The family plays a special role in the entire history of human society. And, in addition, it acts as an important element of the socio-demographic structure of society. In the process of development of human society, it became the first social group, community, and one of the first social institutions. It is the family that first of all reproduces a person as a biological being, and also forms him into a personality, a citizen.
SOCIOLOGY OF THE FAMILY is a field of sociology that studies the formation, development and functioning of the family, marriage and family relations in specific socio-cultural and socio-economic relations.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF FAMILY SOCIOLOGY:
Marriage- a historically changing social form of relations between a woman and a man, through which society orders and sanctions them sex life and establishes their marital and parental responsibilities.
Family is a social institution (from the point of view of social sanctioning of marriage and family relations) and at the same time a social group with a historically defined organization, whose members are connected by marriage or kinship relations, a common life and mutual moral responsibility, the social necessity of which is determined by the need of society for physical and spiritual reproduction of the population.
The family as a social group (along with others existing in society: such as classes, social strata, professional and settlement groups) has a number of specific features. The main ones include the following:
The family is a small social group, therefore, it has a specific structure of power, communications, and finally, a role structure;
The family is formed and functions on the principles of kinship, so its composition is quite stable and stable;
The family is the most important element of the social structure of society, which primarily reflects the class, national and other social characteristics of this structure.
The family as a social institution is a system of actions and relationships that performs the social functions of human production and reproduction, subject to social control, primarily a system of positive and negative sanctions. To analyze the family as a social institution, the following important concepts are used: “family goals”, “family functions”, “norms”, “sanctions”.
The family as a social institution arose from the very beginning of the formation of human society. In the first stages of its development, relations between men and women, older and younger generations were regulated by tribal and clan customs. With the emergence of morality, religion, and then the state, the regulation of sexual life acquired a moral, religious and legal character. This made it possible to strengthen social control over marriage and at the same time devalue non-religious and extra-legal sanctions of marriage if they conflicted with the interests of the state.
Naturally, the specifics of the family are largely determined by the historical conditions in which it functions. Thus, the features of a modern family (in accordance with sociological research data) include:
· decrease in marriage rate;
· an increase in the number of divorces and the number of married couples who live separately;
· expansion of the phenomenon of extramarital life;
· increasing the level of out-of-wedlock births;
· growth in number single-parent families;
· predominance of one-child families;
· overload of working women with family responsibilities, etc.
A family is an association of people based on blood, marriage or guardianship, connected by a common life and mutual responsibility.
The initial basis of family relationships is marriage. Marriage is a historically changing social form of relations between a woman and a man, through which society orders and sanctions them intimate life, establishes marital, parental and other related rights and obligations.
In sociology, the family is considered both as a small social group and as an important social institution. As a small group it satisfies the personal needs of people, and as an institution it satisfies the socially significant needs of society.
Family is important element the social structure of society, one of its subsystems, the activities of which are regulated by both marriage and family legislation and moral norms, customs, traditions, etc.
The main function of the family is reproductive, i.e. biological reproduction of the population - at the social level and satisfying the need for children - at the personal level. Along with this main function, the family performs a number of other important functions, including:
? educational – primary socialization of children, their upbringing, maintenance of the reproduction of cultural values;
? household – housekeeping, caring for children and elderly family members;
? economic – financial support for minors and disabled family members;
? function of primary social control – regulation of moral responsibility in relations between family members;
? spiritual and moral – development of the personality of each family member;
? social status – providing a certain social status to family members, reproduction of the social structure;
? leisure – organization of rational leisure, mutual enrichment of interests;
? emotional – provision of psychological support by family members.
Family relationships are quite diverse in their forms and types. Depending on the structure of kinship ties, there are two main types of families: nuclear(simple) and expanded(complicated). The first consists of parents and their dependent children, the second - of parents, children and other relatives, representatives of two or more generations.
Depending on the form of marriage, there are monogamous And polygamous family. The first provides for the presence of a married couple - husband and wife. The second is divided into polygyny(polygamy) and polyandry(polyandry). While polygyny has become quite widespread (primarily in Muslim countries), polyandry is rare (India, Tibet) and is often caused by economic reasons (for example, in Tibet, brothers have common wife, so as not to divide the land received by inheritance).
