Cultural Variations in Marriage and Familyhave graduate degrees. They usually enjoy
a great deal of autonomy in their
occupation. Families in this class share a
number of characteristics with upper-class
families (Newman & Grauerholz, 2002).
For instance, wives in upper-middle-class
families often play a similar role to upper-
class wives in keeping the home running
smoothly, supporting their husbands, and
moving to accommodate the husband’s
job. Also like their upper-class
counterparts, they have the financial
means to hire someone to help with the
domestic chores. While many upper-
middle-class wives work at least part-time,
employment is often not a necessity,
unlike families at the lower end of middle
class.
Upper-middle-class families place a
high value on theconjugal family—husband, wife, children and parents. These
families tend to be small (parents and a
few children), living as nuclear groups
away from extended kin. They devote
much of their time to their children, trying
to give them skills and attitudes which will
lead to good jobs and financial success
(Cherlin, 2002). Upper-middle-class
families place a high value on equality in
marriage. While their marriages may not
be more egalitarian in reality, there is
greater expectation of equality than in
other classes (Newman & Grauerholz,
2002). Other values stressed in upper-
middle-class families are independence,
non-conformity, and innovation. One of
the main indicators of upper-middle class
is college education in preparation for
typical middle-class occupations
(Thompson & Hickey, 2005).Upper class parents stress skills and attitudes that
will help their children obtain financial success.Parents in the lower middle-class emphasize
rules and conformity to social norms.© iStockphoto.com / Jimak
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