THE EVOLUTION OF THE FAMILY

Part One

Annotated Bibliography

Buehler, C., & OBrien, M. (2011). Mothers Part-Time Employment: Associations with Mother and Family Well-Being. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(6), 895-906.

The authors used data collected from the seven waves of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to draw comparisons among families of mothers in part-time employment, full-time employment, and the non-employed. The families were compared across the areas of mothers well-being, work-family interface, parenting, and couple functioning. Mothers well-being was measured using overall health and depressive symptoms, work-family interface was measured by the frequency of conflict with ones spouse, and couple functioning was measured by the extent of perceived intimacy with ones spouse. The study results showed that non-employed mothers were more at risk of developing depressive symptoms than those employed either part-time or full-time. The proposed paper seeks to explain the growing popularity of nonprofit child care organizations and how this relates to the evolution of the family structure. To do this, the writer will need to demonstrate that a mother is better off enrolling her child into a child care center than stay home to raise the child herself. The findings of this study will go a long way towards providing a rationale for the growth in child care organizations in recent years. The journal of Family Psychology is a reputable publication sponsored by the American Psychological Association, and the article went through a thorough process of review before publication. Further, both writers are scholars in psychology and have written multiple articles and books in the areas of family and human development. Thus, the findings of the article can be regarded as both factual and credible.

Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2007). Marriage and Divorce: Changes and their Driving Forces. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(2), 27-52.

The authors paint a vivid picture of trends in marriage and divorce across demographic groups over the past 150 years. They depict how divorce rates have grown over the past 150 years, as well as the decline in marriage rates, and the changing importance of marriage at different points of the life cycle. The article clearly shows trends in remarriage rates, cohabitation, and out-of-wedlock fertility over the years, and provides possible explanations for these changes. The authors make reference to the womans changing role within the family, including her increased participation in the labor market, increased education attainment, and the partial closing of the gender wage gap. The insights presented herein help to paint a clear picture of marriage in the pre-20th century as well as in the modern-day society. This information will be crucial as I seek to demonstrate how the family unit has evolved over the years, from the traditional setting, where the husband worked as the wife stayed at home to care for the children, to the current ideal, where both men and women work outside...

Of particular importance will be the changing role of the woman in society, the factors that have brought about this change, and the impact of the change on the family unit. The journal of economic perspectives is a reliable and credible publication. Both authors are professors of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, and have extensive experience authoring and co-authoring articles on financial issues of marriage and divorce. As such, the insights presented in the article can be regarded as both factual and credible.

Part Two

The Evolution of the Family Structure and Development of Childcare and Early Learning Organizations

The family is one of the five primary social institutions by which social behavior can be controlled and regulated. Institutions play a vital role of uniting people, providing identity to individuals, and transmitting culture across generations. This text identifies how the evolution of the family structure over time has led to the need for new nonprofit social organizations in the form of childcare and early childhood organizations.

The Family in the Pre-20th Century

The family in the pre-20th century consisted of a husband, wife, biological children, and the extended family (Agree, 2017). Divorce was rare and most married people stayed married until death (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2007). Because of its dominance then, this structure played a crucial role in the creation of cultural roles for women and men within the family unit. The men were the providers and managers in the family. This meant that they were obligated to provide for their wives and children and had ultimate authority over finances in the eyes of both the law and society (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2007). Conversely, the womens role was to assist the ma within the home by raising children and taking care of the home. Under the Coverture condition, married women lacked a legal identity, which meant that they could not own property, enter into contracts, or sue in their own names (Concordia University Online, 2015).

The 19th century brought significant changes to the family structure, particularly with the enactment of the Married Womens Property Acts from 1839, which gave married women the power to enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and control the disposition of property upon death (Concordia University Online, 2015). Although the woman was still defined by her husband, her role in the family was slowly changing.

The Great Depression and the Post-War Period

The greatest changes in the family structure were felt during the great depression of the 1930s throughout World War II. During the Great Depression, unemployment levels rose and wages fell significantly, forcing families to adjust by adopting a cooperative family economy, where wives and elder children took up part-time jobs to supplement family income (Concordia University Online, 2015). Although the divorce rate was still low, lower wages and unemployment spurred by the depression forced many Americans to delay having children and marriage. Almost 2 million married couples lived apart by 1940 (Concordia University Online, 2015). More and more women took up jobs in war industries in addition to running households and raising children alone as a result of the prolonged separation and changes brought about by the depression and World War II. Although domestic containment was still a way of life, it is estimated that in the post-war period, only 60 percent of children lived in a male-breadwinner, female-homemaker household (Concordia University Online, 2015).

The rise of the post-industrial economy following World War II…