Introduction to Marriage and Family
Family can be viewed as the initial unit of socialization in a person’s lifetime. The sociology of family looks at the structure of family as an institution that shapes a person’s personality and his/her values. It can be identified by a number of various sociological dimensions, namely gender roles and the indoctrination of certain ideas and attitudes which essentially become the norms of society. As a result, all theories in relation to social sciences provide the underlying basis for the researcher to conduct his research. They offer a better understanding to practitioners in helping them understand the complete social dimensions of a particular construct. (Statsky)
As per the Christian belief, the concept of marriage has been derived from the lifelong commitment between a man and woman, similar to that of Adam and Eve. The marriage setting then gave rise to nuclear family structures. However, there lies a certain degree of disagreement amongst sociologists; some suggest that nuclear families do not reflect the genuine family structure in most societies. Marriage has evolved from its traditional nature of an arranged union that is loveless and lacks affection. It no longer involves socio-economic factors. The transition has resulted in a shift in gender roles associated with the breadwinner-homemaker model. The model sheds light on how responsibilities relating to household and childcare are shared between married partners. Initially, the breadwinner role lied with the males, while the females were supposed to take care of the house and children. These roles were restricting as to what a married man/woman could or could not do. Therefore, theories and models immensely aid in researching such concepts and ideas as they allow people to shape their lives accordingly and drive society towards improvement.
Works Cited
Statsky, William P.. Family law: the essentials. 3rd ed. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
