The Different Types of Family Structures

Question 1 

Families are the most significant agents of primary socialization. They are central to the development of children. Families are where children develop relationships with others and make impressions of themselves and their environment. Families are central in socialization because they teach children about norms, values, and beliefs that reflect their religion, ethnicity, and social status. Such aspects are central to effective socialization. Interaction in children in the preparatory stage is often meaningless as they imitate the people around them, particularly parents and their family members ( Kendall, 2016 ). Children at this stage are preparing for role-taking.

Children then move to the play stage, where they learn symbols and language from family. The stage enables them to pretend to assume the roles of other individuals ( Kendall, 2016 ). Children at this stage start to view themselves concerning others. Families educate children on group life, forming close relationships, and how to share resources. According to Baferani (2015) , a family’s economic situation, social status, opinions, ideals, aspirations, and educational attainment influence children’s behavior, ultimately affecting how they interact with society. Therefore, families are the most important agent in primary socialization because they teach children to care for themselves and offer a system of beliefs, values, and norms that guide social interactions.

Question 2 

The American Family has experienced dramatic change over the years. The changes have adversely affected the composition of family units. For instance, two-parent households are on the decline in the U.S. due to high rates of cohabitation, remarriage, and divorces ( Pew Research Center, 2015 ). American families are also significantly smaller because of the drop in fertility and growth in a single-parent household. The circumstances surrounding parenthood have also changed. In the 1960s, babies were usually born in marriage. However, in today’s society, 40 percent of births occur to single women or women living with non-marital partners ( Pew Research Center, 2015 ). 

In the current society, the concept of reproductive freedom gives women the choice to decide if they want to bear children. The current family system has experienced a high number of teenage childbearing ( Kendall, 2016 ). The traditional roles of mothers have also changed significantly. In today’s society, more mothers are entering the workforce and are becoming breadwinners in their families. Women have been empowered to assume a more active role in society has been central to this transformation. Technological advancements have also affected family units. The invention of cell phones and social media platforms has made communication more fragmented and impersonal, resulting in the breakdown of traditional family units ( Kendall, 2016 ). The American family system has experienced a dramatic transformation, impacting the composition, structure, and interaction within American families. 

Question 3 

There have been major differences in marriage and family life that can be linked to class, race, gender, and personal choice. Marriage is a legally recognized social contract between two people that implies a permanence of the union and is traditionally based on sexual relationships (Little et al., 2014). In contemporary times, the definition has evolved to include same-sex marriages, polygamous marriages, and cohabitation. Marriage influences the institution of family life as traditionally, marriages led to the creation of families, which then created status roles endorsed by society.

Individuals acquire specific social positions from their families. Parents are likely to socialize their children differently depending on their race and class (Kendal, 2016). Parents will instruct their children on their cultural backgrounds to help them appreciate their heritage which will help inform their decisions in life. Race will influence the type of marriage, and family life one eventually has. Some races focus on imparting their young with attitudes on issues like marriage and family life. An example is seen where Asians tend to value the marriage and family institution, resulting in higher numbers of traditional marriage and family structures (Pew Research Center, 2015).

Individuals are likely to marry partners from their social class as they are socialized in the same way. Marrying from the same social class ensures the social placement of their families in the same class position to afford them class-related opportunities like quality healthcare and higher education (Kendal, 2016). There is an evident marriage divide within the American social classes. Research shows that working-class Americans consist of the minority of the married population but have higher fertility rates than the upper- and middle-class population, consisting of the majority of married persons but has lower fertility rates ( Wilcox & Wang, 2017 ). Class, therefore, influences marriage and family life as lower-class individuals are more likely to cohabit and have many children while upper- and middle-class people will be in traditional marriages with fewer children.

Gender contributes to the differences in marriage and family life. In the traditional era, gender determined the roles individuals would play in the family once a couple was married. Females were expected to be caregivers and nurture the family, while men were expected to provide for the family. Traditional marriages, therefore, focused on facilitating male domination while the contributions of women facilitated patriarchy (The evolution of families and marriages, n.d). However, in contemporary times, these gendered roles are being challenged. Despite women having their reproduction roles, they are taking up more “manly” duties like working to earn a living (The evolution of families and marriages, n.d). Some women have even become breadwinners in their families, and in some cases, men are opting to become nurtures of the family. This explains how gender is linked to the differences in marriage and family life.

In contemporary times, the concept of marriage has evolved to become one where people have various opinions. Many marriages end up in divorce, which has played a great role in informing an individual’s choices ( Little et al., 2014). A significant number of people are likely to opt-out of marriage because they believe that they will still be a family even without getting married. They acknowledge that marriage does not determine their family structure (Little et al., 2014). Other types of family life based on personal choice include single-parent households, cohabiting couples with or without children, multiple-generation households, and LGBT couples living with or without children (Kendal, 2016). However, with all these variations, traditional families remain a popular choice among many couples, thus taking up a significant place as the predominant family structure.

Question 4 

I believe that the move towards diverse families is a positive trend that should be encouraged among the different world societies. Diverse families encompass blended families, single-parent families, cohabiting couples, LGBT families, foster and adoptive families, polygamous and polyamorous families, and non-parent relative families (Kendal, 2016). These families may be different from the traditional family but are effective at fulfilling the various tasks of a family. They regulate sexual reproduction, facilitate the socialization of children, perpetuates the social identity of its members, and offer emotional and practical support to its members, thus fulfilling the functions of the family institution (Kendal, 2016). Acknowledging these family types ensures that their members do not get disenfranchised or feel the pressure to have traditional marriages, gives people the right to live according to their beliefs, and also allows individuals in dysfunctional marriages to divorce without feeling shunned in society.

Question 5 

If this trend changed towards traditional families that existed before World War II, women’s rights would be largely affected. Women living in this era had little to no rights as the societies were highly patriarchal (The evolution of families and marriages, n.d). Women were expected to get married and play their roles as the homemaker. The family institution allowed for the perpetuation of cultural roles for men and women, which infringed on women’s rights (The evolution of families and marriages, n.d). Although the coverture condition had long been done away with, women were still under the control of their husbands. They were allowed to own property, enter into contracts, make wills to control their property after death, and take legal matters to court (The evolution of families and marriages, n.d). However, even with these freedoms, men still defined their roles in the family. If such trends become popular, women will lose their rights and be sequestered to nurturing the family. They will lose their ability to determine their roles in the family and the freedom to do as they please. This would be a devastating move, especially because proponents of gender equality fought valiantly to ensure women had these rights.

References 

Baferani, M. H. (2015). The role of the family in the socialization of children.  Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences ,  6 (6 S6), 417-417. 

Kendall, D. (2016).  Sociology in our times: The essentials . Cengage Learning. 

Little, W., Vyain, S., Scaramuzzo, G., Cody-Rydzewski, S., Griffiths, H., Strayer, E., & Keirns, N. (2014). Introduction to sociology–1st Canadian edition.  BC Campus: Victoria, BC, Canada . https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/ 

Pew Research Center. (2015). The American family today. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/ 

The Evolution of Families and Marriages. (n.d). https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/41374_book_item_41374.pdf 

Wilcox, W. B., & Wang, W. (2017). The marriage divide: how and why working class families are more fragile today.  Washington DC: American Enterprise Institute . https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-marriage-divide-how-and-why-working-class-families-are-more-fragile-today