Family diversity

Question 1

Parsons (functionalist) - family diversity

Answer 1

family diversity has increased, and there as been a shift away from the traditional nuclear family. Nowadays, it is more common for reconstituted, lone-parent and cohabiting families to exist

• however the nuclear family is the only family that is functional for society

Question 2

The new right - family diversity

Answer 2

the nuclear family as the only ‘natural’ family type. Other family types produce social problems (Eg. lone parent families lead to a dependency culture). Generous welfare benefits have encouraged such deviant family types

Question 3

The rappoports

Answer 3

we have moved away from the nuclear family into a range of different family types.

Their 5 types of family diversity include: organisational diversity, cultural diversity, social class diversity, life-stage diversity, generational diversity

Question 4

Chester - family diversity

Answer 4

although there has been some increase in diversity, the nuclear family still remains dominant. There has been an important change from the conventional family (segregated conjugal roles) to the neo-conventional family, which adopts a symmetrical family structure

Question 5

Giddens (postmodernist) - family diversity

Answer 5

Society has become ‘disembedded’ from traditional family structures, leaving us free to choose how we live our lives. This has led to the ‘pure relationship’ - one that exists solely to satisfy each partner’s needs

Question 6

Beck (postmodernist) - family diversity

Answer 6

Equality and individualism have created the ‘negotiated family’ which varies according to the members wants

Question 7

Smart (personal life) - family diversity

Answer 7

we are not disembedded individuals, but we make decisions about relationships within a ‘web of connectedness’