Marriage and family are fundamental structures in nearly all societies. The link between these two concepts is a crucial topic of study among sociologists. Marriages translate into a family, a basic social unit (Dermott & Fowler, 2020). Apart from creating a status role for an individual, the community sanction and consider them as part of the social norms. Recently, there has been a debate about what constitutes a family. While the conservatives hold that a family should assume a specific structure, with each member occupying a given role, including two parents and their children, sociologists argue that it is more about how members relate to each other and the strict configuration of status roles. The divergent views on marriage and family have also led to the emergence of various family relationships by blood, marriage, or adoption. This unit provides a comprehensive overview of matters related to marriage and family, including the foundation of marriage, why people marry, options to have children, parenting roles, divorce, remarriage, and step-families. The insights are vital in understanding what constitutes a family and the current trends and changes in the meaning of marriage.
Topic of Interest
Of the topics covered in this unit, divorce, remarriage, and step-family concepts have captured my attention the most. The reason is that they address pertinent issues that many people are facing today. Nearly half of marriages end up in divorce resulting in a wide range of negative consequences, especially for the children. The practice has been one of the leading reasons many people are experiencing various mental health problems, such as depression, low self-esteem, isolation, and other forms of psychological distress due to early childhood. The reason is that many experience trauma from divorce and separation from their parents (Olofsson, 2019). After divorce, many individuals opt to remarry since they do not see themselves accountable for the previous marriage ending. Others are pursuing better health, financial status, lower poverty, and other things they feel they could not get from their former unions. As a result, there have been step-families because many divorced or separated people are forming new relationships leading to blended families. Again, the current trend shows a significant decline in the importance of marriage, whereby people are less likely to commit and more willing to separate and establish other unions. Exploring this topic is pivotal in enhancing the understanding of the contributing factors that make most individuals divorce and remarry, the impact of these practices on the children and the affected individuals, and some of the measures that can help mitigate the problem.
Personal Experience with the Selected Topic
I have had a personal experience with divorce and step-families. Some of my classmates are divorced parents. Although divorce does not permanently damage children, in most cases, the incidences result in severe long-term negative impacts that may persist into adulthood. However, adults should consider splitting rather than staying in a union with high levels of conflict, irreconcilable differences, and violence. A few of my classmates admit that the separation was worth it because they are more relaxed, no longer abused, or live in a toxic environment of abuse and violence. Despite these few positive effects, most affirm that divorce highly impacts their well-being and school performance. The affected children exhibit adjustment problems such as disruptive behaviors, depressed mood, and academic difficulties. Besides, they have an increased possibility of dropping out of school compared to their peers who live with both their biological parents. A home with a lot of arguing, hostility, and discontent exposes a child to a higher risk of developing various psychological health issues and adjustment problems. These children also struggle with feelings and behaviors immediately after parental separation.
Impact on My Professional Abilities
Gaining more insights into divorce, remarriage, and step-families may have a lasting positive effect on my future profession. Sociology is a social science discipline that offers an objective and informed approach to comprehending the root causes of various social issues and recommending their solutions (Campbell, 2021). Thus, I will be in a better position to examine these concepts intensely, focusing on the different divergent lenses. First, there is a need to adopt a macro perspective to examine how and why divorce and marriages have changed over time. This practice will contribute significantly to increasing awareness of the role of various social trends in the current increased divorce rates. Besides, I will have adequate background knowledge of why couples decide to part ways by assessing their characteristics and their association with the risk of divorce. The other central area of focus is on the consequences of divorce, remarriage, and step-families, including how the phenomena affect the economic, mental, and physical well-being of all the affected individuals.
The Topic I Would Like to Specialize in When Developing My Profession
I will specialize in the topic of divorce when developing my profession. The intense interest in this topic results from the prevalence of divorce in modern societies. Various factors, including social change, upheavals, and depression, have influenced increased separation rates and remarrying. The situation continues to worsen, affecting more people globally. Hence, treating it as a severe social problem that needs urgent addressing is crucial. Over the years, from first-hand encounters and individual research, I have realized that divorce can be a difficult time for the entire family. These incidences have affected the lives of many children negatively, with many suffering from adverse experiences as adults. The effects of divorce vary from one child to another. The affected children react to this experience differently; some respond naturally and understandably, while others struggle with the changes. Parents start experiencing new ways of relating, especially during co-parenting or transitioning into other relationships. The new unions formed lead to step-families where children are involved, which also has a share of challenges, including maltreatment of children by the new partners, different parenting styles, jealousy, and questions about whether blended families should be a long-term solution (Debowska et al., 2021). Understanding the factors that have resulted in higher divorce rates today and their impact may be beneficial in developing a lasting solution to minimize these incidences and enlighten the public on how they should handle it if separation becomes the only option.
Conclusion
Divorce, remarriage, and step-families have been significant social trends in the contemporary era. There have been higher rates of separation, with individuals opting to remarry and often ending up in blended families. The incidences have had their share of challenges, creating an urgent need to explore the issue from a sociological perspective to understand some of the contributing factors and the impact of society, especially on children. For sociology, studying the topic may enable them to develop a clear definition of marriage as present in modern societies. Besides, the knowledge may allow them to learn about groups of individuals and their behaviors and use the information to invent a holistic approach that may help improve the lives and social conditions of many couples and families.
References
Campbell, B. (2021). Social justice and sociological theory. Society, 58(5), 355-364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-021-00625-4
Debowska, A., Hales, G., & Boduszek, D. (2021). Violence against children by stepparents. The SAGE Handbook of Domestic Violence, 553-569. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529742343.n33
Dermott, E., & Fowler, T. (2020). What is a family, and why does it matter? Social Sciences, 9(5), 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9050083
Olofsson, E. (2019). Children of Divorce: Long-Term Psychological Effects and Neurological Consequences. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1349746/FULLTEXT01.pdf
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