In society nowadays, the understanding of family has undergone the biggest modifications. It is not very obvious anymore that the most common family model is the nucleus, where the husband and wife are married and live with their children under one roof. Instead, we bypass the once monolithic concept of family, focusing on the growth of various family forms, from the single-parent family to cohabiting couples, same-sex couples, and blended families. The enormous social transformation has caused intense reactions and anxiety among sociologists and experts, who have deployed many perspectives and theories to make these wide-ranging changes as understandable as possible. From the point of view of structural-functionalists, new kinds of family structure can be identified as having good and bad outcomes. The structural functionalism theory gives us the most interesting observations related to the family as a social deficiency and the ways to overview this aspect.
From the perspective of one side, the extension of family forms due to the raised diversity may be interpreted as a mirror of the modern society that faces more different lifestyles and becomes increasingly tolerant. A lot of people might think that it contradicts the traditional notion of family, which consists of people who have the same roots, but it makes people able to obtain families that best suit their needs and preferences; thus, this allows people to achieve individual autonomy and self-expression. It could be, for example, a case of same-sex parents who deviate from traditional marriage roles and act as parents who are doing alternative role modeling for children, which could lead to greater acceptance of diverse sexual orientations by society.
According to structural-functionalism theory, the major theorists believe that society is composed of interconnected parts that work jointly to create stability and efficiency. A socially important institution, the family has long been regarded as the largest unit on which society can rely via its principal functions of socializing children, giving emotional support, and passing values and norms from one generation to another (Lulut Amboro et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the present age witnesses the reshaping of the traditional form of family to some extent. Those adjustments involve the situation when divorce rates grow, more single-parent families exist, same-sex marriages take place, and households have separate co-lives, among others (University of Minnesota, 2011). These variations can be considered to be an issue from a structural-functional standpoint since they either impair the traditional functions of the family or create prospective social dysfunction in society.
The theoretical explanation for why family transition is a challenge that this structural-functionalism paradigm provides is by emphasizing socialization among members of the family. Socialization, by definition, is the process through which human beings learn about the values, norms, and behaviors of the society they live in. As an illustration, kids in broken homes may face adversity in getting proper direction and discipline, considering their parents may have a different parenting style or conflicting values.
Through the lens of structural-functionalism, the role of institutions will be crucial in showing how social stability can be impeded by confronting family issues in current family transformations. Hence, this theory says that the family is a basic unit that does necessary things for society, like cultivating children, giving emotional assistance, and providing an economic plan (University of Minnesota, 2011). Nevertheless, when family structure modification is affected by the growth in single-parent families, cohabitation, or divorce, the roles and behaviors might be compromised (University of Minnesota, 2011). This can produce undesirable issues in terms of an unstable family environment as well as social support for kids, which can impact economic conditions and increase the ratio of mental distress.
The structural-functionalism school offers unitarian advice to promote social policies that are centered on fortifying family solidarity. One illustration is that the government designs policies and programs that help families connect and receive services, including increased childcare, paternity leave benefits, and livable housing (Lulut Amboro et al., 2020). These measures will provide the security sought by the families, and the same result will help these units fully work as members of each other (University of Minnesota, 2011). For example, conducting campaigns that look into challenging the customs and traditionalism of gender and how they encourage men to take on caretaking and household chores can help to divide roles within the family evenly and ensure their stability.
Notwithstanding, the societal structure functionalism critique gives a prevalent explanation for the modified family social setup in today’s society. It reflects that families, whether nuclear or extended, are central to society’s social welfare, as an extended family gives place to socialization, emotional wellness, and economic stability. The increasing heterogeneity of family types can be considered an opportunity as well as a challenge; therefore, a two-fold attitude stands for this. This means that society becomes more aware of reality and acknowledges the different kinds of family lifestyles. Which is, although these alterations in household composition might be harmful to society’s specific components, such as disturbances in the life cycle and breakdown of family support structures, reconstructionism sees that by implementing policies that are tailored to strengthen family solidarity, promote gender equality, and provide means and support, the adverse effects can be minimized.
References
Lulut Amboro, J., Wahyuningsih, N., & Sigi Prameswari, N. (2020). A structural functionalism point of view: Ritual ceremony philosophy of Grebeg Maulud at Kasunanan palace, Surakarta. Journal of Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(2). https://tafpublications.com/gip_content/paper/Jahss-6.2.4.pdf
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. (2011). The Changing Family. Github.io. https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_social-problems-continuity-and-change/s13-the-changing-family.html
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