However, it is suggested that the nuclear family defined by Murdock is not universal by sociologists such as Gonzalez’s new world black families (NWBF) -because it does not contain an adult of both sexes- and Kathleen Gough. Gonzalez referred to NWBF’s as matrifocal families where women were supported economically by their mother as the father was usually absent. This suggests that the nuclear family does not infact need a father, only a mother, supporting the family economically which does not fit to Murdock’s definition. Her claims can be seen as reliable because in one area she studied 40% of Black-Afro-Caribbean families that were matrifocal. Gough concluded from her study of the Nayar tribe in India that the basic nuclear family unit is a woman and her children. I think this shows that though Murdock’s idea of a nuclear family may not be universal, other forms of a defined nuclear family are, as its functions can be performed in different states. From both Gonzalez’ and Gough’s studies it is strongly suggested that the nuclear family is essentially just a woman and her children, and that the exception to this is having a father figure, rather than the father not being there being an exception to the nuclear family.
Parson also saw the nuclear family as universal, but with two main functions; primary socialisation and the stabilising of the adult personality. Primary socialisation is where individuals learn the basic norms beliefs and values of society at an early age and the stabilising of the adult personality mainly focuses on marriage which provides emotional support from the stresses of daily life. William J. Goode agreed with Parsons saying that there was a universal trend towards the Western model of the nuclear family and that it was an integral part of the global expansion of the industrialization. However, this view idealises the family and ignores the fact that there are dysfunctional families, more of which lack Parson’s idea of the ‘stabilised adult personality’ such as lone parent families which are becoming more and more common, especially in Britain. Wallerstein, in a study that took 25 years to complete, found that adult children of divorced parents were found to be less likely to marry, more likely to divorce, and more likely to have children out of wedlock and to use drugs. Divorce is one aspect of the ‘perfect’ family Parson fails to portray as being universal, but there are also things such as ethnicity, different social class etc that he lacks. So in this case I would not say the family is universal as it has innumerable variants.
I think that the nuclear family is universal but is hard to define because of such varied cultures across the world. However I think it is universal in the way that all nuclear families involve primary socialisation, teaching the norms, values and beliefs of society to those at an early age. Also I think that the term ‘family’ is culturally, socially and historically determined and so it is almost impossible for it to be universal. But I agree with Gittions that relationships are universal, along with their attachments such as co-residence, intimacy and emotional bonds but that these can take infinitely varied forms.
