Using Sociological Theories and Evidence Discuss Why the Contemporary British Family Is Characterised by Diversity.

In the past 40 years the family structure within the UK has changed quite dramatically for example the number of traditional nuclear families has been steadily declining and in their place the single parent and reconstituted family type have increased in number, also people are living much longer lives so people are able to

The Conventional Nuclear Family in Britain Today Since the Industrial revelation the nuclear family has been recognised as the norm of British society and although there have been recent changes in family life, is the norm of Britain today still the conventional nuclear family? The nuclear family has always been considered the norm in society ever since the industrial revolution but in society today the single parent family has had a dramatic increase from around 4% to 10% and no longer is the conventional nuclear family the powerful norm that it used to be. The supposed value of the "traditional family unit" is that it provides social cohesion and stability because the family home is a He believed that without these functions society would breakdown. He suggested that the nuclear family is such an important social institution, playing such vital functions in maintaining society that it is found in some form in every society. However although most societies in the world have some established arrangements for the production, rearing and socialisation of children this does not mean that these arrangements always involve the prime responsibility resting on the family. However there have been criticisms of Murdock suggesting that in his passion for his work he may have been caught up in the fact that there

In the reading “A Little Commonwealth”, John Demos writes about the life, norms, and misconceptions of early colonial families. He gets his information mainly through censuses found from that time period. Many people today believe that the colonial family consisted of a large extended family with several generations under the same roof. However, standard colonial families were actually made up of small nuclear families (Demos, 62). Nuclear families contain a married couple and their children. Their modest homes were simply not large enough to house many generations and censuses show that 4 to 6 family households were very common (Demos, 64). This is very similar to families today with households that contain the nuclear family. However, today it is not uncommon to hear about extended families. In fact, it can be quite common.

Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today. Family diversity is the idea that there are a range of different family types, rather than a single dominant one like the nuclear family. It is associated with the post-modernists idea that

Diversity in British households has significantly changed over the years. To understand the full extent of the changes in British household diversity, examination of the family life in the 1950s era is essential. Furthermore then to discuss the types of diversity which now exist in families today. Lone-parenting is defined as a mother or father living without a partner who then has responsibility of a dependent child and is one diversity which will be discussed in great depth. Deliberating on the size of family sizes today is necessary to see the diversity in British households.

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,

The concept of family has changed in many perspectives throughout the years. Nuclear families started back in the 1950s also known as ‘ideal families’. Today family comes in many varieties whether it 's nuclear, accordion, or extended families and even same sex marriage. One thing that is undoubtedly true is that family will always be the one that you have an unbreakable bond with. American families have evolved in many ways leading us away from what was known as nuclear families.

Outline and evaluate the view that families in the UK are increasingly diverse (33) Families are becoming increasingly diverse in the UK because of changing norms and values in society. Postmodernists highlight that people are free to choose the family type that suits them best therefore allowing for harmonious relationships in society. On the other hand Functionalists are against family diversity and argue that a family that does not fit the nuclear model creates instability.

Assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today. (24 marks) In today's society, there are various alternatives from the typical family type. The top examples of these are lone-parent, cohabitation and reconstituted. But there are also some others such as same sex couples, single parent and multi-cultural families. There has been a decrease in the number of nuclear families in the UK and an increase in various other families such as single parent families. But the raise in single parent households has to do with the increase in divorce across the UK which means that more people are left having to support their children on their own unless they become a reconstituted family.

My Family Heritage Family Defined The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes

Outline and Evaluate postmodern views on the diversity of family (33marks) The idea of family diversity suggests that there is no dominate type of family, therefore none can be considered as the norm. However there are studies to suggest that in historical periods of Britain like when it was industrializing there is dominating types, in this period it was considered to be the nuclear family.

As family structure has changed in the UK, so child care arrangements have become more diverse and complex. What are the implications of these changes for children?

Sociology and the Family The Nuclear Family generally consists of a Mother, a Father and at least 1 child, this image of a family is thought to of come about at the time of the Industrial Revolution. (Willmott and Young) believe that an increase in the Nuclear Family was the result of the Industrialization. They found that during pre-industrial times, the most common type of family structure, was that of the Extended Family (Extended Family can take

First off, every family is different, one size doesn’t fit all. The common family that includes a mother, a father, and children is a “nuclear family” according to the reference entry titled Family. In today’s world, there are a variety of different families each one being unique in some aspect. There are extended families, single parent families, blended families, empty nest families, and consensual union. While a nuclear family includes a mother, a father, and children, extended family typically means that there are three or more generations that live in the same house according to the reference entry. An example of this would be when my aunt lived with my family for the last few years of college. A blended family is where two people get married and they each have their own children from previous relationships. Empty nest families could be what many of our parents are facing. Empty nest means that the children are out of the house. Consensual union might be the one term that

Family dynamics appear to always change as society does and it is hard to understand the evolvement if one is not in that specific family. Different time periods present various adjustments to everyday life and some seem to forget that it includes family lifestyle as well. In The Incredible Shrinking Family by Robert B. Reich, he compares midcentury families to how they are in the twenty-first century. Reich claims that the best way to be a family is by following the stereotypical nuclear family, I believe that although there are benefits in keeping a family in that fashion, there is also beauty in family someone would not consider “normal".