The paper deals with the change that the concept of family has witnessed in last four decades. It focuses on that fact that nuclear families have disintegrated over a period of time. Today, the traditional nuclear family structure seems to belong to the past. The concept of nuclear family came into existence in the 17th century but the term came into existence only in 1924 as depicted by the references found in the Oxford dictionary. In its most common usage, the term “nuclear family” refers to a household consisting of a father and a mother brought together by the legal marriage and their children and the unit is capable of supporting itself. In 20th century, particularly after the World War II and industrialization, the concept of nuclear family gained popularity as it made the nuclear families economically independent. The government-guaranteed mortgages by U.S.
government encouraged the concept of nuclear families. It enabled nuclear families to own their houses. The new focus on nuclear families signified disintegration of families. As the bonds between individuals and wider kin networks weakened and even dissolved, people gradually began to seek meaning through more self-oriented goals and values, particularly those realized through spousal relationships (Cherlin, 1992).
In the last four decades, the number of nuclear families has witnessed a sharp decline. The postwar retreat into the nuclear family marked the progressive development of individualism because it was a step away from group-oriented family life.
The Essay on Family Diversity Families Nuclear Britain
In modern Britain post WWII, the amount of the diverse families has grown due to changes over time. The invention of the pill, allowing both men and women to file for divorce without having to prove adultery and even religion not playing such an important part in peoples lives meant that changes in the family structure became more acceptable. Before this time it was the norm to be a part of a ...
As the bonds between individuals and wider kin networks weakened and even dissolved, people gradually began to seek meaning through more self-oriented goals and values (Cherlin, 1992).
Abstract The rise in divorce rate, single parenting, and cohabitation has led to nuclear families becoming a phenomenon of the past. These changes are more evident in the present generation of America, as suggested by the latest reports. The previous generations of America believed that the blueprint of happiness lies in nuclear families and marriage and parenthood are important milestones of adulthood. (Amy Benfer, 2001) The enormous, prominent gap between the American thought about nuclear family and the deed became visible when the census figures reflected that the percentage of American families has dropped below 25%. The percentage of nuclear families in American populations had reached its peak in 1960s when it touched 45%.
The figures raise an alarm in many minds as it will impact the family values. The steep rise in single-parent families and couples choosing to not get married but still opting to have families pose a serious threat to the concept and family and the conservationist group. For their faith in family and emphasis on commitment relationships and involvement of both the parents in raising the children, the conservationists today find support in many circles of society as well as in the White House. In fact, these proponents of the family, who believed and propagated the absolute authority of God, now propagate the relative authority of social science in perseverance to preserve the nuclear families. Over a period of time, the Americans have redefined the concept of American family. Today, almost 26% of Americans live alone. The figure is higher than the figure of people living in nuclear families (25%).
The couples living together outside wedlock comprises 9% of the families. Similarly, the number of single-fathers has increased from one percent in 1990 to two percent in 2000. Looking at the figures, a spokesperson for the conservative Family Research Council insisted that “this data shows we need to regain the importance of marriage as a social institution. People are disregarding the importance of marriage and the importance of having a mother and father who are married.”(Benfer, 2001) In spite of the census figures, research by Ian Procter, a senior lecturer in sociology from Warwick University presents a totally different picture. “People have been harking back to the golden age of the family ever since Shakespeare,” says Procter. “The traditional family is still what a lot of people, particularly women, aspire to today.” Procter’s research, including interviews with 78 women aged 18 to 27 for his book, Young Adult Women Living a Contradiction, found that for many, bringing up a child alone was anathema. “They want their one man and they want to stay with him – although they are quite realistic about the prospects of that,” he says.
The Essay on Gay Marriage: Social Calamity or Long Overdue?
Abstract There is growing attention to the issue of marriage equality for gay people in this country. As of the writing of this paper, 16 of the 50 states in the United States of America have legalized gay marriage, either by legislation or by popular vote (Wisniewski, 2013). The discourse regarding the issue becomes quite contentious largely because of non-secular ideology that has demonized the ...
(Alison Utley, 1997) Some social groups attribute decreasing number of nuclear families to the changing life cycles. According to Kirk Johnson, a senior policy analyst at the conservative think tank, “The nuclear family is not necessarily a minority. You have to take into consideration people’s life cycles. People between the ages of, say, 40 and 60 may not be living with their children in the house, but they may have lived in a nuclear family at some point during their lifetimes.” (Alison Utley, 1997) According to Cherlin, the disintegration of nuclear family may be attributed to the general economic expansion that created a large job market for women. More and more women began delaying marriage as their jobs demanded more labor. Economic independence of women gave rise to individually-centered values and eventually led to the instability of marriage.
Changes in social standards and economic independence meant that people no longer the need to continue with unhappy marriages. It gave rise to divorce rates and further delay in marriages and cohabitation. The view is supported by Becker. According to Becker, the single most important factor underlying social transformation related to lower fertility, divorce, and cohabitation has been the rise in the earning power of women. Conclusion In conclusion, it may be inferred that as a result of social changes, economic independence of women, and changing life styles have contributed largely to the disintegration of the families. The concept that existed thousands of years ago as a unit consisting of father, mother, and children is fast being replaced by single parent families, cohabitation, and even single fathers.
The Essay on Cohabitation Before Marriage
The practice of cohabitating before marriage is becoming increasingly common in our society, especially among the youth. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this. Many people wonder whether or not they should live together before getting married. There are many different views when it comes to this question and some of them lie in religion, ethics or realism. ...
References Nuclear family meltdown? 26 September 1997 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?st oryCode=103843§ioncode=26 The nuclear family takes a hit, By Amy Benfer, June 7, 2001 http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/06/07/fa mily_values/print.html Nuclear family, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family Cohabitation Reasons For Cohabitation http://family.jrank.org/pages/275/Cohabitation-Rea sons-Cohabitation.html.
