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7.5 Resources and References

Key Terms

blended family: See stepfamily.

cohabitation: When a couple shares a residence but is not married.
extended family: A household that includes at least one parent and child as well as other relatives like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

family: Socially Recognized groups of individuals who may be joined by blood, marriage, or adoption, and who form an emotional connection and an economic unit of society.

incest taboo: The social rule that an individual may not have sex with or marry someone who is a close blood relative.

intimate partner violence (IPV): Violence that occurs between individuals who maintain a romantic or sexual relationship; includes unmarried, cohabiting, and same-sex couples, as well as heterosexual married couples.

kinship: A person’s traceable ancestry (by blood, marriage, and/or adoption).

kinship system: A system of social organization based on real or putative family ties.

marriage: A legally recognized contract between two or more people in a sexual relationship, who have an expectation of permanence about their relationship.

nuclear family:  A cohabiting man and woman who are married and have at least one biological child under the age of 18.

polyamory: The practice of sharing intimate relationships with more than one partner.

polyandry: A form of marriage in which one woman is married to more than one man at one time.

polygamy: The state of being committed or married to more than one person at a time.

polygyny: A form of marriage in which one man is married to more than one woman at one time.

shaken-baby syndrome: A group of medical symptoms, such as brain swelling and retinal hemorrhage, resulting from forcefully shaking or impacting an infant’s head.

stepfamily: A couple family in which at least one child is the biological or adopted child of only one married spouse or common-law partner and whose birth or adoption preceded the current relationship.

total divorce rate: A projection of how many new marriages are expected to fail after 30 years, based on the divorce rate by marriage duration observed in a given year.

unilateral descent: The tracing of kinship through one parent only.

Quiz Questions

1. Sociologists tend to define family in terms of:

    1. Relationships of people who are connected through blood, marriage, or adoption.
    2. The connection of bloodlines and genetic descent.
    3. The status roles of breadwinner, home-maker and dependent children that exist in a family structure.
    4. Groups who share an emotional bond.

2. Same-sex couple households account for______ per cent of Canadian households.

    1. 1
    2. 10
    3. 15
    4. 30

3. In general, children in _______ households benefit from divorce.

    1. Stepfamily
    2. Fluid modernity
    3. High-conflict
    4. Low-conflict

Future Research

7.1 What is Marriage? What is a Family?

In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss family life from a sociological lens. Sociology of Families – Values, Roles & Media in the Construction of Family

7.2 Variations in Family Life

For more statistics on marriage and family, see the Statistics Canada page on Families, Households and Marital Status.

7.4 Challenges Families Face

To find more information on child abuse, visit the Canadian Child Welfare Research portal.

References

Introduction to Marriage and Family

Bauman, Z. (2003). Liquid love: On the frailty of human bonds. Polity.

Bauman, Z. (2004).   Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. Polity.

Comacchio, C. (2000). “The history of us”: Social science, history, and the relations of family in Canada. Labour / Le Travail, 46, 167–220. https://doi.org/10.2307/25149099

Statistics Canada. (2019a). Family matters: Being common law, married, separated or divorced in Canada. The Daily (May 1).  https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/190501/dq190501b-eng.pdf?st=HRfjUQVM

Statistics Canada. (2019b). Families, households and marital status: Key results from the 2016 Census. The Daily (August 2).  https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/170802/dq170802a-eng.pdf?st=kXdAfDw2

7.1 What is Marriage? What is a Family?

Altman, I. and Ginat, J. (1996). Polygamous families in contemporary society. Cambridge University Press.

Carston, J. (1998). Kinship. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/kinship

Gullotta, D. (2019). Polygamy. In de-Gaia, S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of women in world religions: Faith and culture across history (pp. 245–246). ABC-CLIO.

Kalmijn, M. (1998). Intermarriage and homogamy: Causes, patterns, trends. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 24(1), 395–421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.395

Levine, R., Sato, S., Hashimoto, T., & Verma, J. (1995). Love and marriage in eleven cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26(5), 554–571. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022195265007

Moyser, M. (2017, March 9). Women and paid work. Statistics Canada. Catalogue no. 89-503-X. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-503-x/2015001/article/14694-eng.pdf?st=cp6Nc1mw

Murdock, G. P. (1967). Ethnographic atlas: A summary. University of Pittsburgh Press.

Simmel, G. (1971). The problem of sociology. In D. Levine (Ed.), Georg Simmel: On individuality and social forms (pp. 23–27).  University of Chicago Press. [Original work published 1908.]

