Project 2:

Institutions Analysis
Hannah(Huiqing) Peng
Family

Professor Lookholder
SOC 001 2016 Fall

What is Family ? (History)

Family focuses on blood and law. Focuses on blood, means that
people are related because they share a biological heritage passed
on directly from parents to child, linking people indirectly to other
family members such as grandparents, uncles, or aunts. Law means
the formal social recognition and affirmation of a bond as family, such
as marriage and adoption.
In general, the major participants of a family consists a father,
mother and their children. They are living together in a household.
Family is the primary foundation of a society. Also, family can help us
to figure out where we originally come from and track who our
ancestors are.

Two Main Types of Family

Historically, family have the responsibilities to provide us with access
to material, social and cultural resources. In other worlds, family
provides economic support and emotional care for their children.
There are two main types family in our country, one is named
extended family, which is relatives. Such as grandparents, uncles,
aunts, they live in the same household as parents and their children.
Another one is named nuclear family, which is a married couples with
their unmarried children living together.

Functionalist (What families

do? )
From functionalism perspective, we know that family is one of the most
important social institution that helps to develop a society stabilize. A sociologist
who named William F. Ogburn identified six primary functions of the families.
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Reproduction. Family reproduce offspring to maintain the society.

Socialization. Parents and other members in family teach and transit the
knowledge, norms, languages and culture behaviors to their children.
Protection. Family provides financial supports and emotional cares to their
children.
Regulation of Sexual behavior. Parents help their children to defined the
norms or standard of sexual behaviors.
Affection and Companionship. Family keeps their children feel satisfied and
secure.
Provision of Social Status. Children having their social status from their
families race, ethnicity and background.

Conflict Theory
As a conflict theory from a famous sociologist who named Karl Max.
He believes that society must divide the power in a family and create
social inequality among individuals.
A society in which men dominate in family decision making are
known as Patriarchy. Traditionally, Men are always considered
breadwinners of families from the history, because of they has their
freedom to work and make money, they always have power in a
household. Also, A society in which women dominate in family
decision making are known as Matriarchy.
Conflict theory argues that family helps to enhance patriarchy and
inequality. For example, children who come from wealthy families
inherit the property, prestige and society status from parents.
Sometimes, families reinforce the social inequality.

Stable Features of Family

Stable features of family have remained unchanged for the most of time.
The members of family always assigned a different role and they have their
own responsibility.
Fathers are always considered as breadwinners of families. And they protect
family members and provide most of the supports. Since they are free to
work and get paid in labor force. Back to the history, fathers always have
most of the power in families.
Mothers are usually stay at home, after they give birth to their children, they
teach and provide most of the emotional care for their children. They do not
make the same amount money as the men, they only hold a little power in
the family.
Children inherited the social and economic status from their parents. They
always get financial support and emotional care from their parents. As they
grow up, they help out the families in different ways.

New Types of Family

(Single-Parent Family)
Single- Parent Families, only one parent to raise, educate, and
support their children. It becoming more and more acceptable in our
society, a mother is more often the primary caregiver in a singleparent family.
people have more pressures about the household income and the
quality for their children as a single parent. Also, children who live in
a single- parent families would have some different comparing the
normal family in the society. Such as negative induced emotion along
their childhood, or the impact of their behaviors.

New Types of Family

(Divorced Family)
Divorced families children always raised by either mother or father, a
normal family becomes a divorced family usually because the father
and mother decide to end the marriage.
Children from divorced homes suffer academically. They experience
high levels of behavioral problems. Their grades suffer, and they are
less likely to graduate from high school.
Teens from divorced homes are much more likely to engage in drug
and alcohol use, as well as sexual intercourse than are those from
intact families.

New Types of Family

(Gay or Lesbian Family)
Gay or Lesbian Families are always refer to same-sex partnerships or
cohabiting relationships. They are facing difficulty problems and
discrimination from the society.
Gay or Lesbian Families always adopt their children from the
government organizations or other families since they dont have
ability to give a birth. Their children from adoption always get
discrimination or labeled in a society.
Also, because of the family are formed by the same sex parents,
children cannot get the same supports or cares like other children. It
caused some physically problem while they grow up.

Improve My Institution
I need to learn more about our new types of families in society and try to
respect them in daily life.
Try to learn how to respect other family members and have more
communication between the individuals. Also, I think we cannot divide
people in different levels because of the families background.
I think we need to avoid to become a new types of family in society,
according to the research, its always effect to the parents and the children.

Work Cited
Berman, John and Francis, Enjoli. What Makes a Family? Children, Say Many
Americans abcNews.com. ABC
NEWS. 15.Sep.2010. Web. 24. Jul. 2016.
Emery, Robert E. How divorce affect children. The Truth about Children and
Divorce. n.d. Web. 24. Jul. 2016.
"Single Parenting and Today's Family." American Psychological Association.
APA Help Center, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
"Single-parent Families." Healthofchildren.com. Encyclopedia of Children's
Health, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Jamrozik, Adam and Luisa Nocella. "The Social Construction of Family
Problems", The Sociology of Social Problems. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1998. pp. 150-179. Cambridge Books Online. Web. 24. Jul.
2016.
Martin, April. Issues for Lesbian- and Gay-Parented Families. Parenthood in
America. University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System. n.d. Web.
24. Jul. 2016
Witt, Jon. SOC. Third ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2014. Print.