According to the criterion of family power, the following historical forms of family are distinguished: like matriarchy(power in the family belonged to the woman) and patriarchy(the head of the family was a man). Currently prevails egalitarian, or democratic, family, in which there is status equality between spouses.
Historical forms of family and marriage relations also include endogamy, involving marriage between representatives of the same group (clan, tribe, etc.), and exogamy, prohibiting marriage within a certain narrow group of people (for example, between close relatives, members of the same clan, tribe, etc.).
IN modern society processes of transformation of the family as a social institution, changes in some of its social functions, and redistribution of family roles are observed. The family is losing its leading position in the socialization of individuals, in organizing leisure time and other important functions. Traditional role-based family relationships, in which the woman ran the household, gave birth and raised children, and the husband was the owner, often the sole owner of property, and ensured the economic independence of the family, are giving way to new relationships in which many women began to participate in production, political activities, economic provision of the family and take an equal and sometimes leading part in solving family problems. This significantly changed the nature of family functioning and entailed a number of controversial social consequences. On the one hand, this process contributed to the growth of women’s self-awareness, the establishment of equality in marital relations, on the other hand, it caused a conflict situation in the family, led to a decrease in the birth rate, and a weakening of family ties.
IN modern family Not only are women's traditional roles being transformed, but men's roles are also undergoing changes. For example, in Western European countries there are no exceptions when a man takes parental leave. Therefore, from a sociological perspective, it is important to find out how spouses perceive the new situation and whether they are ready for redistribution family responsibilities, on what leadership in the family depends.
In general, the main trend in the development of family relations is their democratization, which presupposes equality between men and women, the abolition of all discrimination, humane methods of education, and increased independence of each family member.
Social control
Social control is a system of social regulation of people's behavior and maintaining social order.
There are two main forms of social control: interior And external control. Internal control involves regulation by the individual of his behavior. The factor of internal control is conscience. External control is a set of institutions that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms and rules of behavior.
The system of social control includes two main elements: norms and sanctions. Social norms – these are instructions, requirements, rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior of people in society.
Social norms perform the following functions in society:
? regulate general course of socialization;
? integrate personality into the social environment;
? serve as models standards of appropriate behavior;
? control deviant behavior.
Norms perform their functions depending on the quality in which they manifest themselves - as standards of behavior(responsibilities, rules) or how behavior expectations(other people's reaction). For example, protecting the honor and dignity of family members is the responsibility of every man. Here we are talking about a norm as a standard of proper behavior. This standard is met by a very specific expectation of family members, the hope that their honor and dignity will be protected.
Social sanctions – These are incentives or punishments that encourage people to comply with norms and rules of behavior. There are four types of sanctions:
? formal positive sanctions – public approval from authorities, official institutions and organizations (government awards, state bonuses, promotions, awarding academic degrees and titles, etc.);
? informal positive sanctions – public approval coming from an informal environment, i.e. from relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. (friendly praise, compliments, goodwill, recognition of leadership qualities, positive feedback, etc.);
? formal negative sanctions – these are punishments provided for by legal laws, official decrees, administrative instructions and regulations (fine, demotion, dismissal, arrest, imprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, etc.);
? informal negative sanctions – punishments not provided for by the legal system of society (remark, censure, expression of displeasure, severance of friendly relations, unkind feedback, etc.).
The application of legal sanctions is ensured by state coercion, moral sanctions - by the force of moral influence from society, the church or a social group. Various types of social sanctions are interrelated and complement each other. This is one of the sources of increasing the effectiveness of their action. Thus, if legal sanctions are based on the moral principles and requirements of society, then their effectiveness is greatly increased.
Thus, the importance of social control lies primarily in the fact that it regulates the behavior of people and maintains social order, thereby promoting the integration and stabilization of society. Functioning on the basis of generally accepted values and norms of the culture of a given society, social control is designed to ensure that human behavior conforms to these values and norms. This role of social control is especially evident in the prevention of deviant (deviant) behavior (5.7).
Deviant behavior
Deviant (deviant) behavior is actions or actions that do not correspond to the norms and rules of behavior accepted in a given society.
In sociology, this term is most often understood as Various types negative social behavior, the main forms of which include crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, suicide (increased risk of committing suicide). According to the definition of the American sociologist N. Smelser, deviant behavior is considered to be a deviation from the norms of a social group and entails isolation, treatment, correction or other punishment.
