2. The family and identity
Key words:
Identity – how we see ourselves and how others see us.
Social roles- parts we play in society; each role has its own social
norms which tell us how we should act in that role.
Norms – the rules within a culture (e.g no killing)
Values – ideas about what is worthwhile and important in a
culture (e.g human life)
Culture- the way of life of a group of people; it is learned and
shared. The main parts of culture include knowledge, skills, social
norms, values and beliefs.
Socialisation – the process of learning to become a member of
society.
Family – consists of people we are related to by ties of blood,
marriage, adoption, civil partnership or cohabitation. There are
many different types of family.
Functionalist sociologist- sociologists who believe that each
part of society has roles to fulfil in order that society can survive
as a whole.
Family is a big part of our identity; we learn our social roles from
our family and develop a sense of identity of who we are through
our place in the family.
Family is primary socialisation and teaches us the norms and
values of the society we live in. We learn the language of our
culture from our family and the family also influences our
personality.

3. Examples of non-socialised children are Kamala and Amala,
who were found living in India in the 1920’s. They were living
with a she wolf and looked wild, with matted hair and dirty bodies.
They behaved like wolves, walking on all fours, howling and
sleeping curled up on the floor. Amala died after a year of being
found and Kamala died 9 years later. During her time with
humans Kamala learnt to walk and make friendships with humans,
although she only learnt 40 words whereas a five year olds
vocabulary is 2000 words.
Conclusions about non-socialised children
• Children need good physical care
• Children have the ability to learn
• Socialisation is necessary to be full members of society
• Some children can recover if their early socialisation is disrupted
• If learning a language starts too late, a ‘critical period’ might
have passed and it may be unable to develop fully
Functions of the family
Functionalist sociologist argue society works in harmony, just
like the human body with every organ working to make the whole
body work. So does each institute in society work in harmony to
create a whole functioning society. For example family socializes
children and if they fail to do this then the crime levels may rise.
The Functionalist View of the Family
The traditional nuclear family is ideal for modern day living as it
makes best use of men and women’s different natural abilities.
The family also provides:
• Primary socialization
• Comfort and support for adults and children- referred to as the
‘warm bath’, family life washes away the cares of the outside
world.
Functionalist 7 functions of the family
1. The regulation of sex
2. Reproduction
3. Physical care

4. 4. Socialisation and social control
5. Emotional support
6. Economic support
7. A place in society
• geographical mobility- moving away
• social mobility- achieving a different social class than family
(gaining an education and attaining a higher social class or
going to prison or illness and attaining a lower social class.
Criticisms of family functions
• Feminist argue family benefits men. Physical care and
emotional support is provided for by the woman even if they
are in paid work as well. Men benefit from being married for
example it increases their life expectancy and improves their
health. These gender inequalities are passed on to the next
generation through socialisation.
• Marxists argue that the family benefits the ruling class. The
family provides a new generation of workers, families also
provide workers with emotional and physical support to keep
them able to go out and make money for the ruling classes.
• Others point out that family is not functioning as well as it used
to, many women are remaining childless, 12,500 children were
on the child protection register in 2007 (suggesting a lack of
physical care) and in the Mental Health Survey 2004 10% of
5-16 year olds had a mental disorder (suggesting a lack of
emotional care).
Traditional definitions of the family
Key terms:
Households – A group of people that share a home or living
space.
Marriage – A legally recognized relationship between two adults.
Nuclear family- a two generation family, consisting of parents
and their dependent children.
Extended family- any family larger than a nuclear family. There
are different types of extended family.

