Miss Sana.

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Checklist

Family

Types of family and household

 Family
 Household
 Nuclear
 Cohabitation
 Reconstituted
 Same sex
 Lone parent
 Beanpole
 Extended
Changes in the structure of the institute of family
The fit thesis
Arguments For; Parsons
Reasons;
 Industrialisation and urbanisation
 Extended family functions ( not mobile, productive, cooperative, labour
intensive
 Nuclear family more suitable because of geographical mobility and
flexibility
Arguments Against;
Flinch=no evidence of extended family support
Carlin= households were nuclear before industrialisation as low life
expectancy and old homes
Anderson=mixed extended and nuclear in upper, middle and working class
Alternative family forms page (113)

Also read about universal dominance of nuclear family at page 112

Diversity in family forms and patterns across

 Class
 NEIL : Financial difference b/w classes
 Single parents more likely to have working class origins and low income
 Gender equality (symmetrical roles in middle class and segregated in
working class according to YOUNG AND WILMOTT)
 Lareau : Difference in approaches to nurture kids
 Ethnicity
 Difference in patterns because of geographical area or religion
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 In UK clear difference in different minorities in relation to female paid work

according to DALE 2014
 Black Caribbean families ( low marriage rate, high cohabitation rate, high
separation, divorce and single parenthood rate)
 Asian, Bangladesh, Pakistan, india exact opposite
 Also diversity in family life cycle and family size
 changes to family size (fertility rate and birth rate)
o women's increased role in workplace means they may not have as
many children
o less stigma attached to remaining childless
o availability of contraception
o women being career focused and becoming mother at later age
o children a liability
o expensive life style choice

Perspectives about family’s functions/importance for society and individual

Functionalist’s view
Murdock’s functions of the family
Basic and irreducible functions PARSONS
Core and peripheral functions FLETCHER
Marxist view
 Family supports capitalism (keeps rich, rich and poor, poor through
inheritance)
 socialisation into capitalist values (e.g. accepting lower position) Zarestki
 recreates inequality
 Ideological control and warm bath theory: ALTHUSSER
 Economic provision of labour
 Consumption unit
Neo-marxism (social, cultural and symbolic capital : BOURDIEU
Feminist view (patriarchal family)
 ANN OAKLEY Traditional gender roles enforce women into doing domestic
work unpaid
 Dual burden
 Triple shift : MARSDEN
 Capitalism uses women: BENSON

Changing gender roles (conjugal roles)

 Expressive and instrumental roles, Concept of new man (Functionalism)
 Sullivan March of progress view (Willmott and Young) move to
symmetrical family
 Power struggle within the family for moral economy, emotional economy
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and political economy (Marxisist view)

 Liberal, radical and Marxist view of feminism
 Feminist view (Oakley) family is still patriarchal, Pahl ‘s research on
decision making process
Changing parent/child relationships (e.g. less authoritarian and more child
centred)
Changes to the family (and reasons for these changes)
 changes to marriage (marrying later and choosing not to marry)
◦ secularisation
◦ less stigma attached to marrying later/remaining single
◦ women's increased role in workplace means that people are choosing
to focus on career first
 increase in cohabitation
◦ secularisation
◦ less stigma
◦ temporary
 decrease in infant mortality rate and death rate
◦ improvements in health care
◦ improvements in living standards
 increase in life expectancy and the ageing population
 increase in births outside of marriage
◦ secularisation
◦ less stigma
 increase in divorce rate and the consequences of divorce (such as the
increase in reconstituted families)
◦ changes in the law (cheaper and easier)
◦ secularisation
◦ less stigma
◦ economic independence
Changes to the extended family (are they are important as they used to be?)
 Some argue that in the past the extended family was more important as
there was more frequent contact, more support offered for elderly
parents. Now people often live far away from family (due to geographical
mobility) and so may not see family as often
 Others argue extended family is still important for emotional support e.g.
family may live far away but support others financially or have regular
contact through Skype or social networking. This may mean extended
families are in some ways closer than ever.
Consequences of Significant changes in family formation
New Right ; cause for concern
Diversity represents breakdown in structure and function of family
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Postmodern optimism
There is no IDEAL family form. Celebrates diversity
Impact of family life on individual members (experience of family life)
 Consensus approach
Benefits outweigh the cost
Economic, physical, psychological, emotional security
Socialization
 Postmodernist
Identity formation
Emotional and psychological well-being
Moral commitment and social responsibility
 Critical theory
Family is psychologically destructive (Leach 1967)
Stunts creativity, psychological development, restricts freedom of
expression, ‘’murder of self’’ (cooper 1972)
 Marxist feminism
Institution of family is socially oppressive and exploitative of women
Result of patriarchal ideology and socialization
Triple shift
 Dark side of family
Domestic violence (WHO 2002 reveals 70% of female murder victims killed
by their male partner
25% of all women worldwide experience sexual violence
 Child abuse
In 2012 around 46000 children were at risk of parental abuse
25% of all recorded rape victims are children (1996)
Devis (2009) highest homicide rates are in infants

Childhood a social construct?

