Sociological Perspective On Family And Marriage

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.

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

The simplest and most basic foundation of a sociological civilization or group begins at the core center of sociology; which is marriage and the inner-fabric creation of a family. It is said that matches are made in heaven, however finding and defining your “soul mate” differs from one social group to the next. The social institution of marriage changes and adapts consistently through time, religious practice, and national beliefs. Many people believe they lead happy and satisfying lives without a marital partner, as others highly value and desire a life-long marital partner as the pinnacle achievement of their life.

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).

Marriage and family is one of the most interesting and relevant topics that we have covered in sociology so far. Our class discussions were eye-opening, as I now realize the impact my family has on me. We learn our gender roles and how to generally act in society because of our family, which may be positive or negative. We also begin to realize the differences in other family households, which may lead to stereotyping.

I am learning many things about family, marriage and relationships. God wants us to show unconditional love towards others as he has showed us. Marriage takes commitment, according to Balswick & Balswick, (2014) “continued commitment in modern marriage is contingent on happiness and self-fulfillment. In today’s society it seems like convenience is more of a priority than commitment. We must first be committed to our God who is wholeheartedly committed to us. In Psalms 37:5 it says to “commit your way to the lord trust in him, and he will act.” Marriage is difficult, but it is easier when we depend on God and not man. Some of the things I will discuss are family, marriage and what God designed it for. I will also talk about my own experience with marriage and family.

According to the theory of Structural Functionalism (Strong, 2014), Caroline Payne’s family unit (Shipler, 2004), functions in society in many ways. Caroline benefits society by getting married and producing four children in those marriages, positive because she socializes her children to integrate into society. Her son and daughter- in- law are a support system for her because they take in Amber, Caroline’s youngest, disabled daughter, for better quality of education than in New Hampshire, helping to socialize this child.

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.

This article shows the many different ways in which the makeup of Family has changed in the 20th century as an Institution. It shows many ways in which Nellie McClung has fought for every definition of family to be accepted. The definition of family is a group of persons who form a household. This definition has changed greatly over time, it used to be more specifically anyone who was biologically related to you. This article goes over the main points of social change that have occurred in this primary social Institution. These changes include social customs concerning dating, divorce, family, marriage, women's rights. It also looks at people’s social life and customs that are now considered “normal”, as well as children and family. It also looks at the global impact that occurs from each of these points that have changed the way we view this primary institution and the way that we define family. The author concludes that during the 20th

In the article “Love and Marriage: Through the Lens of Sociological Theories”, Ana Carolina Fowler first talks about how she grew up with the idea that you marry the person that you are in love with. Next, Fowler talks about the concept of marriage and how it begins to change. There was a time when people would fall in love, get married, then they would proceed to have children. Now people either have children before they get married or they just decide to have sexual relations with someone before marriage. Fowler even brings up Republican Senator Sam Brownback and how he believes that if two adults make their love known to each other then there is no reason to marry before children are born. Brownback says this as a way to criticize the legalization

Andrew J. Cherlin, a sociologist at John Hopkins University and specialist in the sociology of families and public policy, attempts to answer the question: how has the institution of marriage changed in the United States during the past sixty years? Cherlin starts with the changes in marriage that come from many things and that mostly has to do with the long term changing in culture and morals of people. Recent decades have seen a development of individualism and an increasing importance in marriages. The increase of women into the workforce and the need for wage labor are the beginning of the trends brought on by transition of marriage.

Week one was the discussion in the values changing from the traditional marriage male to female with many children. The course lesson describes the differences in the family now recognizing the development of different family morals within the stages of the traditions. Sociologist George Murdock covers the stages of family, which is introduced in the article “Defining Family” exposed in lesson 1. In the article, “Family Facing Untenable Choices” there is a discovery of the growth of single-parent household, the rise of the divorce rates, the Black mother rearing her children alone, and inter-racial and same-sex household rearing. The lesson articles were concurrent with each other on describing many different traditional values throughout the

Since the nineteenth century, in the western societies, family patterns changed under the forces of industrialisation and urbanisation. Another factor which has been involved in those changes is the growing intervention of the state, by legislative action, in the domestic affairs of the family. As a result of these trends, the modern “nuclear” family has been substituted for the traditional extended family. The increase of values such as individualism and egalitarism has influenced the patterns of

The marriage revolution has been a controversial issue since the dawn of time, and all that are and have been involved with “matrimony” are aware of the issues of the future. There can be no denying that the culture of marriage has changed. This very course is itself a great example of this fact. Much like any other sociological subject of any real concern, there are many “opinions” related to this issue. This paper will attempt to highlight marriage seen as the sociological transformation, marital erosion versus evolution, and why many people fail at marriage and what does it take to be successful in greater detail. This will allow you, the readers, to make up your own minds regarding this extremely multifaceted issue.