5. Matrilocal- living with or near to the wife’s family.
Traditional extended family- a three generational matrilocal
family in which family members have frequent face-to-face
contact.
Patrilocal-living with or near to the husband’s family.
Neolocal- the couple set up their own home.
Polyandry- a rare form of marriage where the women has more
than one marriage partner.
Polygmy- the man has more than one marriage partner, common
in Islamic countries.
Polygamy- this term includes polyandry and polygamy.
The traditional nuclear family
The traditional nuclear family consisted of:
• Married parents
• They had not cohabited before marriage and the white dress of
the bride symbolised her virginity
• In the marriage ceremony they vowed to be together until
death parted them.
• Husband and wife have different roles; the man is the
breadwinner and the wife the housewife/homemaker.
Feminists criticise the traditional nuclear family because:
• Men dominated over women
• The role of the mother/housewife was unfulfilling
• The ‘happy family’ image hid a ‘dark side’ of domestic violence
and abuse
• Women had few choices, other options such as staying single or
being a single parent were considered deviant

6. New Right sociologist and politicians disagree and view the 1950’s
as the ‘golden age’ of family life where traditional family values
and a stable home life created a strong society.
Young and Willmott (1957) found evidence of the traditional
extended family in their research of working class communities in
East London. Families were matrilocal and gave more than
friendship; mothers give help and advice regarding marriage,
pregnancy and childrearing as well as support both financially and
physically.
In later studies Young and Willmott (1973) argued the traditional
extended families were disappearing and that a Symmetrical family
was emerging. This is due to a change in the community (less
terraced housing and more high rise blocks of flats) a change in
the work force (a lack of manual jobs and needing to move to find
employment). The symmetrical family according to Young and
Willmott had less traditional set roles for men and women and
were more privatised and did not rely on the extended family on a
day-to-day basis.
Cross cultural evidence of family life
Murdock (1949) studied 250 different cultures and found that the
nuclear family was in each, he argued that nuclear families are
‘universal’.
Evidence against Murdock’s claim:
• The Nayar people of India in the 1800’s. The women had a
ritual husband but then would have up to 12 ‘visiting husbands’.
The woman and children were looked after by female relatives
and brothers.
• Polyandry common in Tibet where there is a lack of fertile land
and a low population. The woman may marry brothers, in this
way a farm can be cared for, the children are all related and the
men do not know who is biologically theirs so treat all children
as their own.
Family in multicultural Britain

7. Dench, Gavron and Young (2006) found extended families in white
communities non existent but among the Bangladeshi community
over a quarter lived in patrilocal extended families
In Afro-Caribbean communities’ matrilocal households are more
common.
Structural changes in the family
Key terms:
Cohabitation – When people live together without being married
e.g. halls of residence
Divorce – The legal termination of a marriage, leaving the couple
free to remarry.
Secular society- a society that is not ruled by religious beliefs.
Serial Monogamy – A person has more than one marriage
partner in their lifetime. The main reason for increased serial
monogamy is increased divorce rate.
Reconstituted Families – a family in which one or both partners
has been married or cohabited before, and has a child or children,
creating step relationships.
Lone Parent Families – Families with only one parent.
Commune- a group of people living together who agree to share
at least some of their property.
Boomerang family- a family in which non dependent children
return home to live with their parents.
Beanpole family- a tall, narrow extended family often containing
four (or five) generations.
One of the big debates in Sociology is the fact that traditional
family life in Britain is changing. The main reasons for this change
is:

8. • The changes made to the Divorce Act in 1971.
• The subsequent increase in divorce.
• Religion having less of an influence on people (secular society)
• Couples cohabiting rather than marrying.
• Children being born outside of marriage.
Interestingly, the portrayal of the stereotypical traditional nuclear
family is still one promoted both in the media and by politicians.
Is the nuclear family dying?
1971 1991 2007
% of households 35 25 21
that are nuclear
families
% of people who 52 41 36
live in nuclear
families
This table shows a decline but not a death of the nuclear family.
Many people will live in a nuclear family in their lifetime.
Cohabitation and the decline of marriage
Marriage has decreased over the last 30 years and cohabitation
has increased. Reasons for this are:
• Church weddings are expensive, formal and religious
• Feminists argue women are aware of the exploitation of
marriage and the nuclear family
• Cohabitation is seen as preparation for marriage
• Religion has become less influential so cohabitation has become
more acceptable
25% of unmarried adults are cohabiting. A result of increased
cohabitations is an increase of births outside marriage- they now
account for 1/3 of all births, 40% of all births are with parents who
are not living together due to a breakdown of the marriage during
the pregnancy or the woman deciding to bring the child up alone.
Couples are marrying later the average now is 29 years old for
women and 31 years old for men.

