Families in developing and pre-literate societies are extended; families in industrial societies are nuclear

The advent of industrialization has led to the gradual change in the family types of society. The older, more traditional, extended family has developed into the modern nuclear family and the reasons for this change must be discussed for one to obtain a better understanding of this transition.

The extended family is that family type where other family members such as the aunts and uncles hold almost as much responsibility in the upbringing of a child as the actual parents do, but this is not as far as the extended family goes. This family type tends to be established in developing societies due the way these societies to function. A whole community will often work together to achieve one common goal, just as a family would, a good example of this would be farming community where the years harvest will be sold and/or distributed among the whole community (or more specifically, those who helped in the sowing and reaping process). It is also found in these communities that the various families are very close knitted, therefore marriage is often arranged to increase family acreage, and the parents of the community have many children because of the of the rough work and the more people working the easier it is on the rest of the community.

The extended family discintegrated into the nuclear family with the introduction of the industrial society. The industrial society caused people to move from their rural homes and lifestyles and adopt other lifestyles away from their families. Industrial societies, though, made it easy to make this move, for here technology was at the forefront and the society provided a most appreciated change. This industrial society lacks the space for and extended family, therefore only nuclear families are practical, as most families live in apartments or two or three bedroom houses. Industrialization also does away with the need for the extended ...

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Talcott Parson argues that industrialization causes families to be structurally isolated because they do not form an integral part of the wider system of kinship relationships. The industrialized family has its’ own special role to play in the economic system of the society, it is functionally related i.e. it contributes to the integration and harmony of the social system. And it has adapted to the requirements of the social structure, the nuclear family is well fitted to relocate if the skills of one of the members of the family are needed in another area because of the weak or non-existent ties to the other members of the extended family.

William J. Goode notes that the high rate of geographical mobility in industrial society decreases the frequency and intimacy of contact among members of the kin network, meaning that because members of the extended family are living so far apart they can seldom find time to visit each other and therefore their relationships deteriorate. The relatively high level of social mobility tends to weaken kinship ties, because if and when one member of an extended family moves up in the social rank that person is likely to move away from their family and adapt to the customs and values of this new social class. The importance of achieved status in industrial societies mean that the family and kinship groups have less to offer their members, the family cannot provide its’ members with a job or provide the education and/or training necessary for them to get one whereas social status can provide such.

The status of the members of the society is achieved not ascribed whereas in a family, mainly the extended family, quite the opposite is true. The wider society relies on societies universalistic values which are values applied to all member of society whereas the family relies on particularistic values that are only applied to particular individuals. These values of course work along with the nuclear family but would cause internal family problem if used in an extended family type. Whereas particularistic values would give a father who is a labourer higher status than his son who is a doctor, universalistic values would grant the son higher status and this may cause a family dispute.

Families in industrial societies are nuclear simply because there is no other family type suited for that kind of social structure, the harmonious functioning of the family would be easily disrupted if the family type was otherwise. Whereas extended families fit in perfectly with the developing societies and nuclear families would struggle to perform the needed functions without hindrance. Let it be noted that the nuclear family in a modification of the extended family specially suited for the industrial society.

Sociology

“Families in developing and pre-literate societies are extended; families in industrial societies are nuclear”