The aim of this essay is to describe the family structures experienced by one individual and explaining the influence this has had on his or her behaviour, experiences and life chances. This essay will also include an overview of the range of family structures and roles within society, an overview of the role of the family in the socialisation process and an explanation of the sociological perspectives in relation to family life and the case study mentioned below.
‘’A group of persons directly linked by kin connections, the adult members of which assume responsibility for caring for children’’ (Giddens, 2006:206).
The family is a very important part of an individual’s life and it is where we learn the appropriate ways to behave within society. We learn our norms, values and roles at an early age and this helps us to conform to the correct ways to which society expects from us. Each family has different approaches to life and many have different values, beliefs and cultures for example going to church. The process of socialisation can have an impact on an individual’s life chances and later life experiences for example if there is alcohol abuse within the family home, children may view this as normal and adopt this behaviour in later life.
In society there is a range of family structures and roles. The family structures include lone parent family, nuclear family, extended family, reconstituted family and same sex family. The lone parent family is when the mother or father cares for their children with little or no assistance from the other parent and they often occur due to the death of a spouse or divorce. The mother’s role is to be the primary care giver and to be a role model for her children, mothers are seen to be the nurturers within the family unit as they are the ones who bonded with the child from birth. Single parent families are increasing within society and are now seen as the norm although they are still surrounded by negativity. ‘’In a poll of 1,500 single parents, half of respondents believed single parent stigma in the media had increased in the last two years’’ (Moss, 2014) The nuclear family consists of the two parents and the child or children, it is seen as the most common family structure within society today. In the nuclear family it is believed that the father is the breadwinner and source of all income and the mother is the caregiver who raises the children while doing household activities. The extended family consists of a large number of family members including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The extended family members usually live within the same household or nearby and are involved greatly in the role of supporting each other. Another family structure is the reconstituted family and this occurs when there has been a divorce and a re-marriage has taken place within the household creating a new family which can also be called ‘step families’. Lastly the same sex family is another family structure which faces a lot of negativity and stigma. This family structure involves two parents of the same sex creating a family, this may involve having or adopting children and getting married. According to (familylives.org) ‘’Same-sex parents might also be concerned about whether their children will be affected by growing up in a household of same-sex parents and what impact this might have on later life, if any’’
Charlie, Aged 50 grew up in Glasgow where he met his wife Maureen. They got married at the age of 20 and had their Daughter Stacey at the age of 22 which created a nuclear family structure. Charlie worked in the construction industry and Maureen was a stay at home mother caring for Stacey. When Stacey was aged 20, Charlie and Maureen separated due to Charlie’s alcohol abuse problems. At a young age Charlie often witnessed his father relying on alcohol to help with his problems and this may have had an impact on how Charlie views alcohol abuse as normal behaviour. Socialisation is a process we learn as children and carry on throughout our later life, the role of the family in the socialisation process is learning the norms, values and roles from our caregivers to which is appropriate in society, We then pass these on to our family in later life. If individuals do not conform to the norms of the family or society this is seen as dysfunctional and could threaten the whole of society. Primary socialisation is our foundation of social learning and it is learned within the family from birth. ‘’Socialization, therefore, is the process whereby the helpless infant gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of the culture into which she or he is born’’. (Giddens, 2001:26, 27) Secondary socialisation takes place when the individual progresses into wider social society such as nursery, school or employment. The individual learns to socialise with individuals out with the family unit therefore, is able to expand on their cultural development.