9. Sue Sharpe (2001) interviewed 11-16 year olds and most stated
marriage was “ a choice not a necessity”.
However, most people do marry and believe it is the best way to
bring up children. Ethnic variations are that Indian, Pakistani and
Bangladeshi people have low rates of cohabitation and high rates
of marriage.
The New Right believe cohabitating couples are more at risk of
splitting up and therefore people should be married to create a
stable and secure environment for children to be brought up in.
This will ultimately benefit the rest of society.
Divorce and remarriage
The divorce Act of 1971 made divorce easier to attain. About 40%
of marriages today will end in divorce.
Why has the divorce rate increase?
• The legal change in 1969 Divorce Reform Act made it easier to
get divorced
• There has been a change in attitude towards divorce which has
led to a more secular society
• Changing expectations of marriage, personal happiness put first
before the vow “til death do us part”
• The changing role of women, having more freedom and choice
has led to women choosing not to stay in unhappy marriages
• Isolation from a wider supportive extended family can lead to
lack of emotional support through the rough time in marriage
• Lack of children may mean there is less to keep the couple
together
• Longer life expectancy may make couples reflect on their
relationship
The effects of divorce are:
• Husband and wife have to- divide possessions; decide who will
live where, custody of the children, rights of the parent who
does not have custody of the children.
• Children of divorce parents are- more likely to live in poverty,
become anti social, do less well at school, as adults have low

10. paid jobs, become parents at a young age, use drugs and
smoke and drink a lot.
• Many people re- marry after divorce which implies it is not the
values of marriage that are being rejected but a bad choice of
partner the first time around.
• Re-marriage creates reconstituted and blended families.
The effects of divorce on children are- Rogers and Pryor (1998)
looked at 200 previous studies and concluded that:
• Short-term distress is common
• A risk of longer term problems such as poorer health, lack of
educational achievement, bad behaviour, but not for all
children.
• The child’s age and gender do not affect the outcome of
divorce.
• Parent’s ability to come, the amount of family conflict and the
quality of contact with the absent parent do affect the outcome.
Sue Sharpe (2001) concludes that an awareness of divorce is
leading young people to view marriage as a choice rather than a
necessity.
40% of marriages are remarriages, serial monogamy is evidence
that people value marriage. However, the remarriage rate is
falling which suggests divorced people are choosing to live alone
or cohabit rather than remarry.
Boomerang families are becoming more common, especially due to
the financial support that can be provided for children. Parentline
Plus (2008) state that children returning home in their 20’s and
30’s can create a battleground due to conflicts over money.
Family diversity
Couple families
Some couples delay having children or do not have them at all,
also due to people living longer, many parents live more years
together once their children have left home. In 2007, 25% of
people lived in couple family households.

11. Lone parent families
A quarter of all families in Britain are lone parent families.
Some argue the negative effects of not being brought up by two
parents are:
• Underachieving in school
• More likely to be unemployed
• Become dependent on benefits
• More likely to be delinquent, commit crime and use drugs
Some argue that a lone parent may:
• Be supported by other members of the family
• Be able to support themselves economically and provide love
and warm environment for children
• Be able to protect children from an unhappy childhood by
leaving relationship or marriage and living alone
• Not bring up children who take drugs and do not achieve
academically. Maybe these effects are due to other reasons
such as living on a low income not be a lone parent.
The child support agency is government run and its aim is to
ensure all parents support their children financially.
Feminists see lone parenthood as a positive choice, but do
recognise that some lone parents may experience problems. The
New Right are critical of lone parent families stating that boys
suffer due to not having a role model to copy during socialisation.
Reconstituted families make up 10% of families with
dependent children.
Beanpole extended families the role of the grandparents is an
vital one in today’s society where many parents work full time.
Julia Brannen (2003) called grandparents the ‘pivot generation’ as
they may be looking after their own (very elderly) parents and
help with their grandchildren’s child care.
Gay and lesbian families have increased since the introduction
of the Civil Partnership Act (2004). About 17,000 civil partnerships
were formed in the first year of the Act, 60% between men.

