Modernism and the nuclear family

Question 1

How does Modernism see modern society?

Answer 1

Modernism sees modern society as having a fairly fixed, clear-cut and predictable structure
- Examples include functionalism and the New Right

Question 2

How does Functionalism view the relationship between the nuclear family and modern society?

Answer 2

• Parsons: there is a ‘functional fit’ between the nuclear family and modern society
• The functions that the nuclear family perform help contribute to the overall stability and effectiveness of society
• Due to the family’s ability to perform these essential functions, we can generalise about the type of family that we will find in modern society- a nuclear family
• Other family types are considered dysfunctional, deviant and abnormal

Question 3

How does the New Right view the family?

Answer 3

• They are opposed to family diversity
• Hold the view that there is only one correct family type: the nuclear family
• They oppose the new trends such as divorce and cohabitation
• Lone-parent families are harmful to children:
  a) lone-parent mothers can’t discipline their children properly
  b) lone-parent families leave boys without a male role model which results in educational failure and delinquency
  c) families like that are likely to be poorer thus a burden on the welfare state and taxpayers

Question 4

What does the New Right argue about cohabitation in relation to lone-parent families?

Answer 4

• The main cause of lone-parent families is the collapse of relationships between cohabiting couples
• Benson, analysed data on the parents of over 15,000 babies: found that over the first 3 years of the baby’s life, the rate of family breakdown was much higher among cohabiting couples than married couples
• Marriage is more stable as it requires a deliberate commitment to each other

Question 5

What are the criticisms of the New Right?

Answer 5

• Feminist Ann Oakley: the New Right wrongly assume that husbands and wives’ roles are fixed by biology
• Feminists: the conventional nuclear family is oppressive and patriarchal
• There is no evidence that children raised in a lone-parent household are more likely to be delinquent than those brought up in a two-parent family of the same social class
• Why do the New Right view marriage as a commitment but not cohabitation?
• Smart: poverty may break down relationships, rather than the decision not to marry

Question 6

What is Chester’s neo-conventional family?

Answer 6

• The neo-conventional family is a dual-earner family in which both spouses go out to work and not just the husband (similar to the symmetrical family by Young and Wilmott)

Question 7

What are some patterns that Chester noticed?

Answer 7

1. Most people live in a household headed by a married couple
2. Most adults marry and have children, most of whom are raised by their 2 natural parents
3. Most marriages continue until death
4. Cohabitation has increased but in the majority of cases it’s temporary
5. Most births are jointly registered, indicating commitment from both parents

Question 8

What are the Rapoports 5 types of family diversity?

Answer 8

1. Organisational diversity
   - Different familial roles
2. Cultural diversity
   - Where different cultures have different family types
3. Social class diversity
   - Differences in family structure may be as a result of income differences
4. Life-stage diversity
   - Family structure differs depending on the point in the life-cycle
5. Generational diversity
   - Different attitudes between older and younger generations