Family and Aging

1. Family and Aging Chapter 12 By Dr. John Brenner

2. Family We make personal decisions whether to 1. get married 2. to have children or not 3. to work for pay 4. to become a caregiver to dependent relatives This unit compares families in U.S. and Japan both with aging populations

3. Comparing Japan and USA Japan Low infant mortality Cohabitation Divorce rates Few domestic and child abuse cases 18.6 of the population is 65 or older Low fertility rate as women can not pursue a career and have a family Japan has the oldest population in the world

4. Comparing Japan and USA USA Has one of the highest marriage rate Small percentage of single men and women Higher fertility rate (2.1) whereas Japan has a (1.4) rate About 12.4% of the population is over 65 years of age Higher teen pregnancy rate and higher single-parent families

5. Defining Family Includes the following criteria Kinship�people linked together by blood, marriage, or adoption Primary kin�mother, father, sister, brother Secondary kin-mother�s mother/father, sister�s son and so on Tertiary kin�brother�s daughter�s son (farther out the relationship will go) Tracing family lineage through father and/or mother�s family

6. Defining Family Membership Characteristics Broad definition�everyone who lives under one roof, expressing love and solidarity to one another Ideal family (from World Congress of Families) Man and a woman in a livelong covenant welcoming of children Sociologist usually use the �nuclear� family as the standard to compare other families

7. Defining Family Legal recognition Two or more people whose living and/or procreation arrangement are recognized under the law In United States marriage is defined as one man and one woman as a legal union making them husband and wife They must be of the opposite sex Alternative arrangements are recognized by state, county and city governments

8. Social Functions of Family Regulate Sexual Behavior Rules regulating sexual behavior between family members Regulates sexual relationships among age, racial or related members Social replacement of members Provides new members in a socially and legally acceptable manner Socialization Children are socialized into society standards

9. Family Terminology Provide care and emotional support Human lifecycle takes us through infancy and childhood to adulthood and death Family provides emotional and physical support at a greater or lesser extent at a time Confer Social Status We inherit the genetic aspects of our parents, race and social status that influence our Life Chances

10. Family Terminology Families often fail in it�s social functions due to: DNA testing shows that 2-10% of pregnancies are not the biological children of the man who is believed to be the father Family members do not always care for one another in positive ways Families do not always provide replacements�in 65 countries in the world fertility is below replacement (2.1)

11. Conflict View of Family Conflict theory of family Members have competing interests depending on their position and status in the family Actions by some do not benefit all members Productive and reproductive work Reproducing work�child bearing, care giving, managing household and educating children Not as rewarded by society, poor working conditions, few benefits Producing work�providing food, clothing, shelter and the tools of production Has more power with have wages (higher for men)

12. Conflict View of Family Housework Japanese men 10 minutes per day, their wives 4 hours American men spend 10 hours a week compared to women who spend 17.5 hours Why trend changes Number of hours men do in housework increases as the wives work more outside of the home Women are more in paid labor and can not devote as much time to housework Couples may rely on help for some tasks like cooking or cleaning New values of what is necessary housework

13. Conflict View of Family Secure Parental employment�77% of U.S. children live in a home where one parent or guardian is full-time employed This is only 50% for children living with mothers And increases to 90% when child is living with both parents United States, Japan and other countries People marry partners within the same social class, race, ethnicity, religion (endogamy) Norms also require someone outside of their immediate family or of the same sex (exogamy)

14. Conflict View of Family Marriage boundaries Only 2% of marriages are �mixed��meaning of different racial categories These kind of marriages have been illegal in the past Today in the USA, 5% of the marriages are defined as �mixed� In Japan, 95.5% of the marriages include a Japanese bride and groom Until 1986, nationality was seen as something inherited from the father in Japan Then Japanese women who married non-Japanese men lost their citizenship All societies deal with meaning/definitions of family

15. Changing Family in U.S. Changes in U.S. Family in last 100 years (Kingsley Davis�on social change) 1900�80% of children lived in 2 parent family where mother worked the farm or home�only 2% lived in a home where both parents worked Today 25% of children live in 2 parent family, 44% in homes where both parents work and 28% in single family households Life expectancy has increased 28 years for men and 30 for women Infant mortality dropped from 99.9 deaths to 6.8 per 1,000 live births Women in work force have gone from 20 to 60% and married women and married women from 15.4 to 53.1%

