AS Sociology

Families & Households

Studyguide 1

Defining the Family

The problem with studying the family is that we all think we are experts – not
surprisingly, given that most of us are born into families and socialized into family
roles and responsibilities. For many of us, the family is the cornerstone of our
social world, a place to which we can retreat and where we can take refuge from the
stresses of the outside world. It is the place in which we are loved for who we are,
rather than what we are. Family living and family events are probably the most
important aspects of our lives. It is no wonder then that we tend to hold very fierce,
emotional, and perhaps irrational, views about family life and how it ought to be
organized. Such ‘taken-for-granted’ views make it very difficult for us to
objectively examine family arrangements that deviate from our own experience
without making critical judgements. However, it is important that you try to think
like a sociologist and to avoid thinking your experience of family life is the only
worthwhile experience. You must keep an open mind when looking at family types
and lifestyles that are very different to what you have experienced.

Family Structure

Most sociologists agree that family life across the world is characterized by
tremendous variation and diversity. In other words, families and family life in
other societies do not necessarily resemble British families and family life.
However, as we shall see, this has created some problems for those sociologists
concerned with defining what counts as a family.

Common definitions of family

It is useful to begin by defining some of the common terms used by family

sociologists to describe family structures.

(1) Kinship is a concept that refers to family connections between people

based on blood, marriage or adoption. In other words, it refers to relatives,
both in the past and present, whether close or distant and whether or not
contact is frequent, infrequent and even non-existent.

(2) The concept of ‘household’ is often used in discussion of family life.

However, it is important to understand that although families are
households, not all households are families. A household is best defined
as ‘a residence for one person or a group of people who can be family or
may be unrelated who live under the same roof’. In this sense, then, a group
of students sharing a house are a household but note that they are not a
family.

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(3) The most basic family type which is experienced by the majority of people
in the UK is the ‘nuclear family’. This contains just two generations, i.e. an
adult heterosexual couple (usually husband and wife) and their dependent
children who live in the same household. This definition may seem quite
straightforward but as you will see later in this guide it has led to many
disagreements between sociologists.

(4) Some families are ‘extended families’. This means that, the basic nuclear
structure has been enlarged to include grandparents, uncles, cousins etc
who either live in the same household, in close proximity, e.g. in the same
neighbourhood or keep in close frequent contact, e.g. contact may be on a
daily basis. As we shall see in later guides, some social groups in the UK
are more likely than others to adopt this family structure.

(5) ‘Single or one parent families’ have increased dramatically in numbers in

the past 50 years mainly because of the availability of divorce and the
relaxing of certain social attitudes. This type of family is sometimes
referred to as a ‘broken nuclear’ family and has been the subject of intense
debate amongst sociologists. As you will see, many sociologists blame this
type of family structure for a breakdown in the quality of family life and a
subsequent rise in social problems such as crime, juvenile delinquency,
anti-social behaviour, unemployment etc.

(6) ‘Reconstituted families or step-families’ have also increased in numbers

in the last 20 years because of high divorce rates and remarriage. This type
of family is usually nuclear in structure and involves parents, children of
either spouse from a first marriage and (possibly) new children from their
present marriage.

Debating what counts as a family

Some sociologists, particularly those belonging to the functionalist and New

Right schools of thought (i.e. theories), have attempted to define an ideal type of
family which they believe all families in the UK should conform to if children are
to grow up to be good citizens. They believe that any deviation from this ideal
type destabilizes society because it creates the potential for social problems such
as crime.

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Functionalists believe that societies like the UK are characterized by social

order rather than chaos or instability because social institutions are successfully
socializing members of society into the values and norms of society.
Consequently most people in the UK work together for the common good
because we all share the same goals. Functionalists regard the family as the
most important of all society’s institutions – they describe it as the cornerstone
of society. Therefore if the family suffers problems, this will have a negative
effect on the overall functioning of society.

New Right sociologists have a great deal in common with functionalist

sociologists. The New Right are associated with the Conservative Party who
believe that problems such as crime are caused by a breakdown in traditional
values and institutions. The New Right claim family life is breaking down
because of the easy availability of divorce and contraception, and relaxed
liberal attitudes towards sex, homosexuality and cohabitation.
The Functionalist Theory of the Family

G.P. Murdock

The functionalist sociologist, George Peter Murdock (1949) studied over 250
societies around the world and argued that the nuclear family was universal
throughout the world. He came up with the following definition of a nuclear
family:

‘a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and

reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a

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socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or
adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults’.

If we examine Murdock’s definition closely, we can see that it is focused on the

‘nuclear family’ – a stereotypical two-generation family made up of a married
heterosexual couple with dependent offspring. This definition of the family has
proved very popular with politicians and New Right sociologists who suggest
that this is the ideal type of family to which people should aspire. It was generally
accepted that this family, which was the statistical norm until the 1980s should
have the following characteristics:

 It should be small and compact in structure, composed of a mother, father

and usually two or three children who are biologically related.