12. Many families today are not nuclear:
• Men are deciding to stay at home and women are the main
• ‘breadwinner’.
• Afro-Caribbean families are generally matrifocal- headed by the
mother- this is inherited tradition from the slave trade.
• Asian families are greatly influenced by the extended family-
sometimes with many generations living together in one
household
There are alternatives to such as:
• Cared for children who do not live with their natural parents but
are fostered or live in children’s homes.
• Communes where many people live together and agree to share
common goals and property; a good example of this is
Kibbutzim in Israel.
• Shared households, which is becoming more common- for
example students sharing a house during university or in cities
where it is too expensive to live alone.
• Singlehood where people make a choice to live alone and not
be in a relationship or have children. In 1971 people living alone
was 6% and now it is 12%, some are elderly, some divorced
and middle aged and some young people who can afford to live
alone.
Social class and family life
• Income- more money= higher standard of living, better health,
more likely to do well at school. Low-income poorer living
conditions, unhealthy diet, less likely to do well at school
• Middle class people more likely to marry, delay marriage due to
education and getting a career, delay having children and remain
married
• Working class people live closer to extended family, middle
classes move away from town of birth.
• Conjugal roles are more shared in a middle class family
•Ethnicity and family life
• Rare for Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian people to live alone
• Living alone is most common in White and black people
• Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian people more influenced by
cultural traditions, early marriage (sometimes arranged), patrilocal,
early parenthood, larger families and lower rates of divorce,
cohabitation, and employment among wives.

13. The effects of family life
Life course is the path in which your life takes. In the 1950s it
was pretty much mapped out, school, marriage, kids. Family
diversity has given us more choice about family relationships.
Choice has also lead to uncertainty, parents can decide to get
divorced, family members may not be seen as much as they want.
Family life does affect society:
• Married men live longer than bachelors
• New Right sociologists (and some politicians) argue the nuclear
family is the best place to bring up children
•Feminists argue family diversity reduces problems such as
domestic violence and abuse
• Post-modern sociologists don’t make judgements about which
type of family is best but research the good and bad parts of social
change
Changing family relationships
Key terms:
Singlehood- people living alone; elderly people, divorced or
separated, young adults living alone.
Conjugal Roles – The different roles of the husband and wife or
couples living together as partners.
Symmetrical Family – a family in which conjugal roles are
similar but not identical. (Some sociologists use the words ‘shared’,
‘joint’ or ‘integrated’ conjugal roles instead).
Housewife- An unpaid role, which made wives financially
dependent on their husbands.
Househusband- A man with the main responsibilities for
domestic tasks and childcare, whose partner is the main
breadwinner.
The “dark side” of family life – A situation in which family life
damages its members.

14. Child abuse- Harm caused to a child or young person under 18
by an adult.
Domestic violence- threatening behaviour, violence or abuse
(psychological, emotional, physical, sexual or financial) committed
by a family member against another
Domestic division of labour
The amount of housework carried out by men and women is
referred to as the domestic division of labour. Traditionally
women were responsible of the housework and childcare and the
man was the ‘breadwinner’ who went to work and provided for his
family. This is called SEGREGATED CONJUGAL ROLES,
however it is argued that times have changed and the division of
labour has become SYMMETRICAL.
Young and Willmott (1973) argued that men and women are now
sharing the housework and childcare more equally. The
symmetrical family according to Young and Willmott is:
• Nuclear
• Privatised- cut off from other relatives and neighbours
• Symmetrical- husband and wives had similar roles
They interviewed 2000 adults in London and 400 of them filled in
‘time budget diaries’. They found that men and women’s roles
were similar but not identical. Women had paid work and the men
spent more time at home.
Ann Oakley (1974) a feminist sociologist argued Young and
Willmott’s findings were exaggerated. She conducted 40 indepth
interviews with mothers of young children and found that women
felt the household responsibilities were theirs despite the fact that
they too may work. In middle class families the man was more
involved in housework and childcare.
Why have conjugal roles become more similar?
• Privatised families- no extended families available to help
• Changing attitudes- marriage is seen more as a partnership