Charlie did not cope well with the separation from his wife and developed mental health issues and ended up hospitalised after a mental breakdown. With the help and support from Charlie’s community psychiatric nurse and daughter Stacey, Charlie was introduced to a project which helps those affected with various types of mental health problems. The people who attend the project are clients who suffer from severe mental health problems such as clinical depression, bi-polar disorder, personality disorder and schizophrenia and involved in the project is various activities such as horticulture, art, cooking and woodwork which is what Charlie enjoyed. Charlie was able to meet other individuals who he could relate to and share a support network. Stacey was a great help for her father and they had a close bond, she helped him with daily household tasks, helped with his finances and they spent most weekends together. Stacey had very little contact with her mother due to her mother beginning a reconstituted family which involved her re-marrying and having two more children with her new husband. Charlie enjoyed his days at the project and was known as the outgoing type who was always making everyone laugh. One day Charlie received a call which would change his life forever, his daughter Stacey had passed suddenly. Stacey’s death had a huge impact on Charlie’s life, he became withdrawn from the project and isolated himself from the other members. Charlie started to abuse alcohol again daily as he couldn’t cope at grieving for his daughter. Not only had Charlie lost his whole family unit he had to change his family role and learn to care for himself. Charlie had a dependency on his daughter Stacey in a way he was like the child and Stacey was the parent. Stacey took on the caring role within their family structure by caring for her father and supporting him with all his needs, this would be a huge change of role for Charlie. Charlie had to learn to care for himself and be more independent with daily life tasks such as organising his house and finances and focus on being able to sustain a high quality of life physically and mentally.
Sociological approaches are a tool which may help understand family structures. In relation to my case study Functionalist theory and interpretive approaches are suited to understand this. The functionalist theory is a macro-sociological approach which looks at how society as a whole operates and everyone within society has a general consensus about their roles and values. The functionalist theory includes four key features which are consensus of norms, values and roles, integration and interdependence, stability and continuity and dysfunctionality. The functionalist theory in regards to the family believes that all those involved within the family unit should conform to the norms, values and roles of the family structure and believe the main functions of the family should be social, reproductive, economic and educational. Meeting the four family functions is viewed as a positive functioning family structure which is perfect for society. The functionalist theory has an optimistic view in regards to the family and how they view family life. Family is viewed as high importance and this theory often has a one sided view in relation to the family and does not explain where the conflict takes place. With regards to the case study, when Charlie and Maureen were involved in a nuclear family with their daughter Stacey, society would have viewed this as a functional family within society as Charlie was the breadwinner and provided for his family and Maureen was seen as the nurturer and in charge of the household tasks which is seen to be the norm within the nuclear family. Functionalists view the nuclear family as a positive family life for society. Throughout the case study, Charlie begins to abuse alcohol which creates conflict within the family unit and to which would be seen as dysfunctional behaviour. When the alcohol abuse caused the breakdown of Charlie and Maureen marriage a divorce took place. Maureen moved on with a new family and had little contact with her daughter Stacey which created a single parent family for Charlie and Stacey. Single parent families are seen as dysfunctional within the family and society, Functionalists believe that having two parents involved in the upbringing of their child is the appropriate function for society and proper socialisation from both parents will take place to ensure the child’s life chances, behaviours and experiences are to a high quality.
The interpretive theory also known as the symbolic internationalist theory explains how individuals shape society and is a micro-sociological approach which focuses on the individual rather than the society as a whole. This approach looks at understanding small scale interactions and how people behave towards each other on a day to day basis. There are four key features involved in this approach which are the idea of the self-concept, the significance of symbols and labels in social interaction, the concept of role-taking and the individual as an influence on society. In relation to the family, the interpretive theory looks at studying actions of an individual and the meanings attached to family structure. Children learn roles and values from interaction and upbringing from their care givers or other family members to which they look up to, this could be either positive or negative learned behaviour. Through the process of socialisation the family teaches the children what symbols mean and the appropriate way to use them. Labels can be positive or negative for example ‘child or parent’, and people have expectations of someone’s behaviours based on the labels they are given. If individuals are labelled negatively they are likely to conform to these expectations. Within society we play certain roles to which is appropriate for society and we receive our self-concept from the feedback we receive during social interactions and in relation to what role we may have in composed .With regards to the case study, this approach highlights the concept of role taking as it describes the caring role that Stacey had towards her father. When Stacey had passed this theory also highlights the switch in roles as Charlie had to learn to be independent and care for himself. Labelling is involved greatly within the case study as many negative labels may be attached to Charlie as he suffers from mental health problems. People may view Charlie as a burden to society as they feel he may not contribute to a great extent and he may suffer greatly at the hands of discrimination when it comes to employment. Individuals who suffer mental health problems face a lot of stigma within society and this may affect Charlie’s self-concept and the way he feels he is viewed by others. If an individual’s self-concept is affected this may have an impact on the persons confidence or self-esteem which may develop depression or isolation within society.