The Changing Face of theAmerican Family: Modern Historyadulthood.Traditionalfamilyvaluessuchas
hardwork,honesty,loyalty,and dedication
are part of Hispanic culture.Hispanics
tend to view religious and political life as
intertwined and often worship in ethnic
congregations in both Roman Catholic
and Protestant traditions.
One challenge facing the Hispanic
community and the U.S.is the high
birthrate among unmarried Hispanic
women—the highest in the country—
with over 3 times that of whites and
Asians,and nearly one and a half times
that of black women (Federal Interagency
Forum,2007).One reason for this may be
the tight-knit extended family,which
facilitates unwed childrearing; a single
mother’s relatives often step in to make up
for the absence of the baby’s father.
Asian Families in Modern America
Asian families come from a variety of
different countries but have become an
important part of American culture. The
Asian population rose by 3% (421,000)
between 2004 and 2005, compared to
the black population, which increased
by 1.3%, and the Hispanic population,
which increased 3.3% (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2006e).
Asian families tend to have
hierarchical structures which value
family obligation. They tend to place
others’ needs above their own, and
maintain continuing interdependence in
their relationships. Asian-American
families tend to be fairly resilient in
comparison to other immigrant families.Asian families have the highest
proportion of married family units, a
lower divorce rate, and a smaller
number of female single-parent
households than the national average
(Reeves & Bennett, 2004). Asians have
nearly twice the national average for
holding a bachelor’s degree and have
117% of the median income for white
households (Reeves & Bennett, 2004),
which make them a significant part of
the U.S. economy. Especially among
Japanese-American and Chinese-
American women, their parents’
marriages had been based on
responsibility and obligation instead of
love, which has greatly influenced their
decision to remain single (Reeves &
Bennett, 2004).Asian-American families tend to have hierarchical
structures that value family obligation.©iStockphoto.com/bo1982