 They should live together, i.e. share a common residence. Nuclear families
are therefore a type of household.

 The relationship between the adults should be heterosexual and based on

romantic love. Children are seen as the outcome of that love and as
symbolic of the couple’s commitment to each other.

 The relationship between the adults should be reinforced by marriage.

Traditionally, marriage was viewed as the only ‘socially approved’
relationship because it was assumed to encourage fidelity (faithfulness)
and therefore family stability. On the other hand, cohabitation was
traditionally viewed as a problem, i.e. ‘as living in sin’.

 Marriage should be companionate, i.e. based on husband and wives being

partners. There is an overlap between male and female economic
responsibilities as men get more involved in childcare and housework.
However, some ‘natural’ differences persist in the form of a gendered or
sexual division of labour with regard to domestic labour. It is taken for
granted that women want to have children and that they should be
primarily responsible for nurturing and childcare. The male role is
traditionally defined as the main economic breadwinner and head of the
household in terms of authority and discipline.

 The immediate family comes first and all other obligations and
relationships come second. Kinship, therefore, is all important.

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 It is assumed, almost without question, that the family is a positive and
beneficial institution in which family members receive nurturing,
unconditional love and care.

 The influence of these traditional beliefs about family life has been
immense. It can be argued that they constitute a powerful conservative
‘familial ideology’ (i.e. dominant set of ideas) about what families should
look like and how family members should behave. For example, the beliefs

• that women have maternal instincts and that the main

responsibility for parenting lies with mothers
• that cohabitation does not have the same value as marriage
• that lone parents are not as effective as two parents
• that children need fathers
• that homosexuals should not have the same fertility or parenting
rights as heterosexuals

are still very influential today in the UK. We can even see such views
reflected in our everyday behaviour and attitudes, as Jon Bernardes
observes (1997, p.31):

‘It is not just that many people think of women as the most appropriate carers of children
but rather that we all act on this belief in our daily lives. Men may hesitate or not know
how to engage in certain tasks or, in public, men may be discouraged from comforting a
lost child whilst a woman may ‘naturally’ take up this role. Examples of family ideology
can be found in a wide range of everyday practices, from images on supermarket products
to who picks up dirty laundry (or who drops it in the first place).’

Activity

Murdock’s definition, although widely-used, may be too restrictive in the way that it
defines the family. Can you think of any groups that might be considered a ‘family’
without conforming to this definition?

Criticism of Murdock

The main criticism of Murdock is that his definition of family life is very dated
and fails to take account of modern social processes which have produced many
variations on the theme of the nuclear family. For example:

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 A revolution in women’s attitudes occurred in the 1960s which resulted in
women interpreting getting married, having children, staying at home full-
time to rear children and taking all the responsibility for housework and
childcare as optional rather than obligatory. These social changes in
attitude (which Helen Wilkinson calls a ‘genderquake’) coincided with
the feminisation of the economy and workforce and meant that there
were alternatives to the traditional and socially expected pattern of settling
down to nuclear family life. The genderquake also undermined the
traditional distribution of power between men and women in families
and led to fundamental changes in how the domestic division of labour
was organised.

 Women acquired more control over their reproductive rights with the
introduction and widespread popularity of the contraceptive pill in the
1960s.

 Changes in demography (i.e. birth rates, fertility rates, death rates, life
expectancy and migration) have resulted in variations in family type and
lifestyle.

 Changes in social and religious attitudes have led to legal changes with
regard to marriage and cohabitation as well as divorce, abortion and gay
rights.

 There was a widespread recognition that family life was not necessarily
positive or beneficial for all individuals after the 1970s because of the
‘discovery’ of child abuse and domestic violence.

Activity

Think about how each of the changes above might affect the nuclear family and
produce variations on it in terms of structure and lifestyle.

Another criticism that has been levelled at Murdock and his functionalist/New
Right supporters is that his family ideal is very much a product of place and time,
i.e. 1940s USA, and consequently is ‘ethnocentric’, i.e. it is based on the
misguided view that Western and especially American culture produces the
‘best’ cultural institutions and that other cultural family types are somehow
inferior.

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Families & Households
Studyguide 1

Defining the Family

Despite the differences in definitions discussed above, most sociologists would

agree that the family:

 is a small social grouping;

 is organised around kinship (people related by blood, marriage and
adoption);
 is usually the place where much early socialisation (i.e. training and education
of children) occurs;
 usually shares a common residence;
 is often seen as a fundamental social group which constitutes the ‘building
blocks’ of society, i.e. what happens in the family can have quite profound
repercussions for wider society.

Key concepts that you should know

Nuclear family

Extended Family

Single parent family

Reconstituted family

Household

Kinship

Ethnocentrism

Genderquake

Demography

Reproductive Rights

Socialisation

Using a textbook, find out the meaning of the following:

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Polygyny

Polygamy

Polyandry

Monogamy

Serial monogamy

Bigamy