Families and Households

We study theoretical perspectives on families because the definition of a family changes according to the sociological perspective.

A nuclear family consists of two married parents living with their biological children in one household. It is considered a 'traditional' family arrangement.

This type of family is called a reconstituted family.

Empty shell family.

A household consists of all the people in a family or group who live together in a house.

The difference between a family and a household is the relationship between the people in the family or household. A family is a group of people living together who are related to each other, usually parents and children; there might also be other family members involved, such as grandparents. A household is a group of people living together who may not be related to each other but share common living spaces, meals and bills.

A cohabitating family consists of two partners living together unmarried in one household.

A vertically extended family consists of family members that would appear vertically in a family tree, for example, grandparents and great-grandparents.

A horizontally extended family consists of family members that would appear horizontally in a family tree, for example, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Childhood is the state or period of being a child. In many countries, it is legally and socially accepted that an individual is a child until the age of 18.

The death rate is dependent on lots of different factors: age, gender, race, education levels, living standards, affluence, social discrimination levels. All of these things change peoples life expectancy.

A symmetrical family is a family structure consisting of equal responsibilities and roles in the family, such as between two partners.

The idea of a symmetrical family was theorised by Peter Wilmott and Michael Young in 1973.

An empty nest family consists of two partners in one household whose children have ‘flown the nest’ (moved out).

Less segregated.

Factors such as age, gender and sexuality, race, marital history, rising living costs and legal changes are all reasons for the varying and diverse types of family and household.

 Primary socialisation

Primary socialisation is the first point of exposure to society's norms and values; it is when children are taught which behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable.

Nuclear family.

A nuclear family refers to a traditional family structure consisting of a two-parent family with one or more children. The traditional idea of a nuclear family is made up of a monogamous heterosexual couple.

Murdock found that the nuclear family was a universal family structure because it performed four major, crucial functions for wider society. These are the educational, economic, reproductive, and sexual functions.

The nuclear family maintains the stability of the adults' sexual relationships, as monogamy prevents sexual jealousy and adultery.

In industrial society, the nuclear family structure was a better 'fit' as it helped to perform functions in a complex industrial society.

The nuclear family performs the functions of primary socialisation and the stabilisation of adult personalities.

Parson's Warm Bath theory suggests that when a man comes home from a busy day of work, his family relieves him of the stress and provides him with relaxation just like a warm bath does. 

Laslett found that the most common type of family in pre-industrial society was the nuclear family type, not the extended family type. He argued that in countries where there were more nuclear families than extended families, industrialisation happened first; therefore, nuclear families brought about industrialisation (among other factors), and not the other way around.

Emotional support and encouragement from the family relieves the stress of labor, which makes it more likely that workers will continue to accept their working conditions without revolting.

According to Marxists, the function of reproduction creates the next generation of workers that will be exploited by the bourgeoisie.

The 'triple shift' refers to women undertaking paid employment, doing housework, and taking care of the children.

Marxist feminist Fran Ansley argues that Parson's Warm Bath theory is simply a rosy representation of the fact that men unload their stress and anger on women. This leads to domestic violence.

The sociology of childhood is a discipline that seeks to centre the experiences of children and childhood in sociological research.

Children's rights movements influenced early child-focused sociological research.

 Linda Pollock believed that people in the Middle Ages understood that children were different from adults, and had their own concepts of childhood.

Disturbed.

The 'Unadjusted Girl' has been criticised because William Thomas based much of his analysis on his own assumptions about the nature of women and girls.

He described children in the Middle Ages as miniature adults.

Change in gender roles.

The dependency ratio is the relationship between the economically productive part of the population and non-workers or dependents, such as children or the elderly.

• Overall, the number of marriages in Western countries has steadily declined since the 1970s. 

• Marriage rates for heterosexual couples in the UK were at a record low in 2018.

• Religious marriage ceremonies were also at a record low in 2018.

• Marriage rates for same-sex couples have remained steady since same-sex marriage was introduced.

• The average age at which people get married has increased.

With a decrease in religious ceremonies, people are less likely to engage in church weddings. 

The theory of genderquake suggests that since most jobs are available in the service sector, the economic power is shifting to women, and that makes marriage a poor option to be financially secure. 

Members of the New Right consider the decline of marriages a social and moral decline.

True.