Family: Changes in the

Traditional Family
By: Marcelo Cannitello

Definition and Aspects of

Family:
The question of what institutes a family is a common dispute in the field of
sociology

o Social Conservatism defines family in terms of the of the role each family
member fills

o Sociologys definition of family is one that relaters the relationship

between family members

Family is defined as a socially recognized group, usually joined by blood,

marriage, or adoption, that forms an emotional connection and serves as an
economic unit of society

Familyserves three essential factors:

To offer nourishment for children
To provide a sense of identity or belonging
To assist in the passing of culture between generations

Definition and Aspects of Family:

Continue
Sociologists also define family in the manner in which one enters the institution.
o Afamily of orientation refers to the family into which an individual is born into.
o Afamily of procreation refers to a family is formed through marriage
Marriage, though comes variations, often serves as one of the main foundations for
family

Types of Marriages:
o Endogamy:Marriage between members of the same class, group or clan
o Exogamy:Marriage between members of different class, group or clan
o Monogamy:Marriage between one man and one woman

Brief History and Change of Family

In Contemporary societies, a family if often
thought of as consisting of a father, mother, and at
least one children living in a single household,
which is often referred to as anuclear family.

Before societies began to modernize, a family

would generally consist of several generations and
divisions of theextended familyliving together

Many families are not the traditional and

stereotypical family that consist of a married
couple with children. Some of the alternative
families include:

o Single-parent families
o Same-sex parent families
o Unmarried-parent family

Factors that contributed to

modernization:

o Young Individuals began to move

away from the local area in which
they were born and raised, leaving
the older generations behind

o These individual started to Live in

urban cities, meeting new
individuals.

o Eventually they got married and

started a family in a location far from
where they were born and raised

Brief History
and Change of
Family:
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Divorce, which use to be unthinkable, and in some
circumstances, illegal, is now quite common in
contemporary societies.

Factors that contributed to the increase rate of

divorce

o Women have become more independent,

specifically in economic terms. Consequently,
women are now able to leave marriages they
no longer wish to be a part of and have the
ability to support themselves.

o Legal standards have become more flexible and

as a result making divorce easier to achieve.

Traditional Family
Though marriage can be considered a major commitment, it is possible to break this
commitment

The traditional family is constantly undergoing changing due to the fact that individuals
have the option to divorce.

Some individuals choose to marry new individuals, who may or may not have children of
their own

Less than half, approximately 46%, of all 18 year-olds or younger living in the United States
are living in a household with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage

o This means that most children living in the United States are living in a traditional
household

Approximately, 15% of children live in a household where the parents are in their second
marriage

o In certain situations, some children make feel jealousy towards their step siblings.

Single Parent Family

Predominantly, single-parent families consist of single women parent.
The number of single women parent is far larger than single men parent.
There is around 12 million single-parent families and approximately 80% of those are
single women parent.
According to a survey study by Single Mother Guide, 25% of children are currently living without
a father and nearly 50% of them live in poverty.

Recent studies have shown that children that live in a single-parent family suffer
from the most disadvantages in terms of wealth and education when compared to
children living in other family types
This percentage of single parent families is continuingly increasing due to the lack of
education of young teen, consequently leading to more teen pregnancy and divorce
rates among them.

Same Sex Parents

According to a study published by AAMFT, between 1-9 million children have at least one
parent who is homosexual

They also identified that there are around almost 600,000 same sex parent families with
approximately 27% of them having already one children living in the household.

Recent studies have demonstrated that children living in these families do as well as those in
heterosexual-parent families.

o There was virtually no difference between the child in terms of emotions, gender roles,
gender identity and GPA.

The study did indicate that there was a positive correlation between same sex households and
emotional well-being

o It concluded that children were able express themselves more freely since same sex
parents tend to be more tolerant and understanding.

Children also tend to show uneasiness when explaining their parents marital status, fearing
they might be discriminated against or looked down upon.

Functionalist Perspective
Functionalists hold that families are a vital institution to society and play a major role
in stabilizing society. Family members take on certain roles and perform certain
functions in a marriage or family.

According to the functionalist perspective, the roles based on gender ensures that
families are well balanced and synchronized.

o If an individual performs a role different from that role they are suppose to
perform, the family is thrown out of balance

o The males in a family are the ones that tend to do the work outside of the family in
order to provide financial support. The females tend to work inside of the family to
offer emotional support and physical care for children

Conflict Perspective
Holds that the role of power is a predominate aspect of family life and considers
the family to be simply another area of power struggles

o Conflict theorists may focus their area of study on conflicts vary from the
implementation of rules from parent to child, or they may choose to closely
study more serious problems such as domestic violence, marital rape, or incest.

Conflict theorist tend to focuses on:

o Inequality in terms of power and authority.
o Patriarchy; when a male enforces his power over other family members
excessively

o Poor education: Single parent families have a single income, consequently, the
children tend to lack a good education

Financial support

Ways to Improve the Modern

Family
Having an act or a law that ensures that children have
the necessary opportunities to a good education.
Provide women equal pay in order to ensure they can
provide more for those in a single-parent family.
Provide education that teaches children to be tolerant
of others and their differences.
Families that find themselves in a dysfunctional
household should take classes that can help improve
their relationship.

Works Cited
Linville, Deanna, and Maya O'neill. "Same Sex Parents and Their Children - AAMFT Therapy Topics." Samesex Parents and Their Children. AAMFT, n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2016.

Foley, Katherine Ellen. "The Science is clear: Children raised by same-sex parents are at no disadvantage."
Quartz. Web. 21 Feb 2016.

Sarr, Ramour. "The Heartbreaking Truth About My Mixed Race Family." Alternet. N.p., 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 21
Feb 2016.

Lee Jenifer. "Interracial Marriage and the Meaning of Multiraciality." The Society Pages.13 July 2011. Web. 21
Feb 2016.

"Less than Half of U.S. Kids Today Live in a 'traditional' Family." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 22 Dec.
2014. Web. 21 Feb 2016.

"Normal Functioning Family." HealthyChildren.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2016.

"Pay Equity for Women." Family Forward Oregon. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2016.
"Single Mother Statistics - Single Mother Guide." Single Mother Guide. N.p., 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Feb 2016.