FAMILY

The family is one of the societys most

basic institution. The family plays a
critical part in the socialization of every
child.

It can be defined as two or more persons

related by blood, marriage or adoption
who often live together in the same
household.

It is an institution that produces, raises

and socializes the next generation.
 Functions:
1. Reproduction
Mans biological nature is a basic factor in
the formation of the family.
Most societies limit sexual expression to sex in
marriage.
Another factor that encourages the formation of
stable families is the help and protection
needed by woman during and after pregnancy.

2. Child Rearing
The family gives the children the initial
status in the community.
The family also functions as the chief agent of
cultural transmission during the early years
of life.
3. Economic Functions
The family is the main unit of
consumption but production goes
on largely outside the home.

4. Emotional Satisfaction
The family has become the
chief source of emotional security,
affection and acceptance.
 Family Form
Kinships is a cluster of social relations
based on a number of factors. Within the
general framework of kinship, there are two
main types of family structure.

1. The Nuclear Family

This consists of a husband, wife and
dependent children.
2. The Extended Family
This includes the nuclear family, and
many of its biological and legal relatives such
as grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts
and cousins.
The Filipino family is an example of extended
 Authority Patterns
1. Patriarchal Family System
The authority is vested in the father,
grandfather and some men in the family.

2. Matriarchal Family System

The authority is vested in the wife and
mother.

3. Egalitarian Family System

The authority and power are equally
divided between husband and wife.
 The Social Influence on Mate
Selection
The regulation of sexual behavior is the primary function of the
family.

In all cultures the family exerts some influence on the choice of a

mate.

Exogamy
It requires one to select a partner from another group. This
refers to the practice of marrying outside of ones group.
Exogamy is found in every society.
2. Endogamy

It requires one to marry a member of the

same group. For

Example, it is considered appropriate for

people to marry

Someone with similar ethnic, religious and

educational
background.
3. Incest Prohibition

It forbids marriage or sexual relations between

persons believed to have a close biological
relationships.

However, marriage between bothers and sisters was

not banned among the royal family of ancient
Egypt.
 Marriage Forms
A certain amount of illicit sexual behavior is
tolerated by most societies, but it rarely receives
explicit approval. Several codes of rules and
forms are followed by societies. Such forms are:

1. Monogamy
Marriage of one man to one woman.
2. Polygamy
Marriage of one person to more than one person of
the opposite sex.
a. Polygyny marriage of one man to several
women.
b. Polyandry marriage of one woman to several
men.

3. Group Marriage
Marriage of several men to several women.
 Residence Patterns
Societies have different views regarding
where newly-married couples expected to live.

1. Patrilocal Residence
The bride leaves her family to live with
her husband in or near his parents home; a
common thing among brides from the rural
brides. The bride is often under the authority
of her spouses mother.

2. Matrilocal Residence
A newly-married couple lives with or near
the brides family.

*Neolocal residence is linked with monogamy,

individualism, and equal economic roles for
men and women.
 Descent and Inheritance
Systems for tracing descent and handing down
property are of three types.

1. Patrilinear Descent
This is the most common type; kinship is traced
through the male line. The key ties are between father,
son and grandson.

2. Matrilinear Descent
The kinship is traced through the female line. A
mothers possessions became the property of her daughter
and a family receives much of its support from the wifes
brother.
 3. Bilateral Descent
The kinship is traced through the
biological relatives of both father and
mother.
The problem of this is that the size of the
kinship group and number of obligations to
relatives can become burdensome.
 What are the causes of parent-child conflict:

Some issues for discussion in small

groups:
1. Generation/communication gap;
2. Changes in society affecting the
relationship;
3. Economic issues;
4. Choice of peers, education, lifestyles;
 Parent Child Interaction
Youngsters have always been at
odds with their parents regarding a
very wide range of issues. For example,
the parent and child argue about how
late the children should stay up at
night.
According to sociologists, this conflict
cannot really be avoided because of the
generation gap which was specifically
wide during the 1960s. The
generation gap serves as a barrier
between the youngster and the parent.
 Despite the expectation of conflict
between generations, the most striking
feature the researchers have is the
persisting high level of agreement
between children and their parents.
Most of the time, both agree with each
other when discussing certain things.

For example, the college age children

agree with their folks on issues such as
campus unrest, war, etc. Young men
tend to disagree with their father more
than young women do. Disagreement is
also more likely between working
class fathers and their college age
offspring.
 Disagreement is also more likely between
working class fathers and their college age
offspring. Fathers with advanced degrees
often disagree with his children. However,
agreement is much more common than
disagreement.

Definitely, the parent child relationship

merely depends on how they interact with
each other. The parent must learn to listen
and understand the childs view, the child
likewise should try to understand the
parents side.
.
 Finally, sociologists found out that
adolescents raised in families, where
parents have equal influence tend to
adopt their parents values, ideals and
opinions.

This does not occur in families in which

power is vested mainly in one parent,
especially if the parent is the mother.
 Alternatives to the Family
We all know that single-parent families are a major shift away
from the ideal family form. Despite of it, they still provide a setting
for intimate relations. On the other hand, the sudden increase of the
single-parent families does not pose a great challenge to the family as
an institution as compared to the growing popularity of various
alternatives to the family. These alternatives include living together
without being married and living in commune.

1. Living Together
In recent years, there has been news about the number of
young, middle-aged and elderly couples living together without being
married.
 Most non-marital pairings produce no off-spring. Moreover, they
become the challenge to the familys monopoly over the intimate
adult bonds. The legal aspect of these relationship is of special
concern, since there is no law governing them.
In most respects, non-marital couples resemble those who are
married. A recent study has shown that married and non-married
couples have similar goals, attitudes and values. Hence, non-marital
couples tend to score lower in religiousity and attend church less than
the married couples.

2. Communal Living
The best known of these is the communal living.
 The communal movement started in the 1960s as part of a
general protest against an existing order. There were lots of people
who chose the communal living for they believed that the traditional
family was unstable and inefficient. They felt that it only pressures its
members and limits their potential. Usually, the communes were set
up by number of adults, some of whom were offsprings of those
adults. However, marriage and biological relationships did not
dominate commune life.

The commune movement still has members from the ranks of

those who are dissatisfied with family life. Hence, individuals also
get some benefits from this kind of living.
a. They saw social support something they did not receive from
their family as the most important thing provided by their
communes.
b. They tend to save more, resulting from shared resources and
reduced domination of females by males.

On the other hand, this study shows that under this kind of
living, women continue to do female tasks such as cooking and
cleaning. Also, men still perform male tasks such as yard work,
vehicle maintenance, and household repairs.

Some sociologists find similarities between the communal way

of living and the extended kinship groups of the lower and working
class.
a. Both the working class and commune children have many female
and male role models.
b. Single women in commune, like their lower class counterparts,
turn to their kin for support and love.
c. Motherhood on lower class families, oftentimes, has greater
effect in establishing a female commune members identity than a
relationship with a male member.
d. Commune members often speak of disagreements over economic
matters.
e. The complaints of commune members also tend to echo the
complaints of lower class families.