Title: Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology
Headings: Recent Changes in Family Structure
Recent Changes in Family Structure
The Decline of the Traditional Family
Key Points
Key Terms
One Parent Households
Cohabitation
Same- Sex Unions
Childfree Couples
Change in Marriage Rate
Key Points
Key Terms
Marriage Rates in the United States
Marriage Trends
Unmarried Mothers
Key Points
Key Terms
The “Sandwich Generation” and Elder Care
Key Points
Key Terms
Elderly Care in the United States
The Sandwich Generation
Childless Couples
Key Points
Key Terms
Childless Couples
Factors Involved in Voluntary Childlessness
Social Attitudes to Remaining Childless
Organizations and Political Activism
Change in Household Size
Key Points
Key Terms
Shared Houses
Group Homes
Boarding Houses
Single Room Occupancy
Women in the Labor Force
Key Points
Key Terms
Barriers to Equal Participation
Access to Education and Training
Access to Capital
Discrimination within Occupations
Feminization of the Workplace

Content: a ritual officially celebrating the beginning of a marriage. Marriage Laws: The legal requirements that determine the validity of a marriage. Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people, called spouses, that creates kinship. The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but is usually an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged. Such a union is often formalized through a wedding ceremony. Marriage Rates in the United States
Marriage laws have changed over the course of United States history, including the removal of bans on interracial marriage. In the twenty-first century, laws have been passed enabling same-sex marriages in several states. According to the United States Census Bureau, 2,077,000 marriages occurred in the United States in 2009. The median age for the first marriage of an American has increased in recent years;