Understanding the Family (Sociology)

CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILY A fundamental social institution that has existed throughout history is the family. A family is just a social unit made up of a husband, a wife, and their offspring. The word "family" comes from the Latin word "famulus," which means "servant." Families are made up of individuals who are linked by marriage and blood ties and are defined by their sexual relationships. Family is both a biological and a social unit. Below is a list of how various sociologists conceptualise families.  Nimcoff define s “family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife with or without children, or of a man or women alone with children.”  MacIver defined “family is a group defined by sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.” Characteristics of Family Family is a basic social institution it has certain characteristics which are given below 1. Universality: Family is a universal institution in society. Family has existed in every age and in every society and is found in all parts of the world. No culture or society has ever existed without some form of family organization. 2. Emotional basis: Family is a fundamental unit of human society. It is based on certain emotions like care, love, sharing, recognition etc. 3. Limited size: Family is a group constituted by a limited number of people. It is a group based on biological condition. 4. Formative influence: Family helps to form certain qualities like personality, socialization etc. The family exercises the most profound influence over its members. It moulds character of individuals. Family influences individual from childhood onwards. 5. Nuclear position: The family is the nucleus of all other social groups. Marriage, parental obligations, siblings and secondary institutions etc are included in family. The whole social structure is built of family units. 6. Responsibility of the members: Family is not merely a temporary collection of people, it is a functional group. Family is group constituted on the basis of marriage. Parents and children have certain mutual responsibilities. Each and every member has responsibilities for the maintenance of family as a primary institution. 7. Social regulation: Social regulation means the control of society over individuals for regulating behaviour. Family is guarded by social customs and legal regulations. It imposes certain regulations over members to control the behavior of individuals. 8. Permanent and temporary: Family as an institution is permanent and universal, while as an association it is temporary and transitional. A fundamental institution of society is the family. It has some unique qualities as an institution, some of which are listed above. The nature of families demonstrates their inevitable place in society. Functions of Family A family is a small social group made up of a husband, a wife, and their kids. Families share traits including universality, nuclear position, social control, emotional foundation, and small size. According to sociologists, families serve specific purposes in keeping society functioning. Wellknown sociologists MacIver, Ogburn, and Nimcoff conceptualised the roles that families play. The crucial roles that families play are listed below; 1. Affection 2. Recreational 3. Religious 4. Educational 5. Economic 1. Affection Function: Family is a social group based on emotions like love, sympathy, caring etc,. Man has physical and mental needs, which are satisfied in family. Parents love their children. The love of parents discloses the caring, recognition, and mutual sharing of feelings towards children. Through fulfilling the affection function child become very responsible in society and they can develop good personality. 2. Recreation function: It is the second most important function of family. In case of joint or extended families, the responsibility of children is not vested in parents alone. Grandparents, father’s brothers, sister etc. also take care of children. The recreation (entertainment) chances like playing, storytelling, sharing the experiences etc are fulfilled in families so the families fulfill recreational functions. 3. Religious: Religion is a social institution. Children get primary ideas about religion from family. Family has major role to shape the religious beliefs of children. Religion is an agency of social control. It helps to control the behavior of children. 4. Educational: Educational function of family means the socialization of children. Socialization simply means learning the social roles from family in early years of life. Family is the first school and parents are the first teachers of children. The first units of life like recognition, love, caring etc are studying children from family. 5. Economic: Economic function means the primary function of family like food, clothing, shelter etc. Family is a social unit at the same time it is an economic unit. Family fulfills the economic function of its members. Even if the family is changing in both structure and nature, it still functions as a fundamental institution in society. According to sociologists, the family's roles have evolved over time, particularly as they have been transferred to secondary agencies. For example, daycare centres now serve the attachment role of the family, while parks and other play areas now serve the recreational role. Types of Family Family is a necessary institution of society that contributes to its ongoing stability. The family is conceptualised differently by various sociologists. Families are classified according to their traits, hierarchical structures, patterns of habitation, lineage or descent, etc. Below, a few crucial categories are briefly defined; Classification on the basis of characteristics 1. Joint family 2. Extended family 3. Nuclear family Classification on the basis of authority structure 1. Patriarchal family 2. Matriarchal family Classification on the basis of pattern of residence 1. Patrilocal family 2. Matrilocal family 3. Neolocal family Classification based on lineage or descent 1. Patrilineal family 2. Matrilineal family Classification Based on Characteristics 1. Joint family: An early form of family in Indian society was the joint family. The joint family structure in India refers to the extended family that includes grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles in addition to the husband, wife, and their offspring. Large size, shared property, a common place to live, rights and obligations amongst family members, a productive unit, a traditional occupation, etc. are some of the key characteristics of a joint family structure. A renowned Indian sociologist named Irawati Karve defined a joint family as "a group of people who typically live under one roof, eat food prepared at one hearth, hold property in common, participate in common worship, and are related to one another as some particular type of kindred." The joint family system is destroyed by societal trends like urbanisation, industry, the expansion of modern education, etc. 2. Extended family: It is a type of family commonly found in early and present society. Extended family constituted is by husband, wife their children and either the parents of husband or wife. 3. Nuclear Family: It is type of family commonly found in modern industrial society. The nuclear family constituted by husband, wife with or without children (unmarried). Classification Based on Authority Structure 1. Patriarchal family: It is the division of families according to their hierarchical structures. The words pater and archy combine to form the word patriarchy. The Latin term pater, which refers to a father, particularly a male father, is among them. In a patriarchal family, whether it is a nuclear, blended, or extended family, a male member is in charge. This kind of family was widespread in both ancient and modern countries. 2. Matriarchal family: This is a different kind of family categorised according to the hierarchy of authority. The clearest example of this form of family is the Nair community in Kerala, where the mother or another female member holds the reins of leadership. However, there are significant inconsistencies in the history of matriarchal households in Kerala, and some theorists believe that a woman just has nominal control over the family and that all choices are made by the male members. Classification Based on Pattern of Residence 1. Patrilocal family: In this type family, after the marriage woman lives with her husband and his parents, it is a common and existing type of family system. 2. Matrilocal family: Matrilocal families are constituted by husband and wife living within wife’s family. Matriarchal families commonly following this type pattern of residence system 3. Neo local family: The term neo means new. In this type families, the husband and wife living in a new space. This type family is commonly found in modern industrial societies. Classification Based on Lineage or Descent 1. Patrilineal family: In this type family the lineage is passes through father or a male member. The patriarchal and patrilocal families are following this type lineage system. 2. Matrilineal family: In matrilineal family the lineage passes through mother of a female member. The matriarchal and matrilocal families following this type lineage system.