The Head of the Family: Social Meaning and Structural Variability

"Head of the family" is a term commonly used by family members to describe an authority position within their lineage. This paper describes family headship as reported by a representative sample of adult men and women. It describes the prevalence and social meaning of the position and its...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of sociology 1986-07, Vol.11 (2), p.183-198
Main Authors: Rosenthal, Carolyn J., Marshall, Victor W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Children
Families
Families & family life
Family members
Family relations
Family Roles
Family Structure
Fathers
Households
Ontario
Parents
Sociology
Spouses
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Summary:"Head of the family" is a term commonly used by family members to describe an authority position within their lineage. This paper describes family headship as reported by a representative sample of adult men and women. It describes the prevalence and social meaning of the position and its distribution by gender, age and kinship position. The position of head of the family is dominated by male incumbents. Attribution of headship is not marked by full consensus and is affected by transitions in the family life course. Data are from a stratified random sample of 458 persons aged 40 and older in Hamilton, Ontario and from a derived sample of their adult children. /// L'expression "chef de famille" est généralement employée par les membres d'une famille pour désigner une position d'autorité au sein de leur famille. Cet article expose la notion de chef de famille d'après un échantillon réprésentatif d'adultes hommes et femmes et decrit la fréquence d'occurrence et le sens sociale de cette position ainsi que sa distribution en fonetion du sexe, de l'âge et de liens de parenté. La plupart du temps, la chef de famille est un homme. S'attribution de ce rôle ne se fait pas toujours dans l'accord général et dépend des changements ayant lieu dans l'histoire de la famille. Les données proviennent d'un échantillon stratifié pres du hasard de 458 personnes âgées de 40 ans et plus, d'Hamilton, Ontario et d'un échantillon dérivé, composé de leurs enfants adultes.
ISSN:0318-6431
1710-1123
DOI:10.2307/3340797