Some sociologists make a distinction between deviant And delinquent(literally criminal) behavior. The latter includes violations of norms that fall under the category of illegal action. At the same time, it is emphasized that deviant behavior is relative, because it relates to the moral norms of a given group, and delinquent behavior is absolute, since it violates the absolute norm expressed in the legal laws of society.
Deviant behavior can be both collective and individual in nature. Moreover, individual deviation in some cases transforms into collective deviation. The spread of the latter is usually associated with the influence of the criminal subculture, the bearers of which are the declassed layers of society. Categories of the population that are more predisposed than others to commit deviant acts are called risk groups. Such groups, in particular, include certain segments of youth. According to the UN, about 30% of all young people in the world are involved in some kind of illegal activity.
Deviant actions and actions of an individual are studied by such sciences as psychology, psychiatry and pedagogy. When deviant behavior appears as a mass social phenomenon, it becomes the subject of sociology and social psychology.
There are many sociological theories of deviant behavior, among which a special place is occupied by the concept of anomie, developed by the founder of the French sociological school E. Durkheim (2.4). In accordance with this concept, mass deviant behavior is caused by the anomic state of society, i.e., the collapse of the existing system of social values and norms governing people's life. In his work “Suicide,” E. Durkheim, using extensive statistical material, showed that social anomie becomes most widespread during periods of crisis, when the old value-normative system is destroyed and a new one has not yet taken shape. As a result, the stability of society is undermined, social connections become unstable and contradictory, appear different kinds deviant behavior.
The modern version of social anomie was developed by the American sociologist R. Merton, who understood it as a discrepancy between socially significant goals and legitimate means of achieving them. Based on the relationship between goals and means, he identified four types of deviant behavior (Appendices, diagram 19):
? "innovation"(acceptance of socially approved goals, but denial of legal means of achieving them);
? "ritualism"(denial of the goals of a given culture with unconditional agreement with socially approved means);
? "retreatism"(denial of goals and means as “escape from reality”);
? riot(rejection of existing goals and means while simultaneously replacing them with new ones).
Currently, the concept of social anomie is most often used to characterize a transitional society. Thus, modern Russian society, according to some sociologists, has many features of social anomie. This is reflected in the increase in crime, drug addiction, prostitution and other types of deviant behavior.
Among modern sociological explanations of deviant behavior, we should also note the theory of “stigmatization” (from the Greek stigma - brand, stain), the authors of which are American sociologists E. Lemert and G. Becker. In their opinion, deviation is determined not by behavior or a specific act, but by a group assessment, the application by other people of sanctions against those whom they consider “violators” of established norms.
Proponents of this theory distinguish between primary and secondary deviation. With primary deviation, the individual from time to time violates some social norms. However, those around him do not attach much importance to this, and he himself does not consider himself a deviant. Secondary deviation is characterized by the fact that a person is labeled as a “deviant” and begins to treat him differently from ordinary people. Gradually he begins to consider himself a deviant. Stigmatized persons are excluded from the process of social communication, which contributes to the assimilation of a deviant role and the formation of a deviant identity.
If sociologists explain deviant behavior mainly by social factors, then psychologists focus on personal, mental deviations and disorganizations. There are also theories connecting behavior with the biological characteristics of the individual, his genetic predisposition to various deviations. Finally, a number of cultural concepts of deviant behavior have emerged, according to which violation of norms is the result of the assimilation of subcultural values that are opposed to the culture of the majority of members of society.
This variety of research approaches indicates that the emergence and spread of deviant behavior is not caused by any one reason, but by a combination of conditions and factors of both an objective and subjective nature.
According to experts, the existence of deviant behavior among some people in modern society is inevitable. Therefore, the task of “complete eradication” of deviations is not set today. At the same time, measures of social influence on behavioral deviations are necessary. And here two main directions are outlined: if strict prohibitive measures are needed in relation to criminal (delinquent) behavior, then such deviations as alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, mental disorders, etc. require organization different types social assistance - opening crisis centers, houses for the homeless, helplines, etc.
Related information.
A family is an association of people based on blood, marriage or guardianship, connected by a common life and mutual responsibility.
The initial basis of family relationships is marriage. Marriage is a historically changing social form of relations between a woman and a man, through which society organizes and sanctions their intimate life, establishes conjugal, parental and other related rights and responsibilities.
