Parent-in-law
Aparent-in-lawis a person who has a legalaffinitywith another by being theparentof the other'sspouse.Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-law to the parents of the spouse, who are in turn also the parents of thosesibling-in-laws(if any) who are siblings of the spouse (as opposed to spouses of siblings). Together, the members of this family affinity group are called the in-laws.[1]
Fathers-in-law
[edit]Afather-in-lawis thefatherof a person's spouse.[2]Two men who are fathers-in-law to each other's children may be calledco-fathers-in-law,or, if there are grandchildren,co-grandfathers.
Mothers-in-law
[edit]Amother-in-lawis themotherof a person's spouse.[3]Two women who are mothers-in-law to each other's children may be calledco-mothers-in-law,or, if there are grandchildren,co-grandmothers.
In comedy and in popular culture, the mother-in-law is stereotyped as Boss y, unfriendly, hostile, nosy, overbearing and generally unpleasant. They are often depicted as the bane of the husband, who is married to the mother-in-law's daughter. Amother-in-law jokeis a joke that lampoons the obnoxious mother-in-law character.
SomeAustralian Aboriginal languagesuseavoidance speech,so-called "mother-in-law languages", special sub-languages used when in hearing distance oftaboorelatives, most commonly the mother-in-law.
Amother-in-law suiteis also a type of dwelling, usually guest accommodations within a family home that may be used for members of the extended family.
Parent-in-law relationships
[edit]Parent-in-laws are often viewed as either a source of conflict or a source of support in a marriage relationship. Jealousy, competition, differences, and disillusioned expectations can cause conflict to arise in these relationships. The perception of parent-in-laws as negative influences on your marriage leads to the characterization of female in-laws as particularly difficult. The stereotypedmother-in-law jokefinds humor in the reality of conflict with in-laws. Positive influences have also been noted as in-laws can be afound familyfor partners/child-in-laws who are not as close to their own family.[4]
People believe that negative relationships with in-laws will have a disastrous effect on the future of their marriage.[5]However, the amount of connection to parent-in-laws has not been found to influence the success of their children's marriage. The lack of marriage success may not fall on conflict in the parent-in-law relationship, but on whether the children-in-law are on the same page about conflicts. Thus, discordant perceptions exist between spouses and their perceptions of their relationships with their in-laws, and it is disagreements on those connections that negatively affect marriage outcomes.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"in-law".Merriam-Webster.Retrieved12 September2014.
- ^"father-in-law".Merriam-Webster.Retrieved12 September2014.
- ^"mother-in-law".Merriam-Webster.Retrieved12 September2014.
- ^Silverstein, Judith L. (1992)."The problem with in-laws".Journal of Family Therapy.14(4): 399–412.doi:10.1046/j..1992.00469.x– via Wiley Online Library.
- ^Bryant, Chalandra M. (2001)."The Influence of In-Laws on Change in Marital Success".Journal of Marriage and Family.63(3): 614–626.doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00614.x.JSTOR3654637.
- ^Fiori, Katherine L.; Rauer, Amy J.; Birditt, Kira S.; Brown, Edna; Orbuch, Terri L. (2021)."You Aren't as Close to my Family as You Think: Discordant Perceptions about In-laws and Risk of Divorce".Research in Human Development.17(4): 258–273.doi:10.1080/15427609.2021.1874792.ISSN1542-7609.PMC8133523.PMID34025298.
External links
[edit]
The dictionary definition ofparent-in-lawat Wiktionary- Audio recording of the Brothers Grimm folktale "The Mother-in-law"
