Marriages, Families and Relatiohsips

Objective – Explain basic sociological concepts of the family, marriage, and intimate relationships. (Pg. 365)

The family shows both continuity and changes which can be seen by looking at nuclear families and single parent families respectively. Before 1940s, marriage was considered an important part of society and thought to be a social institution essential for order. Divorce and single parent families were considered dreadful, sex outside marriage was not acceptable, it was a moral offense. The tempo of divorces was very low, but this social behavior soon ended in the post war era. By 1960s, this was no longer the case, as women started to work. They became much more independent, laws were changed and increase in divorces and cohabitation rates had shown that marriage was not compulsory in one’s life.

Discuss changing family structures in the UK and give examples of sociological theories that provide explanations as to why and how families have changed.

• Problems in living: human beings are not always able to meet their own needs and human services has developed in response to the need.

The way in which the ‘family’ unit is perceived has changed immensely since the last quarter of the twentieth century. Over time, many factors have contributed to these changes including, and not limited to, the industrial revolution, the feminist movement, the period of modernity and technological advancements. As a result, these factors have influenced significant changes to the ‘family’, these include; the increasing rates of female occupation, mean age at marriage, divorce, unmarried couples, single parents, mean age at birth of first child, and a decline in marriage rates. Moreover, this essay will examine how the family has changed over time through discussing the factors that have contributed to these changes. It is for these reasons and observations made by sociologists that it could be inferred that the way the family unit is perceived has changed greatly over time.

The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

What is the modern family? Today the modern family is completely different then what it was twenty years ago. Today, it is more common to have a family with divorced parents, before divorce was seen as unacceptable and a disgrace to the family, but in today’s society, it is more acceptable, and common. Divorce does not just affect the two married people, but it also affects any children they may have. To fully understand how divorce affects children, one must the history of divorce, the changes in the child’s or children’s life, and the effects those changes may bring.

n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.

This paper will discuss the differences between families from the 1960’s and the families of today. There are many differences between the different times. I have focused on the parentage portion of the families. I explained what the ideal family is and how it is different today. I’ve also included ways that will help these families of today become stronger as a family.

Families have changed mostly in durability and types of marriages as well as some equality changes. The amount of successful marriages has decline since 1960, the rate of divorce has gone up even though it has declined some since 1975. (Macionis, 2013, pg.351) More types of marriages are allowed now in most places, such as interracial marriages and same sex marriages. Economic standings has caused it to be necessary in most families for both parties to work to support their families, which leads for a less structured home life for children in a lot of cases. There are also alternative types of families such as one-parent families or cohabitation families. Though most people get married many do not stay married in 1950 one house in ten had a single person, now 28% of them have a single person. (Macionis, 2013, pg. 354) Also where as men seemed to be primarily dominant and had little to do with child rearing in the past things now with both parents working seem to be more equal in more of the households. In addition, there are an increasing number of men who choose to be a stay at home dad while mom works.

Most people argue that the family is in ‘crisis’. They point to the rapidly increasing divorce rate, cohabitation, illegitimacy and number of single parent families.

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

The second problem is that there a huge hierarchy in the family. Fathers are at the top whereas sons are at the bottom in the hierarchy. In some situations, this hierarchy deters the relationship among the family members. For example, father with make any decision without discussion to other family members. Even there is a wrong decision, others cannot challenge him. And the father would stand to his decision even he know he did a wrong decision later in order to maintain his status. Therefore, the family cannot operate efficiently and sometimes make a wrong decision.

Todays society families are not as they where many years ago. Overtime the evolution of norms and social expectations has changed from what families consist of. The way society is today there are new normal and society as a whole has evolved into something rather fascinating. Families have changed over time by using the major theories, functionalist, conflict and symbolic interactions.

Society is composed of many elements based on values, traditions, cultures, government’s policies etc.; and family is one of the main basic ingredients, forming the society. Therefore, as the society changes its element, family is also forced to change the flow of life. Yet, during the past 50 years, our society has undergone big social transformations which are seen as “dramatic and unparallel changes” or a “veritable revolution”. Thus, the two basic forms of family, the extended family and the