In sociology, the family is considered both as a small social group and as an important social institution. As a small group it satisfies the personal needs of people, and as an institution it satisfies the socially significant needs of society.
The family is an important element of the social structure of society, one of its subsystems, the activities of which are regulated by both marriage and family legislation and moral norms, customs, traditions, etc.
The main function of the family is reproductive, i.e. biological reproduction of the population - at the social level and satisfaction of the need for children - at the personal level. Along with this main function, the family performs a number of other important functions, including:
- educational - primary socialization of children, their upbringing, maintenance of the reproduction of cultural values;
- household - housekeeping, caring for children and elderly family members;
- economic - financial support for minors and disabled family members;
- function of primary social control - regulation of moral responsibility in relations between family members;
- spiritual and moral - development of the personality of each family member;
- social status - providing a certain social status to family members, reproduction of the social structure;
- leisure - organization of rational leisure, mutual enrichment of interests;
- emotional - providing psychological support to family members.
Family relationships are quite diverse in their forms and types. Depending on the structure of kinship ties, there are two main types of families: nuclear (simple) and expanded (complicated). The first consists of parents and their dependent children, the second - of parents, children and other relatives, representatives of two or more generations.
Depending on the form of marriage, there are monogamous And polygamous family. The first provides for the presence of a married couple - husband and wife. The second is divided into polygyny (polygamy) and polyandry (polyandry). While polygyny has become quite widespread (primarily in Muslim countries), polyandry is rare (India, Tibet) and is often caused by economic reasons (for example, in Tibet, brothers have a common wife so as not to divide a plot of land received by inheritance).
According to the criterion of family power, such historical forms of family are distinguished as matriarchy (power in the family belonged to the woman) and patriarchy (the head of the family was a man). Currently prevails egalitarian, or democratic, family, in which there is status equality between spouses.
Historical forms of family and marriage relations also include endogamy, involving marriage between representatives of the same group (clan, tribe, etc.), and exogamy, prohibiting marriage within a certain narrow group of people (for example, between close relatives, members of the same clan, tribe, etc.).
In modern society, processes of transformation of the family as a social institution, changes in some of its social functions, and redistribution of family roles are observed. The family is losing its leading position in the socialization of individuals, in organizing leisure time and other important functions. Traditional role-based family relationships, in which the woman ran the household, gave birth and raised children, and the husband was the owner, often the sole owner of property, and ensured the economic independence of the family, are giving way to new relationships in which many women began to participate in production, political activities, economic provision of the family and take an equal and sometimes leading part in solving family problems. This significantly changed the nature of family functioning and entailed a number of controversial social consequences. On the one hand, this process contributed to the growth of a woman’s self-awareness and the establishment of equality in marital relations, on the other hand, it caused a conflict situation in the family, led to a decrease in the birth rate, and a weakening of family ties.
In the modern family, not only the traditional roles of women are being transformed, but also male roles are undergoing changes. For example, in Western European countries there are no exceptions when a man takes parental leave. Therefore, from a sociological perspective, it is important to find out how spouses perceive the new situation, whether they are ready for the redistribution of family responsibilities, and on what leadership in the family depends.
In general, the main trend in the development of family relations is their democratization, which presupposes equality between men and women, the abolition of all discrimination, humane methods of education, and increased independence of each family member.
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Sociology of the family studies the patterns of functioning and development of family and marital relations in specific cultural and socio-economic conditions. At the same time, the family is considered both as a social institution and as a small social group. The sociology of the family deals with the group subject of life. A group of people connected by family relationships forms that part of social reality that is studied by the sociology of the family, focusing on the joint life activities of family members, that is, on the family way of life.
Studying the family as a social institution, this branch of sociology focuses its attention on the analysis of patterns of social behavior in the family, family roles, and the unique forms of family and marital relations in various conditions of different social groups and cultures. A particularly important place in the sociology of marriage and family is occupied by the problems of the level of divorces and the number of single-parent families, the birth rate, the use of the educational potential of the family, the level of people of marriageable age who are not married, the combination of professional and family roles by working women, the distribution of power and responsibilities in the family and etc.
Emphasizing the group quality of family life, family sociology does not remain indifferent to the individual, but considers him as a family member, as an integral part of a whole that is not reduced to an individual personality. The sociology of the family intersects with the sociology of the individual, but explores the individual, primarily through the prism of sociocultural intrafamily roles, through the prism of the individual’s family affiliation.
