Family Concepts PDF

FAMILY It is a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another.  THE FAMILY Introduction o Every person in the world is a member of the family group. o The family is a sm...

FAMILY It is a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another.  THE FAMILY Introduction o Every person in the world is a member of the family group. o The family is a small primary group that plays a key role in the socialization process. o The family is responsible for socialization and personality development. o The family is considered a cultural universal.  Because it has existed in every culture throughout history.  THE FAMILY It is in the family that there are standards or expected ways of reproducing the next generation and caring and rearing children.  However there are specific arrangements that have been put in place to fulfil these basic functions. For example: the kindergarten, (education) has taken up most of the child rearing and personality development function.  THE FAMILY o The family is that human group responsible for socializing and raising the young. o The traditional definition: family is composed of parents and children. o The family is unique from other social institutions because it is both a social and a biological unit o Household is all persons occupying a housing unit such as a house, or any living arrangement in which separate living quarters are maintained (US Bureau of Census). Does this fit rural households in Botswana? o Households may include the following types:  one person household.  two or more people who are not related by marriage or kinship but share the same living quarters.  Functions of the family The family performs six functions: 1. Replacement of members through sexual reproduction.  However there have been medical technological advancements, genetic research in the reproduction process. There are test tube babies, and surrogate mothers. The womb may not necessarily be a sacred place where the foetus is conceived and grow  Functions of the family 2. Regulation of sexual behaviour.  It is in the family that norms governing regulation of sexual behaviour/relationships are expressed.  These sexual behaviours are determined by prescriptive and Proscriptive norms of the society.  Most societies consider sexual relations between husband and wife as a proper and socially accepted practice.  Adultery and premarital sex are not considered proper. (how far practical is this in modern societies?)  Functions of the family 3. Economic function.  In most rural societies, the family is the sole economic unit. o The family provides food, goods and services necessary for survival are produced. o Its also in the family that the well-being of dependents are provided for.  In most urban societies, the economic function has been taken over by other institutions. o Goods and services are produced by businesses and factories. o Governments and NGOs have assumed a large part of the responsibility for the welfare of dependents. o Husbands and wives work, receive wages. o They purchase goods and services necessary for daily living o Then the urban family is more of a consumer more than a producer. 4. Ascription of status.  Ascribed status is defined as status that is assigned on the basis of inheritance, birth and physical characteristics over which the individual has no control. Achieved status is defined as status earned by the individual’s own effort. o In some societies, social class standing is inherited (chieftainship in Botswana or the Monarchy in Swaziland and Britain). That is one’s social ranking is determined the social standing of the family into which one is born. o Social mobility of children from lower class parents is usually less likely than that of the upper class parents because: the relative wealth and income of parents affect the opportunities available to the offspring.  Family background would determine where their offspring go to school, who they know (network) and their inherited wealth.  In developed countries, research has shown that ascription of status is important in selecting farming as an occupation. For example: o Only sons and daughters of farmers in the USA have strong aspiration for farming. (why?) Issues of socialization. The high capital costs of entering farming and the uncertainty of farm prices discourage many youth to join farming. The Young Farmers Funds was aimed at reversing this 5. Socialization of the young.  In developed societies, the family shares the function of socialization with other institutions such as:  The schools,  peer group  mass media  As a result social scientists argue that the family has lost its supremacy as an agent of socializing kids. This is so because:  The amount of time the working family spend with children is getting less and less. (how far true of working class families in Botswana?).  Families would passively watch Television without taking an active role in conversations.  In contemporary developed societies, socialization is the shared responsibility of several institutions. o However, the culture (values, norms, beliefs and attitudes) they transmit may not be compatible with those of the family. o Usually what is transmitted by the family (as well as education and religious agencies) is in conflict with what is transmitted by the peer group or mass media. o What is proscribed by the adult culture is usually prescribed by the peer culture.  the family Concept's  This section deals with how the concept of the family can be expressed in different societies. They include:  Family composition  Marriage patterns  Lineage  Residence and  Authority  1. Family composition The following types of composition of the family exist in different societies.  The Nuclear (core) family: This is the basic unit of the family.  It includes only the parents and unmarried children. Unlike the conjugal family, it does not include the aged relatives or married children.  Family composition…  The conjugal Family  Members of the family are related by marriage, blood or some legal form of adoption.  It is similar to the nuclear family  It consists of one or more generations.  Single parent family.  Composed of the parent with one or more children.  These may be in the form of female or male headed family. ?Which type is common in Botswana? Why?  Compound /Blended family.  The family whereby children are not related by blood to one of the parents.  Compound families are a result of divorce or death of spouse and remarriage.  Extended family  They consist of the parents (husband and wife) and off-springs and additional members such as uncles, aunts, grand-parents etc.  Members of the extended family may share the same residence, eg.  2. Marriage Patterns Marriage patterns can be of the following types:  Monogamous - where one woman is married to one man.  Polygamous - where multiple marriage partners are involved. Polygamous marriages can be of the following types:  Polygyny: where one man is married to two or more women.  Polyandry: Where one woman is married to two or more men. However:  With either polyandry or polygyny, an excess number of adults would occur.  This excess number of adults would lead to the practice of infanticide in some societies.  Infanticide has been abolished.  Group marriage: Where several men and women are married without a consistent pairing up. There are norms that govern marriage patterns in societies. 1. Incest Taboo: This prohibits marriage or sexual intercourse between certain relatives. 2. Endogamy: Marriages where eligible partners are limited to persons inside a specified group or tribe. 3. Exogamy: Marriages that occur across religious, racial or social class lines.  3. Lineage Lineage specify how the line of descent are traced within the family and how kinship or relations are defined.  Matrilineal family The line of descent is traced through the mother. Kinship ties from the father is ignored  Patrilineal Family  Line of descent is traced only through the father.  Bilateral family  Line of descent is traced through both parents  4. Residence There are different cultures that dictate where the newly wed couples should reside:  Matrilocal: The couple stays with the parents of the bride.  Patrilocal:  The newly wed couple stays with the grooms parents.  Neolocal:  Where the couple set up a separate residence and live without any of the parents.  5. Authority Families can also differ according to the family authority.  Patriarchal family:  The father is head of family in terms of decision making.  Matriarchal family:  The mother is the head of the family and makes decisions.  Equalitarian family:  The mother and father share decision making in the family.  6. Stages of family life The set of predictable steps and patterns families experience over time is referred to as the family life cycle. Paul Glick, asserted that most people will grow up, establish families, rear and launch their children, experience an “empty nest” period, and come to the end of their lives.  The family life cycle has been elaborated by developing classic stages of family which describe the phases a family goes through. Each stage has its own structure with different challenges, achievements, and accomplishments that transition the family from one stage to the next. The success of a family is measured by how well they adapt to these challenges and transition into each stage  Stages of family life Stag Family Type Age of Children (yrs) e 1 Marriage Family Childless 2 Procreation 0 – 2.5 Family 3 Pre-Schooling 2.5 - 6 Family 4 School Age 6 – 13 Family 5 Teenage Family 13 - 20 6 Launching Children begin to leave family Family home  family life cycle has been used by consumer and marketing researchers to study the dynamics of family overtime to determine what goods and services families need as they progress through each stage Any thoughts on how the cycle can be used in agriculture and related fields?