FAMILY AS A

SOCIAL
INSTITUTION
Lesson 1
WHAT IS THE FAMILY?
 The family is the basic social institution and the primary
group in society. The structure of the family may vary
from one society to the other and from one culture to the
other as well.
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES…
 Kinship- refers to the web of social relations that form
an essential part of the lives of most humans in most
societies.

 Descent- refers to the origin or background of a person

in terms of family or nationality.
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES…
 Marriage- an important element of the family is
marriage. It is the cultural mechanism that ensures its
continuity.
 According to Bowman (1970) people marry for
combined reasons: love, economic and emotional
security, the parents’ desires, escape from solitude or
forlorn home situation, money, companionship,
protection, adventure or common interest.
FORMS OF MARRIAGE
 Monogamy- allows or permits a man to take only one
spouse at a time.

 Polygamy- is a form of plural marriage.

-Polygyny
-Polyandry
FORMS OF MARRIAGE
 Polygyny- is the marriage of one man to two or more
women at the same time. It is practiced by Muslims
being confined to the upper socioeconomic levels and is
considered as a status symbol for the man.

 Polyandry- is the marriage of a woman to two or more

men at the same time.
SELECTION OF MARRIAGE PARTNERS
There are two types of norms regarding the selection of
marriage partners: endogamy and exogamy.
 Endogamy- refers to the norm which dictates that one
should marry within one’s clan or ethnic group.
 Exogamy- prescribes that one can marry outside one’s
clan or ethnic group.
TYPES OF
FAMILIES
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Nuclear Family- it consist of two parents and child/children
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Extended Family- it consists of Grandparents, their
children and their grandchildren.
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Single-parent Family- a mother or father alone raises a
child.
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Childless Family- families with two partners who cannot
have or don’t want kids. The childless family is sometimes
the “forgotten family”, as it does not meet the traditional
standards set by society.
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Adoptive Family- these are families with a child or
children who have been adopted.
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Same-sex families- a family consist of homosexual couple
living together with children.
TYPES OF FAMILIES
 Never-married Families- in the last decades, most adults live
together outside of traditional marriage. The never-marriage
family is also called “cohabitation family”. It is generally
composed of a couple with or without children who lived
together but remain unmarried.
Do you think is there a type of
family we can consider as the
best type?
REMEMBER:
 There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to what
is the best type of family structure. As long as family is
filled with love and support for one another. It tends to
be successful. Families need to do what is best for each
other and themselves, and that can be achieved in almost
any unit.
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
 FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
1. Addition of new member/Reproduction
-families have children through birth, adoption,
and may also use the help of fertility clinics, etc…
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
2. Chief agency in socializing the child
-teaching children language (as form of
communication), taking them to school, taking
children to cultural activities, church, etc…
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
3. Social control of Members
-teaching children right from wrong,
discipline, etc…
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
4. Affective Nurturance(love)-
maintaining morale of members
-family members comfort children when
crying, support them when making
decisions, etc…
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
5. Give its members a status/identity
-a child is born into a family which gives
him/her a name and a lineage.
FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
 Performs economic functions
-Parents or guardians earn money through
work/careers, perform household chores, pay
bills, food and clothing, provide shelter, etc…
ACTIVITY
 Make your personal “Family Tree”
 Identify what type of family you are in
and describe the role of each member in
the Family