Family- one of the most important and specific social institutions, with the help of which society and the state normatively regulate relations between husband and wife, parents and children, other relatives, and carry out the reproduction of members of society and their socialization. The exceptional role and significance of the social institution of the family is determined by the fact that the family is the main carrier of cultural patterns passed on from generation to generation, and the most important agent of socialization of the individual. In this sense, the social institution of the family can be considered as the basis of the entire institutional system of society. Another social institution is closely connected with the institution of family - the institution of marriage. Marriage can be defined as a socially and personally appropriate, sustainable form of sexual relations.
In any society, the family has a dual character. On the one hand, it is a social institution, on the other, it is a small group that has its own patterns of functioning and development. Hence its dependence on the social system, existing economic, political, religious relations and, at the same time, relative independence. From the point of view of content, structure and form, the family is a historically changing social group, the universal features of which are heterosexual relationships, a system of kinship relationships, the provision and development of social and individual personality traits and the implementation of certain economic activities.
The basis of the family is marriage, consanguinity or adoption, common life, mutual responsibility for raising children, relationships of protection and mutual assistance. All these relationships are consolidated and regulated in society both by marriage and family legislation, and by moral norms, customs, traditions, etc. The institution of family is quite diverse in its structure and forms. Thus, a family can consist of a husband, wife and children dependent on the parents, and then it acts as a nuclear, married family. But, as you know, a family often includes other relatives living together (parents, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, etc.). Such a family is called an extended, related family.
Depending on the cultural norms of a particular society, the family can be based on exogamy, which prohibits marriage with a certain narrow group of people (for example, close relatives, members of the same clan, settlement or tribe), or on endogamy, i.e. with people of the same group (clan, tribe, village, etc.), which is typical for primitive archaic societies.
Another division of marriage and family relations is monogamy (i.e. the simultaneous marriage of a given man with a given woman) and polygamy, in which there is more than one partner in a marriage (group marriage, polygamy). There are two types of polygamy: polygyny - the marriage of one man with several women, polyandry - the marriage of one woman with several men (a rare marriage - 20 times less common than monogamy and 100 times less common than polygyny). The historical development of the family institution went from group marriage to monogamy (monogamy), one of the historical forms of which was patriarchy, when the head of the family was a man, and the other was matriarchy, where the mother had the highest authority and influence. Where there are no clearly defined family heads and where the situational distribution of power between father and mother prevails, it makes sense to talk about egalitarian families.
The modern family is characterized by a tendency to establish status equality between spouses in the family. In this regard, based on the nature of the distribution of family responsibilities and how the issue of leadership is resolved in the family, sociologists today distinguish three main types of families:
Traditional family. This type of family organization involves the existence of at least three generations under one roof, and the role of leader is assigned to the eldest man. A traditional family is characterized by: a) economic dependence of the wife on her husband; b) functionally clear division of spheres family life and consolidation of women's and men's responsibilities; c) recognition of the unconditional priority of men in matters of family leadership.
Unconventional family. It retains traditional attitudes towards male leadership and the division of male and female family responsibilities, but unlike families of the first type, without sufficient objective economic grounds. Sociologists call this type of family exploitative.
Egalitarian family. A family of this type is characterized by: a) a fair, proportional division of household responsibilities between family members, the interchangeability of spouses in solving everyday problems; b) discussing the main problems and jointly making decisions that are important for the family; emotional intensity of relationships.
There are also transitional types of families in which the role settings of men are more traditional in nature than their actual behavior, or, conversely, with democratic role settings, men participate little in housekeeping. A.I. writes on the problems of family studies. Antonov and V.M. Medkov (Sociology of the family. - M.: Publishing house of Moscow State University: Publishing house of the International University of Business and Management (“Brothers Karich”), 1996. – P. 21-36), A.I. Kravchenko (Sociology: Textbook. - M.: Prospekt Publishing House,
The following functions should be highlighted:
1. Reproductive function . One of the main tasks of any society is the reproduction of new generations of its members. At the same time, it is important that children are physically and mentally healthy and subsequently have the ability to learn and socialize. At the same time, an important condition for the existence of society is the regulation of the birth rate, the avoidance of demographic declines or, conversely, explosions. The family is the main institution responsible for the reproduction of new members of society. Other ways are ineffective and, as a rule, socially frowned upon.
