Essay on Family Formations - 2167 Words

Outline and critically assess the most significant crises, conflicts and changes in family formations over the last two decades (since 1990). Make reference to your own experience, in terms of changes in identity and identifications over time. In order to address the question it is important to present the evidence which shows that there have been conflicts, crises, and changes in society since 1990. It is widely understood there are many formations of the family. This involves the forever changing affects on society which bring us back to the family. This essay will discuss the social changes occur within the family paying particular attention to lone parenthood. It will look at changes to marriage, divorce, births outside marriage†¦show more content†¦(Gittens, 1993) The family is seen as a universal social institution which must perform certain specific functions which is essential to societys survival. The principle architect of the model nuclear family was functionalist Talcott Parsons. He argued that the nuclear family household has two main functions in modern industrial society; they are socialisation of children and the personality stabilization of adults. (Parsons, 1955). The nuclear family is defined as a small unit consisting of a married couple and their child/children and is united by ties of affection, identity and support. It is widely assumed that this form is the most dominant in society and anything other may be considered as deviant and unacceptable. (Allan and Crowe, 2001) However, this conception of how the family is constituted may be more a reflection on how relationships should be structured rather than how they are and hasnt paid enough attention to the real diversity of experiences in family life, including the increase in numbers of single parent families. (Cheal, 1991). Firstly, a key factor to consider relating to conflict crises and change to family formations is marriage and divorce. It has been widely understood for centuries in the west that marriage was considered an eternal commitment. Divorce was not the norm and was only awarded in certain exceptional cases, such as non consummation of marriage. Numerous countries have pr oceeded to make divorce more acceptableShow MoreRelatedFamily Formation And Structure Of The Nuclear Family1457 Words   |  6 PagesCombining the multitude of factors that contribute to family formation and structure parallels to mixing ingredients to make a soup that does not always come out with the same taste, as even with the same contributing factors such as race, gender, and social, economic, and political pressure, one family can greatly differ from another. 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