Families and households Flashcards
What is family?
A family involves a group of individuals who are related by kinship ties, relations of blood, marriage/civil partnership or adoption
What is cohabitation?
Individuals that live together without having legal bonds of marriage or civil partnership
What are some types of families?
-Nuclear
-Extended
-Single parent(Lone-parent)
-Reconstituted(Step or Blended)
-Gay(Homosexual)
-Singletons
What is kinship?
Ties that are made through either blood or marriage-relatives
What does Allan and Crow(01) say about kinship?
They say that relationships are becoming more complicated with differing patterns of cohabitation, divorce, and remarriage
What does Finch and Mason (93) say?
They said that divorce does not always sever relationships between family members and similarly children do not always accept step-parents and siblings
How does the family socialise young children?
-They learn what is unacceptable and acceptable through trial and error with their parents due to them seeing them as role models
-They use sanctions so parents can instil social norms by telling them how to behave. For example, if they have good behaviour they will get things like cakes and chocolates but if they have bad behaviour they will get sent to their room
-The user of gender roles to reinforce stereotypes as stated by Oakley. For example, verbal appellations like ‘kind girl’ and ‘strong boy’, manipulation like behaviour being seen as normal for one gender but not the other, canalisation meaning giving children toys appropriate for their gender
What are the differences between western and babongo culture?
-It is more family centred-more time
-Emotions are more open
-No money
-Time is not taken into account
What are the similarities between western and babongo culture?
-They both include festivals and funerals
-They live in family groups
-They both take drugs
-They are both influenced by religion or spirituality
What does Lawson and Garrod(96) say?
Most families live in households but not all households are families
What does family mean?
Individuals that are related somehow
What does household mean?
Individuals that share a living space
What does Heath(04) say?
They say that there is a growing increase in young adults living in the same household and that the relationships that develop in these households are meaningful to the members and they blur the ideologies of families and households
What does Roseneil et al (04) say?
They say that these families are of choice
What does Bernardes(97) say?
They question if there is a normal family, by using families allowing for diversity
A household includes individuals that live at the same address and share meals and/or living accommodation
They may have a number of varied social arrangements, some of which are families
What does Oakley (84) say?
They say that the nuclear family is seen as a norm in society
What does barret et al (82) say?
They are critical of this due to it undermining different family types. They also believe that the nuclear family is a place of abuse and neglect
What does Smart(99) say?
They say that the government sees diversity but still see the monogamous couple as the important element of gaining stability in society
What does Parsons say about the family?
They say that the family is a ‘functional fit’ in society due to it fulfilling the functions needed
What are the key ideas of functionalists?
-They say that society is based on a value consensus(agree with shared norms and values) and that the family is important for socialising its members into this. This helps them to comply with society’s needs and achieve shared goals
-They say that every institution contributes to the smooth running of society. They also say that the family is at the heart of society and that is also a unit of stability
-They also say that the family have a number of responsibilities placed upon it- these are the functions it performs in society. These functions are mostly concerned with the role of the family in preparing the children to fit into adult society
What functions did Murdock (49) identify?
-Sexual- This means to express sexuality in a socially approved context
-Economic- This means family providing food and shelter for family members
-Educational- This means being responsible for primary socialisation- meaning family teaches socially acceptable behaviour
-Reproduction- This means the family providing some stability for the reproduction and rearing of children
How did Murdock(49) complete this study?
He had studied 250 societies and believed the family to be a universal institution
How many functions did Murdock(49) identify?
Four
