Sociology is the analysis of human behavior and social phenomena mainly conducted through research. It covers themes ranging from religion, law, culture to social class. Family is the basic unit in society, carrying out the most important functions and its members are closely related through blood, ancestry, adoption or the marriage bond. The family can either be nuclear or extended and the members are interdependent on different levels. Sociology is keen on family issues such as childbearing and upbringing.
Feminists and Marxists have often argued against the notion that the family is a beneficial institution to society, citing negative occurrences such as substance and drug abuse, child abuse, divorce and separation, gender discrimination and poverty, increase in single-parenthood especially single mothers, and increase in pre-marital sex and cohabiting among other moral evils. Such vices are caused and spread by modern self-centered individuals who do not want their lives to revolve around families (James Jennings & breitkreuz 2012). These individuals also do not respond to their roles assigned by forces of nature. An example of such is a father abandoning his wife and kids instead of taking responsibility or parents dumping a young child due to financial constraints leading to an increase in homeless children on the streets. These ideologists are concerned that such trends can lead to an unstable and insecure society if uncontrolled.
Sociologists offer their opinions on the relation of the family unit with society through sociological theories which are Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism. Functionalism theory views the family as one of the constituent units of society and explains how the functioning of a family contributes towards stability of society. Conflict theory views society as a product of conflicts within and among its constituent units such as the family and how these conflicts affect family dynamics (James Jennings & breitkreuz 2012). Finally the interactionism theory explains the changes in family patterns as a result of socialization, interaction and adaptation. Below we expound more on the effects of these sociological theories on the family institution.
Functionalism analyses how the different components of society are interdependent and the effects of their functioning to meet the requirements of the whole society. It is based on the assumption that the different social units operate for the benefit of their components hence conflict is not recognized. The family being one of the units that make up the society plays a very big role in molding individuals to play their parts diligently in society (Powell & Gilbert 2008). Through this molding process, the family functioning contributes towards the continued existence of society. G P Murdock, one of the major functionalism theorists, argued that the nuclear family was very popular because it led to fulfillment of the basic responsibilities entrusted upon society such as procreation and provision of companionship. Above all, these nuclear families result in stable grown-ups in society. One of these responsibilities included procreation to produce members that make up a society and ensure continuity. Another function was economic which was achieved by creating a supply through production or demand through consumption hence leading to a complete economic cycle (James Jennings & breitkreuz 2012). The sexual function is confined within the family between a husband and wife strengthening the family and as a result a stable society. If married couples were to be allowed a free roam sexually this would lead to breakdown of families and rampant spread of sexually transmitted diseases which destabilize the society. The economic function led to the division of labor and specialization especially between males and females. Murdock claimed that these core functions of the family to society led to a global up rise of the nuclear families.
Powell & Gilbert (2008) differentiates roles of family members based on gender. The mother nurtures while father is the protector hence complementing each other. They share the responsibility of breadwinners and in addition; they offer parental care, motivation, guidance and mental strength to the family. Children cater for the emotional needs of the family and in a special cases financial support. In his analysis of the family, Talcot Parsons stresses on the function of stabilizing personalities of individuals through provision of emotional support and security by family members. James Jennings & breitkreuz (2012)argues that Industrialization and modernization led to social dynamics such as break down of extended families into nuclear families as family members migrated into different urban centers in search of better jobs and it was also easier for nuclear families to move from town to town compared to extended families. Because of industrialization, some functions performed by families such as education and medical care are now carried out by specialized institutions such as schools and hospitals respectively because adults required to provide these services were engaged in white and blue-collar jobs. This emergence of specialized institutions in society has led to social stratification as families strive to afford the best schools and medical facilities hence the emergence of well-defined social classes which families associate with. The production function of the family was also delegated to the factories and emerging production companies. The family labor was also employed to earn wages in these factories.
Some criticisms of this theory in relation to the family include; failure of many marriages in society is sufficient proof that family relationships are not as harmonious as depicted in the functionalism theory. Murdock’s theory was also criticized because he portrayed the family as an indispensable unit whose duties cannot be performed by other social institutions. This has been proven to be wrong by the emergence of institutions such as children’s homes which perform most of the functions performed by the families.
Conflict theory analyses the way members of different units in society scramble for supremacy mostly in the form of wealth and prestige. Conflict theorists attempt to point out forces behind the competitions that lead to different conflicts in society. This theory therefore shrugs off the assumption that family members live in harmony and analyses how families deal with adversity. Conflict theorists appreciate conflict as a natural part of life.
According to California State University, conflict is very prudent for development of family members as it strengthens their bonds and enhances communication in a bid to solve the conflicts. Conflict theorists view the family as a superset of oppressors who are men and the oppressed who are women, hence depicting a suggestive picture that the family benefits men more than women. The major causes of conflicts in families are lack of sufficient family time and financial constraints. Other causes are differences in characters and preferences among family members, for instance parents dictating what is to be watched on the television and the kind of food that is to be eaten because they possess greater power and control than the children. Arguments might ensue between the children and the parents but at the end of the day, parents have their way because they are the dominant group in the family. Arguments that arise between a husband and wife range from matters to do with infidelity to quarrels because the husband does not want to engage in household chores because he views them as feminine duties. This kind of scenario overburdens the modern employed woman who has to go to work and still take care of household and matrimonial duties and may cause bitterness and instability in that marriage. Sources of power in a family include parenthood; parents feel they have control over their children just by virtue of being parents. The father also feels he deserves to be respected and heard by everyone because he is the head of the family. Another great source of power is money. Family members, who earn the most money, will be listened to, heard and even loved more than the rest because they have the money and money is power.
