepast.One-quarterofwhitewomen,one-quarterofHispanicwomen,andnearlyone-thirdofblackwomenhadlivedwiththeirfirsthusbandbeforemarriage.Amongsinglepersonswhoplantocohabitinthefuture,morethan80percentsaidthatcohabitingallowscouplestomakesuretheyarecompatiblebeforegettingmarried.―Atleastoneofthepartnersexpectsthearrangementstoresultinmarriagein90percentofcohabitations.Respondentsmaybeoverlyoptimistic,however;

55percentoffirstcohabitingunionsofwhitewomenand42percentofthoseofblackwomenresultedinmarriage‖[7]P487.Chart3[8]p60

Itisimportanttonotethattheriseincohabitationhashelpedtooffsetmuchofthefallinmarriagerates.Ifweexpandournotionof―marriage‖toincludelegalmarriageandcohabitation,therehasbeenlittledeclineintheinstitutionofmarriageintheUnitedStates.

3.2Variantsoffamilystructure

Thenewfamilysystemwearenowseeingdiffersfromtheolderoneinseveralways.

Withtheincreaseinpremaritalsex,cohabitation,andnon-maritalbirth,agooddealofwhatusedtobereservedforlegalmarriageisnowtakingplaceoutsideofit.Theseillegalizedsexualandparen