This essay will discuss and analyze the concept of the family from a sociological perspective. Families are the foundation of all societies. They can be formed by father-mother-children combination or even more complicated combination of aunt-cousin-grand relatives along with father and mother. In the primary stage of family life in the United States everyone from every generation lived together in one or two houses. Those were the multigenerational families. After that, the idea of traditional family evolved. Married couple with children is often called traditional families. "The family is a social institution that unites people in cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and raising of children." (Macionis P.336) Family scholars Bubolz and Sontag have their own definition of family:
[...] What is usually seen as a family crisis is really a larger social crisis that requires a broader social response. Today's families are troubled and having hard time responding creatively to the on-going trend but they are not falling apart. Families are in the middle of an evolution. Some changes have been good, others bad, and still others both good and bad. But given the breadth and depth of changes in family life, the changes both for the better and the worse have been disruptive. [...]
[...] Another substantial change that put a huge dent on the traditional family is homosexuality. Homosexuals are coming out with full force not only to be recognized as married couples, but also to form families by adopting children. Working Families: Working families are those where one of the spouses or both spouses work full-time or part-time. In the past husband was the breadwinner to the families. But situation has been changing by the increasing number of families where both husband and wife work. [...]
[...] A comparison between the United States and other countries shows that there are many complex, alternative views of the family that exist in the world. Family changes have not been caused by moral decay, but specific demographic, economic, and social changes. Technological innovations and greater commercial opportunities have undermined community control and fostered individualism. Contemporary society often demands highly mobile groups of workers who will go where the jobs are. The desire to maximize economic opportunities and the concern for individual advancement often takes precedence over interest in extended family ties and obligations. [...]
[...] Families in which both parents work or only the mother work has raised questions concerning negative consequences of work on their children. In some cases, researchers have found negative impact on the bond with children. But it is more likely to happen when children receive inferior care, stay extraordinarily long hours with childcare provider, and frequent changes in childcare schedule. In general, with some exceptions, employed parents are not rejecting or endorsing traditional family structure, rather, they simply yearn for a less stressful life. [...]
[...] But long-term outcomes depend on the custodial parent's success in creating a stable and child-friendly environment and limiting further conflict with the non-custodial parent. It is encouraging that a lower proportion of children from divorced families are exhibiting problems than in earlier decades. Another reason for increase in single parent families is childbearing by teenagers-a fact referred to as 'babies having babies'. Although the rate of teenage pregnancy in the United States has been declining it remains the highest in the developed world. [...]
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