16. Changing Family in U.S. Division of Labor Before industrialization�men were hunters/agricultural workers and women were gatherers/processors and cared for children Men and women worked closely together Industrialization separated men from the home to the factory altering the division of labor New system was called the �breadwinner system� �women had too many children to work outside the home In the U.S this system was most pronounced from 1860 to 1920 Placed lots of strain on family with it�s rules and obligations

17. Changing Family in U.S. Changes Breadwinner system did not last long Decline in fertility happened before women entered the labor force During the 1880s total fertility for white women was 5.0 by 1930 it was 2.4, 1970s at 1.8 Fertility declined and reproduction ended earlier�median age of last birth was 40 in 1850s, by 1940 is was 27.3 years This happened according to Davis do to the fact that children changed from assets may to economic liabilities, and desire to increase family and child�s status in society

18. Changing Family in U.S. By 1980 the average woman could expect to live 33 years after her last child left home In 1900 women outlived men by 1.6 years Today the woman outlives the man by 5.5 years However brides tend to marry someone older than them so the years may be 8-10 Increased divorce rates Shift to economic system changed families�family members had greater time-away and freedom Participation in the workforce changed the family dynamic�chance for men/women increased for divorce

19. Changing Family in U.S. Changes Changes in child bearing, life expectancy, rising divorce rates, and inherent weakness of the breadwinner system changed the family Increase in the kinds of jobs for women Two income families increased not without problems There may be a lack of normative guidelines for the family Wives have a direct control in the family system but there is still childcare options Women who still have primary responsibility for domestic responsibilities

20. Changing Family in U.S. Changes Women today earn about 81 cents for every dollar earned by men 1997 data indicates that 40% of the married women do not work outside of the home The family in the United States is changing and one of the best ways to see that change is to understand the role of women in the family

21. Changing Family in Japan Tokyo government Has instituted that every 3rd Sunday should be �family bonding day� Believes that the decline in family has lead to a decline in fertility in Japan Producing a generation of children who lack the principles and ability to sympathize with others Want to �rescue the family�

22. Changing Family in Japan Changes in Japan over last 100 years Infant mortality from 155 to 3.3 per 1,000 Average number of children from 5.11 to 1.4 % of males 25-29 never married from 18.7 to 66.9 For women 8% in 1900 to 48% in 2000 who have not married Results are that a society needs about a 2% fertility rate Low fertility rate in Japan has lead to the high % of people 65 and older

23. Changing Family in Japan 1898 Domestic Relations Law in Japan required all to belong to a multigenerational household system (i.e.) All were required in a family registry Family was to take care of other family members Based on Confucian filial piety, faith in family and respect of elders Under old �i.e.� system the daughter was a temporary member of a family until marriage This system ended in 1952�women given right to vote, divorce, custody of children and the nuclear family was established

24. Changing Family in Japan The U. S. offered assistance to Japan after WWII Japan rose from the ashes of the war to one of the 7th top economic powers in the world The Japanese have maintained an attitude that problems should be managed within the family Family functions as the welfare safety net Less than 1% of Japanese population is on welfare In the U.S.� 1.8% are on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, 7.3% get food stamps, and 2.3% receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

25. Changing Family in Japan Japanese government sends mixed messages The country needs women in the work force because the low fertility produces few workers On the other hand it still counts on women to serve as the primary caregivers for the young and the old Other changes Arranged marriages were 63% in 1955 and 7% Love becomes the primary motive of marriage Japan has few voluntary organizations to facilitate meeting men and women

26. Changing Family in Japan Japan has an underdeveloped marriage market Low societal pressure to date About 45% of the women 16 and older have not even one male friend Of the women who have at least one male friend report that they have engaged in premarital sex 90% of the single women and 60% of the single men 20-34 live with parents (USA it is 14%) Called �parasite singles� living free of family issues Japan has a competitive educational system Juka�special schools called cram schools for after school, weekends and vacations

