SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

FAMILIES, IMPACTED BY THE

LOSS OF A PARENT
SOCIOLOGY 1 MARIE BARRAZA

FAMILIES: OVERVIEW

HISTORY OF THE FAMILY

No clear historical consensus on the exact

timeframe of the emergence of the Family
Existence of family is universal across
cultures, however structure is not (Shah
2014)

SOCIOLOGICAL BASIS

Emergence of family based on 3 needs.

Procreation
Sexual

Urges
Economic Needs
Education (Shah 2014)

TYPES OF FAMILIES

NUCLEAR
EXTENDED
LONEPARENT
RECONSTITU
TED
COHABITATIO
N

(Sutherland A. 2014)

FAMILIES IMPACTED BY
LOSS

TYPES OF LOSS THAT IMPACT FAMILIES

THE 3 Ds:
1. DISEASE
2. DIVORCE
3. DEATH

SOCIAL PERCEPTION
LONE PARENT
FAMILIES:
First officially
recognized in the
1960s. Prior to this
there was a deep
stigma surrounding
lone-parent families,
often referred to as
fatherless family or
unmarried mother.

FAMILIES: LOSS OF A
PARENT

Death of a parent, impact on family:

Move from existing as a two-parent
family to a lone-parent family
Outcomes & Stats
Impact depends on many factors:
Parenting style of mothers vs. fathers
Authority patterns
Available resources

IMPACT ON CHILDREN:
HEALTH
Percentages of Children with One or
More Selected Chronic Conditions, by
Family Structure

IMPACT ON CHILDREN:
BEHAVIOR
Percentages of Children Aged 417 Who
Had
Definite or Severe Emotional or
Behavioral Difficulties,
by Family Structure

FUNCTIONALIST THEORY & FAMILY

Primary Functionalist theorists on

Family:
G. P. Murdock & Talcott Parsons
Murdock argued that Nuclear family
is Universal. (Ham 2015)
Parsons argued that Industrialization
led to the replacement of the
extended family by the nuclear
family. (Ham 2015)

CONFLICT THEORY & FAMILY

Primary theorist: Karl Marx

Marx argued that familial socialization is
responsible for transmitting ruling class
ideology.
Children that accept parental authority
without question are being taught to
accept authority later in life, leads to
conformity.
Too much focus on the family takes away
from individuality and suppresses urge for
meaningful action. (Ham 2015)

COMPARING SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
FUNCTIONALIST

CONFLICT THEORY

Family provides necessary functions.

Education
Financial support
Reproduction
Sex

Family supports conformity.

Teaches authority
Financially
exploited
Reinforce strict
gender norms

CURRENT VIEWS

Sociologi
Rise in
sts fret
unmarried
that more
parents.
children
Less stigma for risk losing
out on the
lone-parent
economic
families.
benefits of
More resources living in
married
and support.
household
s (Shah
2015)

CHALLENGES

Economic resources
are strained by single
source of income in
lone-parent families.

Two-parent households
are declining in US as
divorce, remarriage
and cohabitation are
on the rise. (Pew
Research et al. 2015)

WORKS CITED

Borgers, N. Dronkers, Japp. Borgers, Natcha. The effects of different

forms of two- and single-parent families on the well-being of their
children in Dutch secondary education. Social Psychology of
Education, 1996, Volume 1, Number 2, Page 147

"Challenges of Single-parent Families Due to Death or Separation."

Australian Institute of Professional Counselors. Article Library, 11
Apr. 2014. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/challenges-of-single-parentfamilies-due-to-death-or-separation/>
Ham, E. (2015, February 16). Functionalism and "the" Family: A
Summary. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from
http://www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/functfamsum.html
Ham, E. (2015, October 2). Marxism and the Family. Retrieved July
20, 2016, from
http://www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/marxismfamily.html

Patterson, Jon M. "Understanding family resilience."Journal of clinical

psychology58.3 (2002): 233-246.

WORKS CITED (Contd.)

RESEARCH, PEW. (2015, December 17). 1. The American family

today. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/1-the-american-familytoday/

Shah, N. (2015, March 10). U.S. Sees Rise in Unmarried Parents.

Retrieved July 19, 2016, from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/cohabiting-parents-at-record-high1426010894
Shah, S. (2014). Origin of Family: Legendary Accounts and
Theory of Primitive Promiscuism. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from
http://www.sociologydiscussion.com/essay/origin-of-familylegendary-accounts-and-theory-of-primitive-promiscuism/2334
Sutherland, A. (2014, July 03). Family Structure and Childrens
Health | Family Studies. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from
http://family-studies.org/family-structure-and-childrens-health/

Thompson, C. H. (2008, July 08). Lone Parent Families. Retrieved July 19,
2016, from https://sociologytwynham.com/