Permanence and Change in the History of the American Family and Some Speculations as to Its Future

• Published in: Journal of marriage and family 1970-02, Vol.32 (1), p.6-15
• Main Author: Winch, Robert F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; Birth rates; Change/Changes; Children; Families; Family structure; Family/Families; Function/Functions/Functional/ Functionalism/ Functionalist/ Functionalists; Future/Futurism/Futurist/ Futurologist/ Futurologists; Gratification; History/Historic/Historical; Households; Protestantism; Respect; United States/US; Winches
• ISSN: 0022-2445; 1741-3737
• DOI: 10.2307/349965

Various changes in the Amer fam over the past 200 yrs are noted & interpreted: eg, reduction in the Md size of household from 5.4 persons in 1790 to 4.2 in 1900 & 3.3 in 1967; a decline in certain functions the fam had been performing; & a change in the death rate of marital partners. Various types of fam's are considered, esp the extended fam, the nuclear fam, & the mother-child fam. Ethnicity has been found by the author to r quite highly with extended familism in UMc suburbs. The isolated nuclear fam occurs most f among white Protestants; the mother-child fam among Ur blacks. The following prospects for permanence & change for 3 types of fam structures are noted: (a) the nuclear fam embedded in a network of extended kin, (b) the isolated nuclear fam, & (c) the motherchild fam. As the type (a) fam becomes more assimilated it may be reduced in size; there will be more type (b) fam's. As poverty & racial discrimination are decreased, the type (c) fam will become less frequent. Some functions of the US fam are examined in the context of these trends. As contraceptives become more widely used & effective, unwanted pregnancies outside of marriage will decrease & society's prohibition of heterosexual intercourse outside of marriage will slacken. This would produce a decline in the marriage rate, a decline in the birth rate, & far fewer children who are rejected before they are born. As the diff'iation of sex roles decreases, women will enter the occup'al system in ever-increasing proportions. The gov will assume continued increasing role in educating the young. More nursery Sch's & daycare nurseries will appear. The importance of the fam in conferring position on its children will decline. As women pursue their own careers more, the statuses of all fam members cease to be ascribed by the fam & become achieved 1st in the educ'al arena & 2nd in the occup'al system. There will be an increase in the proportion of those who enter marriage & parenthood as an affirmative & voluntary undertaking. Hope J. Leichter (Columbia U, NY), SOME COMMENTS ON THE ROBERT F. WINCH PAPER, considers Winch's fam types & suggests some refinements & expansions of these types. It is pointed out that fam res may benefit from studies of 'fam intervention agencies' & the linkage between the fam & other systems of society. Such linkages are those between the fam & TV, the fam & educ, the occup'al employment of women & the fam, the impact of Med care & soc insurance on the age distributions o