2. Educational function. For the normal, full development of a child, the family is vital, and it cannot be replaced by any other institutions or public institutions. It is in the family that the primary socialization of the individual takes place and the foundations for his formation as a personality are laid. The main way family socialization is children copying the behavior patterns of adult family members. Difficulties arise if the child is guided by unsuccessful patterns of parental behavior that conflict with what the child sees in other families.
3. Sexual function. The family is the main social institution through which society organizes, directs and regulates the natural sexual needs of people. At the same time, almost every society has alternative ways to satisfy sexual needs. Even though there are certain standards marital fidelity, most societies easily forgive their violation.
4. Economic function. The management of a common household by family members, when they all work as one team, contributes to the formation of strong economic ties between them. The norms of family life include mandatory assistance and support for each family member if he or she experiences economic difficulties.
5. Function of joint leisure and spiritual communication. The numerous human needs include, in particular, intimate spiritual communication. Psychiatrists believe that the main cause of emotional and behavioral difficulties in communication and even physical illness is the lack of love, warmth and full communication in the primary group, and, above all, in the family. Because of its structure and qualities, the family serves as the most important source of emotional satisfaction.
6. Function of primary social control. The family provides the primary moral regulation of the behavior of family members, their duties and responsibilities, and support for the provision of social sanctions.
In addition to these specific family functions, nonspecific ones are also distinguished. They are associated with the accumulation and transfer of property, status, the organization of production and consumption, and concern for the health and well-being of family members. These functions reflect the historical nature of the connection between family and society, revealing a historically transient picture of how exactly the birth, maintenance and upbringing of children in the family occurs. Therefore, family changes are most noticeably revealed when comparing nonspecific functions at different historical stages: under new conditions they are modified, narrowed or expanded, implemented completely or partially, and even disappear altogether.
For example, the ongoing serious changes in society are associated with a decrease in the educational role of the family. The transition from a traditional type of family to a modern one, based on the equality of spouses, led to the loss of the unquestioned authority of men and a decrease in the consistency of the educational influences of parents. In a modern family, it is not uncommon for mother and father to have different, or even mutually exclusive, ideas about upbringing and how to live in general.
Sociologists have identified several fairly stable stereotypes of family education.
1. Child-centrism, i.e. an all-forgiving attitude towards children, a falsely understood love for them. In such families, children grow up spoiled and do not accept reasonable prohibitions and responsibilities, including duty to their parents. As a rule, they are fully served by older family members. This trend is most typical for those families in which one child is growing up and education is entrusted to grandparents, who protect their grandchildren from life’s difficulties. As a result, self-centered, infantile young people grow up who cannot and do not want to take responsibility.
2. Professionalism, i.e. the tendency of parents to refuse to raise their children under the pretext that this should be done by teachers and professional educators in kindergartens and schools. Such parents consider it their duty, first of all, to provide financially for their children. They usually resort to “educational” influences only when the child has done something wrong or “interferes” with them. Most often, their educational influences take the form of strict prohibition, scolding, and even corporal punishment. Thus, parents and children find themselves excluded from each other’s lives, the level of trust in their communication is minimal, and the range of problems discussed together is extremely narrow.
3. Pragmatism, i.e. education, the purpose of which is to develop in children “practicality”, the ability to “deftly manage their affairs”, and an orientation toward obtaining direct material gain. Obviously, there is a danger of strengthening the pragmatic tendency in education during the transition to market relations, when it is utilitarian behavior that is regarded at the level of ordinary consciousness as the most adequate to new conditions, as a survival strategy.
Family as a social group and social institution
Concept of family and marriage
A family is an association of people based on blood relationship, marriage or adoption, connected by a common life and mutual responsibility for raising children; family members often live in the same house (N. Smelser)
The basis of family relationships is marriage. Marriage- this is a historically changing social form of relations between a woman and a man, through which society organizes and sanctions their intimate life, establishes marital, parental and other related rights and responsibilities.
The history of a family is actually the history of humanity. The family is one of the most ancient social institutions.
