1010A - WEEK 2: What is Family

Social Institution (how sociologists define family)

A structure of relationships that organizes social behaviour around a central activity or social need. Fulfills certain functions such as reproduction, socialization, and sexual regulation

What does the term ‘family’ mean?

Family does not have a universal definition; it varies based on the individual who is defining it

Household

People who occupy the same dwelling can consist of one or more families, a single person, or a group of related or unrelated people

Household vs. Family

Not all households are families — not all households fulfills certain functions

Communal Living

A group of people who may or may not be related by birth or marriage, sharing financial resources and living arrangements

Cohousing

Neighbourhoods that combine private dwellings with shared resources and community living - have shared amenities: kitchen, dining room, playroom, laundry

Why are legal definitions important?

They impact social policies (ex., parental leave), crucial to remember that they often reflect dominant culture

Census Family

Coined by Statistics Canada

• Defined as a married couple and the children (if any) who occupy the same dwelling

Correctional Service of Canada

Members who can participate in the Private Family Visiting Program: spouse, common-law partner, children, parents, foster parents, siblings, grandparents, and persons with close famililal bond

Air Canada

Vanier Institute of the Famil

Ontario Human Rights Commission

Nuclear family or Standard North American Family (SNAF)

A family consisting of a husband, a wife, and their children

SNAF

Defined as a family form based on a breadwinner father and a homemaker mother raising their children (coincides with the traditional family values)

Family of Orientation

The family that you are born and raised in

Family of Procreation

The family that you form through marriage or cohabitation, and which you raise your children

Heteronormative

A worldview that presumes that heterosexuality is the normal or preferred sexual orientation

Extended family

The nuclear family and all other relatives

Kinship

A set of social relations based on blood, marriage, and other social connections

Intentional (chosen) families

The members, though not related by blood or marriage, call themselves a family and may share residence, finances, and a common lifestyle

Relationships of interdependence

Relationships outside marriage in which two people share each other’s lives, have emotional commitment, and function as an economic and domestic unit

Structural Functionalist Theory

Views the family as an institution among other social institutions that have an important function in society.

What are the five basic functions of the family (structural functionalist)

Reproduction, socialization, social placement, economic support, and emotional support

Monolithic bias

The tendency to treat all families the same

Evaluation of Structural Functionalist Theory

• It explains how the family relates to and contributes to society as a whole. Emphasizes family strengths

• Ignores other family structures and topics: family violence, sexual abuse or views them as dysfunctions

Conflict Theory

Macro perspective that focuses on family and its relationship with society, through power relationships and inequality

• How social structures can benefit some families and discriminate against others

Social Capital

Resources or advantages that are gained through social networks.

Cultural capital

Social assets of a person that promote social mobility - education, accent, mannerisms, and dress

Evaluation of Conflict Theory

• Explains why families and societies change in the balance of power

• Fails to explain the families’ contribution to society or why society’s norms and values change slowly

Symbolic Interactionism

Micro perspective, which explains how individuals create a sense of self through the interactions and interpretations of other family members

Role-taking

Putting oneself in another’s place

Role conflict

A person is forced to choose between the competing demands of multiple roles ex., mothers/fathers

Role strain

A sense of discomfort or tension felt by one who has difficulty meeting role expectations. ex., parents who cannot pay full attention to their children

Boundaries

Imaginary lines marking who belongs to a system

The systems theory

How families interact at an individual level, but views all interactions as a apart of a system

Evaluation of Family Systems Theory

• Ability to account for the impact of the behaviour of one individual on all members of the family

• Overlooks the experiences of the individual, lack of reference to important social factors

Patriarchy

A social system based on the power and authority of men

Gender Socialization

The process by which individuals learn the socially defined behaviours for males and females

Feminist theory

• Looks at macro and micro perspectives

• This theory focuses on the idea that the family is built off of patriarchy

Ecological theory

• Relationship between family and society by Uri Bronfenbrenner

• It is the idea that families are part of interlocking systems that influence each other at five levels

Microsystems

Small groups in which people interact face-to-face

Mesosystem

The relationships between two or more microsystems

Exosystem

Institutions/organizations that individuals do not take an active part in, but it affects them through the mesosystem or microsystem

Macrosystem

Society’s ideology and culture

Chronosystem

Includes the dimension of time as it relates to the social environment

Developmental tasks

Tasks that an individual or family is expected to achieve at a particular stage in development

Social time clock

Socially approvable timetable for life events

Quantitative research

Collecting data in the form of numbers and statistics

Qualitative research

Verbal descriptions of behaviour from reports, observations, and analysis of patterns

Survey

A method of research that involves getting information from many individuals

Experiment

Changing conditions deliberately and observing any changes in behaviour that result

Interview

A research method in which the interviewer asks questions face-to-face

Focus group

A research method in which group members discuss a particular issue

Naturalistic Observation

The research method in which the researcher watches and records behaviour