American Family Decline

Questions:
Explain the debate surrounding the contemporary changes in American families (“American Family Decline” debate). According to Popenoe, what indicates that American family is in decline? What are the Stacey’s and Cowan’s critiques of his argument? What position would you take in this debate and why?

In Popenoe's article "American Family Decline, 1960-1990: A Review and Appraisal", he argues that the American family is in decline as a result of demographic, institutional, and cultural reasons. Popenoe defines family as a "relatively small domestic group of kin with at least one adult and one dependent person". He states that the changes that have taken place can be considered decline because it has weakened family as an institution. Demographically, families are having significantly less children today than in the past. The movement away from agricultural families have lessened the need for a large quantity of children. The common attitude could be considered "quality not quantity"; people would rather have fewer children and raise them well and be able to give them a lot of attention. Men and women are getting married later in life, and therefore having children later in life as well. The average proportion of time spent married in one's life has dramatically decreased. He claims that these smaller numbers "don't help to bolster the beleif that the family is strengthening". Institutionally, Popenoe claims that family is also on the decline. In the past, parents typically educated their children their own way at home. Today government and public/private schools play a huge part in raising and shaping children. He says that parents have less of a role in shaping children's values than they used to. Popenoe also claims that the change in the role of women is a huge factor. With women in the work force, they become less dependent on males. It is easier for husbands to abandon families if their wives are economically stable on their own. Culturally, Women now have the option of choosing to not get married for a long time, or even not at all. If a marriage is troubled, it is likely that either the male or female will chose divorce rather than work through the problems. Marriage used to be a social and economic necessity that helped shape communties. With today's "me-generation", emphasis on individual happiness, people get married and have children for personal companionship. In other words, people marry for love nowadays rather than necessity.

Stacey agrees with Popenoe that the American family is in fact declining, but disagrees with him about the definition of family. She beleives that the family is not an institution, but an "ideological, symbolic construct that has a history and a politics". She doesn't agree that family has always been the only institution in existence. She says that the integration of women in the workforce is progress, not decline. To be nostalgic on the way families once were is not helpful in anyway, and she beleives we need to focus on more pressing matters, such as health care, education, abuse, and employment.

Cowan is less concerned with the actual decline of the family and more concerned with the causes and consequences of it. He dismisses many of Popenoe's arguments as opinions that can't be backed up with sufficient proof. He critizices Popenoe for not considering factors like birth control, the economic pressure placed on families in which both parents are working, or the concern that men and women have about not being able to acheive the perfect family or raise their children well. He also doesn't agree with Popenoe that divorce will have a strong negative impact on children, for there is no concrete statistical evidence to support that and it needs to be studied more before any conclusions are drawn. He says that you can't say that family is declining when the vast majority of people are still getting married, staying married for a significant part of their life and have children, all in spite of the antifamily values and negative attitudes towards children.

After reading these articles, I think that Popenoe brought up many valid points. While it seems the family has weakened as an institution, I don't think I would consider it "decline". I think that the decreasing dependence on the family is progress, and that as long as stability and love in any form are present then the family is still just as important. I agree with Stacey that it is necessary to focus on adjusting to the consquences and issues that arise from the changes in family rather than try to go back to the way things once were.