Smith, D. (1985). Women, class, and family. In Burstyn, V. & D. Smith (Eds), Women, class, family and the state. Garamond Press.

Stebbins, S. (2013). Native Peoples of North America. Open SUNY Textbooks.

Van Kirk, S. (1980). “Many tender ties” : women in fur-trade society in western Canada, 1670–1870. Watson & Dwyer Pub.

Van Kirk, S. (2002). From “marrying-in” to “marrying-out”: Changing patterns of Aboriginal /Non-Aboriginal marriage in colonial Canada. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 23(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1353/fro.2003.0010

7.2 Variations in Family Life

Mitchell, P. J. (2023). Canadian Children at Home: Living Arrangements in the 2021 Census. Cardus. Retrieved from https://www.cardus.ca/research/family/reports/canadian-children-at-home/

Statistics Canada. (2019, May 1). Family Matters: Being common law, married, separated or divorced in Canada. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/190501/dq190501b-eng.pdf?st=HRfjUQVM

Statistics Canada. (2022a, July 13). A portrait of Canada’s families in 2021. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2022039-eng.htm

Statistics Canada. (2022b, August 11).  Families, Households and Marital Status Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021. Retrieved from: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-500/002/98-500-x2021002-eng.cfm

Statistics Canada. (2022c, September 29). Living Solo. StatsCan Plus. Retrieved from: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/1908-living-solo

Statistics Canada. (2015, January 23). Census family structure, presence of children and average number of persons per census family: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810012301

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Current population survey (CPS). http://www.census.gov/population/www/cps/cpsdef.html

Vézina, M. (2012). 2011 General Social Survey: Overview of families in Canada – Being a parent in a stepfamily: A profile. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 89‑650‑X — No. 002.https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-650-x/89-650-x2012002-eng.pdf?st=fctF4VtA

7.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Marriage and the Family

Centers for Disease Control. (2012). Understanding intimate partner violence. [PDF] Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv_factsheet-a.pdf.

Comacchio, C. (2000). “The history of us”: Social science, history, and the relations of family in Canada. Labour / Le Travail, 46, 167–220. https://doi.org/10.2307/25149099

Connelly, M. (2015). Women in the Labour Force. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-in-the-labour-force

Crano, W. D. & Aronoff, J. (August, 1978). A cross-cultural study of expressive and instrumental role complementarity in the family. American Sociological Review, 43(4), 463–471. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094772

Government of Canada. (2025). Intimate Partner Violence. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/intimate-partner-violence.html

LaRossa, R. & Reitzes, D. (1993). Symbolic interactionism and family studies. Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods: A Contextual Approach. Plenum Press.

Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. (2016, December 5). The Second Shift: Arlie Hochschild [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvzE6zYkEQY

Statistics Canada. (2023). Women in the labour market: Increased potential, pay, and participation. StatsCAN Plus. Retrieved from https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/4823-women-labour-market-increased-potential-pay-and-participation

UN Women. (2020). The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against women during COVID-19. Retrieved from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19

7.4 Challenges that Families Face

Amato, P. (2000). What children learn from divorce. Journal of Family Issues, 21(8), 1061–1086.

Amato, P., & Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.26

Berlin, L. (2009, September 14). Correlates and consequences of spanking and verbal punishment for low-income White, African American, and Mexican American toddlers. Child Development, 80(5), 1403–1420. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01341.x

Buscho, A. G. (2020, February 22). Why Do People Divorce? Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/better-divorce/202002/why-do-people-divorce

Canseco, M. (2023, February 17). Views on Physically Disciplining Children Shifting in Canada. Research Co. Retrieved from: https://researchco.ca/2023/02/17/section43-canada/

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Kelly, M. B. (Spring 2010). The processing of divorce cases through civil court in seven provinces and territories [PDF].  Statistics Canada Juristat Article, 30 (1). http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2010001/article/11158-eng.pdf

Michael, R.T. (1978). The rise in divorce rates, 1960–1974: Age-specific components. Demography 15, 177–182. https://doi.org/10.2307/2060521

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010). Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect – 2008: Major findings. Public Health Agency of Canada.

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021). Canada’s Road Map to End Violence Against Children. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/road-map-end-violence-against-children.html#a1

Sinha, M. (2012, May 22). Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2010 [PDF]. Statistics Canada Juristat Article. Catalogue no. 85-002-X. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2012001/article/11643-eng.pdf

Stechyson, N. (2024, April 30). Canada’s divorce rate is the lowest in 50 years, but fewer people are getting married at all. CBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-divorce-rate-1.7189093

Temke, M. W. (2006). The effects of divorce on children. University of New Hampshire.

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