15. • Changing laws- women’s legal rights make them more equal
partners
• Comfortable homes- men have become more home-centred
• Fewer children- women’s lives are no longer dominated by
childbearing and childcare
• The feminisation of the workforce- more women have paid
employment
Earning money- many women now work outside the home this is
because:
• The service sector and part time work has increased
• Laws have changed to give equal rights to women in the work
force
• High achievement and changing priorities of girls in education
• Dissatisfaction with the housewife-mother role
• Reliable contraception, limiting family size
• The growth of consumerism
• Longer life expectancy
20% of women earn more than men however, there is still not
equality in the workforce for example many women work part
time.
Many argue that working has put extra strain on women, called
the part time trap, women are working part time but also
expected to do all the domestic chores as well.
The dual burden is the term used to describe women’s’
experiences of working and also having the responsibilities of
domestic tasks as well.
The triple shift introduced by Duncombe and Marsden (1995)
highlights the domestic, emotional and paid work carried out by
women which men are not willing to do.
Gershuny (1992) held an optimistic view that there was a time of
lagged adaptation where men took their time to realise they
needed to input more in the home and child care due to woman
working.

16. In some cases men stay at home and are househusbands,
however this is rare. The Time Use Surveys (2000,2005) show:
• At all ages women spend longer on household chores than men
• Gender affects which tasks are carried out, men are more likely
to do repairs and women the cooking, cleaning and shopping.
• When comparing household work and paid work, men and
women do the around the same, men are longer in paid work
and women work part time and do more housework.
• The time men and women spend on household tasks tell
between 2001 and 2005.
Technology has led to the time spent on household tasks being
reduced. People can pay to have their cleaning, ironing and
shopping done, there are also many labour saving devices that can
be bought.
It is argued that childcare is becoming more shared, a
development from the past it the man being present at the birth of
the child. Feminists argue that men only do the fun tasks and
leave the hard work for the women.
Decision making in the family is another way of exploring equality
between men and women. Edgell (1980) interviewed a small
sample of middle class families and found that the most important
decisions such as moving house were made by the men. However,
recent studies have shown that women have more of an equal role
in decision-making, economic power is an important factor. If the
woman is the main earner then she has more sway in decision-
making and vice versa.
In the past men were likely to manage the money but now there
seems to be more greater equality in money management.
Conjugal roles can vary depending on age, health, ethnic group,
social class, occupation and the stage of life. For example,
conjugal roles may well have been equal when the couple were
childless but become more segregated when a child is born. As
same sex couples do not have the ‘gender scripts’ of a
male/female relationship they have more freedom to create their
own relationship. With an increase in lone parent families (mainly
headed by women) the woman has all responsibilities for

17. housework, paid work, emotional work, decision-making, money
management and childcare.
Conclusions into research into conjugal roles are:
• They are more equal today
• BUT inequalities remain
• The inequalities vary between families
Changing relationships between family members
Changes have taken place in the parent/Child relationships:
• Children are more likely to survive childhood, infant mortality
rates are low
• Children are more likely to be cared for by a non parent
(grandparent, childminder or in a nursery)
• Children today have more money spent on them, own room,
toys and education
• Children have more parental supervision due to safety concerns
• Children have more of a say in family decision making
• In two parent families children have parents who share
household tasks and childcare
• In dual income families there may be less contact with children
“cash rich but time poor”.
• Children are more to experience the breakdown of their parents
marriage
• Children now spend some of their childhood in a single parent,
reconstituted or same-sex family
• Children are more likely to financially depend on their parents
for longer, for example in boomerang families
Social class differences are that middle class children are more
likely to be better off, be better housed and have a better
education, be healthier and have parents that are older.
Ethnic differences are that Asian families are more likely to be
apart of an extended family, have more siblings and to have
parents that are married and remain married.
The dark side of the family