27. Changing Family in Japan Juka schools are expensive Many mothers work part time to pay for these schools Japanese parents report that the disadvantages of having children is the financial cost and the psychological stress associated with the juka system Japanese women Make up 40% of paid labor force Get paid .65 for every 1.00 a man makes Women hold very few top positions (5.5% in Japan in USA it is 40%) Are tracked into general office work Are expected to quit work once they marry

28. Changing Family in Japan Japanese women have the choice of devoting life to the corporation or quit upon getting married Tax system offers married women the chance to work part-time and not pay taxes on the money Japanese education system is male dominated 64% of students entering college are male, 36% female 90% of students in Junior Colleges are female where they learn house keeping skills Japan�s system keeps women from succeeding in the future men would have to accept other duties also

29. Common Family Themes Economic arrangements Do societies have higher/lower values for people who have male or female reproductive organs Randall Collins theory of sexual stratification People use resources to dominate others Any changes in distribution of resources alters the domination structure Ideology is used to justify one group�s domination over another Like viewing women as sexual property

30. Common Family Themes The extent to which women are viewed as sexual property and subordinate according to Collins Women must have access to agents of violence control and women�s position has to be relative to men in the labor market women�s position has changed in the four economic types of arrangements Low-technology tribal societies these societies do not have surplus wealth beyond basic needs Here men are hunters and women are gathers Due to the equality here women are not treated as property or as a bargaining chips

31. Common Family Themes Fortified households Preindustrial arrangements where there are no police, militia or national guard or other peacekeeping force There are nonhouseholder class of propertyless laborers and servants The honored male in the household is dominant Men treat women as sexual property Daughters are bargaining chips for making economic and political alliances Women are to bear many children Women�s power depends on a relationship to powerful men

32. Common Family Themes Private househouseholds When market economy emerges, centralized, bureaucratic state, and agencies for social control Men monopolize the most desirable and important economic and political positions Men control property�until 1848 in U.S. women�s wages belonged to her husbands and in divorce husbands got custody of the children and women could not sue or be sued Romantic love emerges as men offer women economic security Women offer companionship and emotional support and her beauty

33. Common Family Themes Advanced market economies Offers widespread employment opportunities for women Women are not equal but they have more to offer than attractiveness Can provide income and personal achievements Women can demand more of men to be sensitive and be physically attractive as well In U.S. 31% of women in dual career jobs earn more than their male partner True equality for women will happen when they are completely equal to men in economic terms

34. Common Family Themes Parental authority As economic focus went from agriculture to manufacturing, the family was less involved in the lives of children Education, work, social and leisure activities have become age-segregated Changing family offers fewer opportunities for intergenerational activities in the U.S. Japan has more intergenerational opportunities as many still live in the same household Intergenerational programs include programs to foster understanding

35. Common Family Themes Status of Children As the need for human muscle declined, children lost economic value Countries that are agriculturally based still have high fertility rates In industrial countries, children are seen more as a need for �emotional� services�love, companionship, nurturing, and enhancement of the family Costs of raising a child is high�about $9,510-10,560 per year per child for a family earning $40,000-68,400. About 60% of high school graduates attend college Costs of raising children is equally high in Japan even when the government gives the family some money for each child

36. Common Family Themes Consequences of long life�4 changes Chance that a child will lose a parent before reaching age 16 has severely dropped The length of marriage has increased�partners can expect to be married 53 years (may explain the high divorce rate) People have more time to choose and get to know a partner, settle on an occupation, attend school and decide to have children Number of people surviving to old age has increased�numbers of people 80 or 90 has increased Caregiver burdens have increased with the length of life

37. Common Family Themes Elderly and caregivers Most American seniors (95%) are not in nursing homes 1.2% of the Japanese aged 65 and older are in nursing homes 72.6% of the elderly men but only 40.7% of elderly women are living with their spouses One in four elderly require assistance in daily living In United States 61% of caregivers are women�except for Asian Americans where 48% are male

38. Common Family Themes Elderly in Japan Approximately 50% of elderly live with adult children With only 1.2 % living in nursing homes Caregivers are usually women 76% of elderly Japanese men expect their spouse to care for them, followed by daughters-in-law, then daughters Japanese women expect their daughters then daughter-in-law to care for them 1999 survey on marriage of 18-39 year olds�30% of men saw marriage as a burden, where as 40% of the women saw marriage as a burden