The Sociology of Family

The first 200 words of this essay...

January 2010 Ninn Goldsworthy

Sociology of Family

Defining family in Britain is problematic as until the 1960's few sociologists questioned the importance or the benefits of the family. It was assumed that the family was evolving with the changes in Britain. From the 1960's, with increasing divorce rates, living together before marriage, single parent families and one person households family traditionally seen as nuclear (based on 2 adults and children) became harder to define. Sociologists have concluded that family has become harder to define in the more traditional sense. Families of the same blood line that lived together in communities has become rare due to divorce, separation, unknown parentage and moving around the country for various reasons. A family can now consist of any group of people living together and/or bringing up children. This could separate due to divorce etc and another family created through remarriage or co habitation, with the introduction of step children or children born to the new parentage resulting in another family unit although the first one still technically exists.

George Peter Murdock (1949) claimed that family was universal. It is defined as a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and