Randall Collins, a sociologist, provides another twist to this family conflict by highlighting the use of women as sexual property. Traditionally, fathers married off their daughters to the highest bidder in terms of bride price. A woman’s virginity was therefore a very precious commodity and it was very difficult for a man to pay bride price for a woman who was not a virgin (James Jennings & breitkreuz 2012). During wars, while the men of the losing side were killed or taken as prisoners of war, the women were taken as prizes just like the cattle and grazing lands. However due to social dynamics, this situation has changed over time. Women nowadays have power to choose their own marriage partners even though they still use their sexual power and beauty to woo the wealthiest men around. Women with economic abilities end up having both the sexual and financial bargaining chips and can control their men the way they desire.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, these family conflicts can be resolved using different methods. Minor conflicts can just be ignored since most of them are self-corrective after everyone cools down. Other conflicts can be resolved through dialogue and compromise, while major conflicts such as drug abuse and extreme marital problems can be resolved through an external intermediary such as a professional counselor or an elder (James Jennings & Breitkreuz 2012). Social advancements such as education increases awareness and provides for better avenues of managing conflicts therefore improving family relations in the process.
The major weakness of conflict theory is that it does not recognize the plight of togetherness, peace and love in a society. Most families are characterized by love as the main themes especially between parents and their children yet conflict theorists depict families as places infested by competition for resources and violence in the form of quarrelling. Another challenge to this theory is the fact that most families live their lives privately and the sample families used by conflict theorists might not be a true representation of the whole society.
Interactionism theory is based on the analysis of interaction and communication trends among the individuals of the different units in a society. This communication can either be symbolic or verbal. An example of symbolic communication is the ownership of a car being an indicator of how wealthy an individual is depending on the make of the car (Conger Williams Little Masyn & Shelbloski 2009). This theory is not only based on how individuals communicate with one another, but also in how the individuals communicate with their environment and changes in the environment (Conger Williams Little Masyn & Shelbloski 2009).
In his research on dating trends in higher learning institutions, (Warner & Hausdorf 2009) deduced that the individual with the lower interest level in a relationship held the bargaining chips of that relation due to the fact that he/she was more needed by his/her better half than the latter. This pattern is also common in families between husbands and their wives, wives being the victims in most cases.
Warner & Hausdorf (2009) voiced his opinion that the family is a unit of interacting characters and personalities of its members. Through this interaction, roles of different family members are clearly spelled out. This theory also analyzes how internal factors and externalities affect the interaction patterns. Changes in interaction patterns also lead to changes in the roles of different family members. The process through which these personalities interact, roles are defined and cultures passed on from generation to generation, is called socialization. Through this socialization, children are also brought up to become responsible members of society by their parents. This can also go wrong if the parents act irresponsibly and because their children look up to them, they might acquire the wrong characters through association and act contrary to the morals of society (Frikha 2010).
Simon Cheng conducted a research on child association and interaction in the year 2000, which attempted to explain the development and maintenance of ethnic dimensions which different families associate with in a multi-cultural society. These interactions occur as a result of the interaction between parents and their children (Frikha 2010).
Social changes such as technological advancements enhance interaction through tools such as the internet and social interaction networks. Networks such as Facebook and Twitter have made the world a global village and enabled long distance families to stay in touch (Warner & Hausdorf 2009).
A major weakness of this theory is that it is not practical for theorists to analyze family dynamics over time because most families are private in their affairs; hence researchers have been left to use novels and qualitative methods which do not depict a clear picture.
Conclusion
These three theories are complimentary to each other in defining the family and its various members. These three theories have to be used hand in hand to make the most out of them since the weaknesses of one theory are covered by another theory. For instance the functionalist theory assumes that conflict does not exist while the conflict theory acknowledges existence of conflict within the family. The interactionism theory approaches the family from a perspective of character interactions; conflict theory approaches it from a conflict perspective while functionalism focuses on roles of different family members hence covering a broad spectrum all together (Conger Williams Little Masyn & Shelbloski 2009). Despite the various social changes that have seen the family delegate most of its duties to other institutions and its members separated in search of employment and education, the family still is the most important unit in society. This is because the family acts as a reference point to its members, it gives members something to fall back on when everything else falls apart since we live in a superficial society.
References
Powell, J. L., & Gilbert, T. (2008) Social theory and emotion: sociological excursions: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 28 (9/10) 394 – 407
Frikha, A (2010) Conflict in purchase decision making within couples: Journal of Islamic Marketing, 1 (3) 231 – 248
Warner, M. A., & Hausdorf, P. A (2009) The positive interaction of work and family roles: Using need theory to further understand the work-family interface. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24 (4) 372 – 385
Conger, K. J., Williams, S. T., Little, W. M., Masyn, K. E., & Shelbloski, B. (2009) development of mastery during adolescence: the role of family problem solving. Journal of health and social behavior 50 (1) 99-114
James, A. E., Jennings, J. E., & breitkreuz, R. S. (2012) Worlds Apart? Rebridging the Distance Between Family Science and Family Business Research: Family business review 25 (1) 87- 108