 Historical evidence= in preindustrial society children were treated like
little adults, fulfilled certain responsibilities and worked alongside their
parents (Aries)
In post-industrial societies children are more pampered, need adults’
protection and are separated from adults culturally and physically (school
and day cares)
 Cross-cultural evidence
Children of islands of Samoa have less stressed childhood as compare to
children of USA (Mead 1928)
Diverse range of parent-child relationships in America, Asia, Eastern
Europe, and Africa
 Division within society
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Children of different class, gender and ethnicities have different experience

of childhood
Class= middle class kids are nurtured children while working class children
are nurturing children (Hecht study on Brazilian children)
Financial superiority of middle class kids leads to a different and privileged
childhood
Social, cultural, symbolic capital
Deferred gratification concept in academics
Gender=parents treat their kids differently on the basis of their gender
Toys, socialization, expectations, role allocation
Ethnicity=how different ethnicities control children’s sense of time (the
time they sleep, go to school, leisure activity or eat), space(where they
should be at certain times, where are they allowed to go (Sudanese
children have much freedom of space as compare to their European
counterparts) and body (what they can wear, who can touch them)
OAKLEY found Asian parents placed greater restrictions on their children’s
freedom of movement and association, particularly with their daughters,
than their English counterparts

Future of childhood; Is childhood changing

Postman(1994)- childhood is disappearing (technology, internet, exposure to
violence has blurred childhood and adulthood
Lona opie disagrees with postman
Sue Palmer-toxic childhood
Others-childhood is being reinvented in postmodern societies

Position of elderly in different societies

 Diversity in cross-cultures
 Elderly are valued more in stable societies
In American indian tribes eldrly are valued for the knowledge and skills they
possess
Elderly who have control over social and economic resources are valued higher
 Changing social position of elderly is a combination of factors,
disengagement theory, activity theory, social generational theory

Exam Style Questions

(2 marks) Identify…

HINT: keep answers short (maximum 4 lines)

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...two reasons why the average age at which people get married has increased in the last 30
years

...two family types found the Britain

...two reasons why there has been an increase in the number of children being born outside
marriage in the past 50 years

...two consequences of divorce for family members

...two consequences of living in a stepfamily

...two reasons why there has been an increase in the percentage of children living in lone
parent families in the last 30 years or so

(4 marks) Explain what Sociologists mean …

HINT: this should be six lines. A definition, with some development, an example with
some further development

…by reconstituted family

...by authority relationships in families

...by primary socialisation

...by cohabitation

...by the domestic division of labour

...by a traditional nuclear family

(8 marks) Describe…and explain…

HINT: two marks are available for the description. Write a three sentence paragraph. The
second paragraph is worth four marks for the explanation part of your answer and
example plus evidence and so should be around 7 to 8 sentences.

Describe one possible consequence of divorce for husbands and explain how this may have
an effect on them

Describe onechange in family size in Britain and explain why thus change may have occurred

Describe one way in which relations between parents and their children have changed in the
past 50 years and explain why this change has happened

Describe the functionalist approach to the family and explain how it differs from one other
sociological approach
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Describe one way in which gender roles in the family have changed in the past 50 years and
explain why change has happened

Describe one family type is more commonly found in Britain today than in the 1970s and
explain why this change has happened

Describe one way in which an individual's family or household situation might change over
the course of their life (apart from divorce) and explain why this change may occur

Describe one change in the role of women in families and explain why this change has
occurred

Describe how the pattern of divorce has changed in Britain over the past 50 years and
explain why this pattern has occurred

Descibe one way in which relations between parents and children have changed in the last
30 years and explain why this change has happened

Describe the feminist approach to the family and explain how this approach is different from
other sociological approaches

(11 marks) Discuss how far Sociologists would agree that…

HINT: the first part of this answer should focus on agreeing with the statement in the
question. Try to write in detail, including key words and a range of examples. Explain
your points fully using words such as “because” “for example” “therefore”. The second
part of your answer MUST give a contrasting view and disagree with the statement in the
question. Use words such as “however.” Finish on a conclusion: how far do Sociologists
agree?

...there is no longer a typical British family

...changes in family size have led to families becoming more child-centred

...there is equality between men and women in the family

...the wider extended family is becoming less important in society today

...the roles of men and women in families have changed signficantly in the past 50 years

...changes in the divorce rate over the past 50 years are due to changes in the law
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...marriage is still important in Britain today

...the nuclear family is no longer the norm in modern Britain

...extended family members play an important role in British families

...marriage is still considered imporant in modern British society

...the traditional nuclear family is the most appropriate family type in which to raise children