18. Views on the family are mixed, Functionalists view the family in a
positive light stating it provides everything an individual needs.
However, Leach (1967) states that the family cannot provide
everything a person needs and that often conflict and
disappointment lead the nuclear family to be “the source of all our
discontents”.
Some people may be harmed by family members, physically,
emotionally, psychologically, and financially and what should be a
place of safety and love is a place of fear and insecurity.
Measuring domestic violence
Official statistics of domestic violence are not valid because:
• There is no crime called ‘domestic violence’
Many victims do not report their abuse so the statistics are the ‘tip
of the iceberg’
The British Crime survey gives a more accurate picture; it has a
large sample of 16-59 year olds from England and Wales. It asks
victims to record any “frightening threats and or physical assaults”.
Experiences of domestic violence in England and Wales in 1999
Experience of Women Men
domestic violence
Yes: in my lifetime 26% 17%
Yes: in the last year 4.2% 4.2%
Yes: 3 or more times in 2.0% 1.5%
the last year
I have been injured by it 2.2% 1.1%
in the last year
BCS Home Office and statistics 1999
Only 10% of these victims had told the police about the violent
incident, less than 50% had told anyone, usually a friend.
Violent men
Most violent offences are committed by men against women, an
average of 2 women per week are killed by their partner or ex
partner according to the Home Affairs Select Committee, 2008.

19. Feminists argue violence against women is a product of the
patriarchal society (male dominated) that oppresses women. The
marriage and the nuclear family is a way of controlling women and
keeping them at home, serving men. They say that:
• Men have unrealistic expectations of their partners and of
themselves
• Men think they can use violence to control the family and deal
with their partners ‘failings’
Critics of Feminists highlight the fact a patriarchal society may
explain men’s violence towards women but point out that not all
men are violent towards women and that patriarchy does not
explain why some women are violent towards men.
New concerns
Male victims of domestic violence often do not report their
experiences for fear of not being taken seriously by the police.
Violence in same sex relationships according to Donovan
(2007) in her research found 40% of women and 35% of men had
experience physical and emotional abuse.
‘Honour’ based violence can occur in families that become
ashamed of members if they become to ‘westernised’ or disobey
the elders in the family. A related issue is ‘forced marriage’ in
which young people are forced to marry someone of their parent’s
choice. The governments forced marriage unit deals with 300
cases a year but the real figure is unknown.
Those most likely to report being the victim of domestic violence is
women aged between 20-24 the lowest figure came from people
in their 40’s and 50’s.
Child abuse
The Child Protection Register if England lists all those children who
are suffering (or likely to be) from significant harm. The figures
from the 2007 highlighted the four main types of child abuse are:
1. Neglect 12,500
2. Physical abuse 3500
3. Sexual abuse 2000
4. Emotional abuse 7100
Source: The NSPCC website

20. On average one child a week is killed by a parent, partner of a
parent or another relative. There have been cases such as
‘Baby P’ in which the child has not been protected from the abuse
of their parents. It is thought that the breakdown of relationships
leave children more at risk of abuse, however, there have also
been cases when a parent has been wrongly accused of abuse and
found it difficult to get their children back from social services.
Exam practice
Identify and explain two reasons for the increase in divorce in
Britain. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two functions of the family. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two ways conjugal roles are becoming more
equal. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two ways the family can act as an agent of
social control. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two ways the family can have a negative
impact on its members. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two cultural alternatives to the nuclear family.
(8 marks)
Identify and explain two ways in which child and parent
relationships have changed. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two ways the roles played by husbands and
wives are different. (8 marks)
Identify and explain two types of family. (8 marks)
“Two married parents with their children is the main type of
family today”.
Evaluate the arguments for and against this statement.
(24 marks)

21. “Nuclear families are always the best”.
Evaluate the arguments for and against this statement.
(24 marks)
“Marriage is no longer important”.
Evaluate the arguments for and against this statement.
(24 marks)
“Conjugal roles are more equal in Britain today”.
Evaluate the arguments for and against this statement.
(24 marks)
“The main function of the family is to socialise children”
Evaluate the arguments for and against this statement.
(24 marks)