A Socio-Demographic Analysis of the Size and Structure of the Family in India

Abstract

Resource theory and the patriarchy perspective maintain that wives have less family decision-making power either due to their lack of valuable resources or the persistence of male dominance culture. We examine a somewhat different pattern in post-Mao urban China, where wives have fewer resources and do more housework but nonetheless have greater family decision-making power than their husbands. Our in-depth interviews of 43 couples in Beijing show that resource-based power use is common among individualized or incompatible families. However, the dominant family organization is collectivized, in which the couple shares family resources, denounces equity- oriented exchange, and is guided by relational harmony. Among the couples from collectivized families, household responsibilities are recognized as a vital contribution to the family’s well-being and thus are a primary source of family decision-making power. Male dominance culture is found more evident among collectivized than individualized or incompatible couples, but its presence does not seem as strong as that of household responsibilities regarding family decision-making.

Indian adolescents’ perceptions of the home food environment

“…However, with the advent of globalisation, the age-old extended family structure in India has undergone a major transformation [ 49 ]. The rapid emergence of nuclear families [ 50 ] has led to increased female paid employment outside the home [ 51 ]. This might partly explain the role of domestic help in household cooking in about one-fifth of the adolescents’ homes.…”

The Decline of Arranged Marriage? Marital Change and Continuity in India

“…). Further, recent research on family change, including assessments of transitions from joint to nuclear families and from early to late marital timing, is shaped by modernization theory (Bongaarts and Zimmer ; Buttenheim and Nobles ; Niranjan, Nair, and Roy ; Ruggles ).…”

Is there Trust in the Scandinavia of India? On Understanding Generalized Trust in Kerala

“…Understanding family constellations in India is seen as a complex task (e g Niranjan, Nair, & Roy, 2005) and lies far beyond the scope of this text. Instead, my first argument is limited to that particularized trust -trusting people you already know -is higher in societies with an extended family culture and strong family ties, while generalized trust -most people can be trusted -is higher in societies with a nuclear family tradition, and with many single-member households.…”

“…According to the last Census (2011), 68 per cent of the households in Kerala contained one couple, while 14 per cent contained two couples (indicating joint families or likewise). The NHFS-4 (2015/16) reports that 55.5 % of the keralian population lives in nuclear families, while Niranjan, Nair & Roy (2005) shows that 24/27 per cent of the urban/rural households in Kerala contain joint families. They show that only a very small percentage (1.8/2.8 %) is single-members households (while Zachariah (2017) claims this share being 3.25 %).…”