FAMILY TRANSITION

Explain the variety of ways in which sociologists have defined the family over the past 50 years. Discuss why there has been a shift from a position of relative certainty as to what the family is, to one of considerable disagreement.

Explain the variety of ways in which sociologists have defined the family over the past 50 years. Discuss why there has been a shift from a position of relative certainty as to what the family is, to one of considerable disagreement.

Introduction

Families are a source of affiliation and support for individuals. Sociologists describe the concept of families as per their own comprehensions. Many different sociologists have given diverse concepts related to family theory that elaborate on the shift of the family to no family. There are theories of functionalism, feminism, individualism and other family theories that are described in this paper in relation to family. Friends are regarded closer than family. According to Park et al (2008), “individualisation theorists place some considerable emphasis on friends, for, of course, friends are 'chosen' to a much greater degree than 'family'" (p. 23). There has been a shift in the concept of family from a functionalist point of view to no family at all.

Discussion

Family is an important aspect that enables us to understand many social perspectives related to it. There are certain social roles that a family performs for its engaged persons. Society is incomplete without socialized beings; hence the role of the family to socialize is very crucial. Along with socialising, family also provides pragmatic and emotional assistance to its members. The family also supports in the regulation of sexual intercourse and sexual reproduction. The people are to have intercourse based on established norms (Fergusson, et al., 2000). The members of a family can have intercourse with certain relatives while others are prohibited as per law. These concepts bring discipline and socialization in life. Family assists its members to have a social recognition and identification in relation to the family. Children have their identity based on the social status, class, ethnicity, religion and social belongings of their families (Morgan, 1990).

Functionalist theory highlights the contribution of each element of society towards the construction of society. It categorizes family as an important element of society that forms the foundations of a society. According to an American sociologist, Parsons elaborates that family previously stood as a production unit because of its extended network, but with the passage of time and in an industrialised society, it transformed from unit of production to unit of consumption. The two functions allocated to the newly accepted family were to socialise the children and to bring stability in adults. Stabilisation of adults and socialisation of children were complex tasks in industrialised societies (Morgan, 1996). The concept of sending children to faraway places to relatives was no longer in convention and people used to take care and socialise their children on their own. Similarly, previously the adults were not held responsible for facing challenges of work related depression or other social ...