In sociology, the family is considered both as a small social group and as a social institution.
| At the macro level, the Family as a social institution. As an institution, it satisfies the socially significant needs of society. As a social institution, the family is characterized by a set of social norms, sanctions and patterns of behavior that regulate relationships between spouses, parents, children and other relatives. | At the micro level, the Family as a small social group. As a small group it meets people's personal needs. As a small social group, a family can be defined as a community formed on the basis of marriage or consanguinity, the members of which are connected by a common life, mutual assistance and mutual moral responsibility of spouses for the health of children and their upbringing. |
| public consciousness in the field of marriage and family relations; patterns of family behavior; the effectiveness of the implementation of its main functions; | conditions of formation and stages of family development; family composition, dynamics of marital relations and the nature of the relationship between parents and children; role relationships in the family; distribution of power in the family; |
The family as a social institution cannot be opposed to a small group - it is a single organism.
Typology of marriage and family
Historical family types (according to L. Morgan)
Promiscuity- characteristic of the lowest level of savagery, when sexual relations between members of the ancestral community were not regulated by any norms.
consanguineous family- characterized by group marriage, and sexual intercourse is allowed only between those who belong to the same generation; kinship was determined through the maternal line.
Punalual family- excluded from sexual intercourse blood relatives. This type of family is also characterized by group marriage. The principle of endogamy is replaced by exogamy: these are marriages between people belonging to the same generation, but to different clans. Within such a family, stable connections between one man and one woman are becoming increasingly common.
Syndiasmic family - one man lives with one woman, and polygamy remains the exclusive right of men. Marriage ties are easily dissolved, and then the children remain with the mother. Such a family made the biological father famous and created conditions for the creation of a monogamous family and the emergence of private property.
Monogamous family- a connection between one man and one woman. The immediate reason for the emergence of a monogamous family was the desire to ensure the indisputability of paternity and the right of offspring to own family property.
| Criteria | Title (Murdoch: from 186 cultures) | definition | |
| By origin of the marriage partner | endogamy-33 cultures | marriage between representatives of the same group (clan, tribe, etc.); | |
| exogamy-70 cultures | marriage within a certain narrow group of people (for example, between relatives, members of the same tribe, etc.) is prohibited | ||
| Marriage group size | monogamy 40 | marriage of one man to one woman at one time: | |
| A) couples family- a type of monogamy | |||
| Polygamy: | a marriage that involves the presence of several partners in the marriage. | ||
| 3 forms of polygamous marriage | |||
| 1) polygyny - 145 (polygamy) | The most common among all forms of polygamous marriage exists in Muslim countries. | ||
| 2) polyandry (polyandry) - 2 | a rare form, occurs in the southern states of India, in Tibet; | ||
| 3) group marriage | when several men and several women are simultaneously in a marital relationship (today this form is preserved only in the Marquesas Islands) | ||
| Place of residence of the spouses | Patrilocal - 101 | spouses live in the husband's family; | |
| Matrilocal - 24 | the spouses live with the wife's parents; | ||
| neolocal -13 | spouses live separately from their parents. | ||
| From the time of. forms of marriage Modern. forms of marriage | Open marriage | ||
| Trial marriage | temporary residence of partners. When they decide to have children, a legal marriage is formalized. According to Margaret Mead's definition. - this is a “two-step marriage” | ||
| Godwin marriage (“visit marriage”, “guest marriage”) | separation of spouses, lack of a common household and everyday life. (The extra-family form of monogamous marriage was first described in the 18th century by W. Godwin.) | ||
| Concubinatus (Latin / Concubinatus - in Roman law, the actual cohabitation of a man and a woman with the intention of establishing a marriage relationship). | stable connection married man and a formally unmarried concubine woman who has children recognized by him and material support. Polygyny option; | ||
| Open marriage | recognition of the right of spouses to an independent lifestyle, including extramarital sex; |
i. Family functions:
2) reproductive, i.e. biological reproduction of the population - at the social level and satisfying the need for children - at the personal level.
3) educational – primary socialization of children, their upbringing, maintenance of the reproduction of cultural values;
4) household – housekeeping, caring for children and elderly family members;
5) economic – financial support for minors and disabled family members;
6) function of primary social control – regulation of moral responsibility in relations between family members;
7) spiritual and moral – development of the personality of each family member;
8) social status – providing a certain social status to family members, reproduction of the social structure;
9) leisure – organization of rational leisure, mutual enrichment of interests;
10) emotional – provision of psychological support by family members.
Related information.
