What do sociologists call the marriage to someone from a different social background?

Select your language

Suggested languages for you:

Want to get better grades?

Nope, I’m not ready yet

Get free, full access to:

• Flashcards
• Notes
• Explanations
• Study Planner
• Textbook solutions

Sociology is the study of society and human behaviour, and one of the first social institutions many of us are born into is the family.

What do we mean by "family"? How do different families function? What do families look like in modern times? Sociologists are fascinated by questions such as these and have researched and analysed the family very closely.

We will go over the basic ideas, concepts, and theories of the family in sociology. Check out the separate explanations on each of these topics for more in-depth information!

Definition of family in sociology

Defining family can be difficult as we tend to base our idea of the family on our own experiences and expectations of our families (or lack thereof). Therefore, Allan and Crow argued that sociologists must first specify what they mean by "family" when researching and writing about the topic.

A general definition of family is that it is a union of a couple and their dependent children living in the same household.

However, this definition doesn't cover the increasing family diversity that exists in the world now.

Types of family in sociology

There are many structures and compositions of family in modern Western society. Some of the most common family forms in the UK are:

• Nuclear families

• Same-sex families

• Dual-worker families

• Extended families

• Beanpole families

• Lone-parent families

• Reconstituted families

Alternatives to the family

Family diversity has increased, but so has the number of alternatives to the family at the same time. It is no longer compulsory nor desirable for everyone to "start a family" once they reach a certain point - people have more options now.

Household:

Individuals can also be classified as living in "households". A household refers to either one person who lives alone or a group of people who live under the same address, spend time together and share responsibilities. Families usually live in the same household, but people who are not related by blood or marriage can also create a household (for example, university students sharing a flat).

• An individual usually lives in different types of families and households during their course of life.

• Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in the number of one-person households in the UK. There are more older people (mostly women) living alone after their partners pass away, as well as increasing numbers of younger people living in one-person households. The choice to live alone might result from several factors, from divorce to being single.

Friends:

Some sociologists (mainly the sociologists of the personal life perspective) argue that friends have replaced family members in many people’s lives as the primary supporters and nurturers.

Looked-after children:

Some children don’t live with their families due to being mistreated or neglected. Most of these children are taken care of by foster carers, while some of them live in children’s homes or in secure units.

Residential care:

Some older people live in residential care or in nursing homes, where professional caretakers look after them rather than their family members.

Communes:

A commune is a group of people who share accommodation, profession and wealth. Communes were especially popular in the 1960s and 1970s USA.

A Kibbutz is a Jewish agricultural settlement where people live in communes, sharing accommodation and childcare responsibilities.

In 1979, China introduced a policy which restricted couples to having only one child. If they had more than that, they could face serious fines and punishment. The policy was ended in 2016; now, families can request to have more than one child.

Changing family relationships

Family relationships have always shifted throughout history. Let's look at some modern trends.

• The fertility rate has been declining in Western countries in the past decades due to several factors, including the declining stigma around contraception and abortion and women’s increasing participation in paid labour.

• Previously, many children were unable to attend school due to poverty. Many of them worked either in real or in household employment. Since the 1918 Education Act, it is now mandatory for all children to attend school until the age of 14.

• Sociologists argue that children are seen as important members of contemporary society and have more individual freedom than before. Childrearing is no longer restricted and dominated by economic factors, and parent-children relationships tend to be much more child-centred now.

• Due to increasing geographical mobility, people tend to be less connected to their extended families than before. At the same time, longer life expectancy has resulted in more households consisting of two, three or even more generations.

• A relatively new phenomenon is the generation of boomerang children. These are young adults who leave home to study or work and then return during a financial, housing or employment crisis.

Family diversity

The Rapoports (1982) distinguished between 5 types of family diversity:

• Organisational diversity

• Cultural diversity

• Social class diversity

• Life-course diversity

• Cohort diversity

Sociologists have noted that there are certain patterns of family formation and family life regarding specific to social class and ethnicity in the UK. For example, women of African-Caribbean heritage often work in full-time employment even with children, while Asian mothers tend to become full-time homemakers when they have children.

Some sociologists claim that working-class households are more male-dominated than the more egalitarian and equal middle-class households. However, others have criticised this statement, pointing to research that shows that working-class fathers are more involved with childrearing than middle and upper-class fathers.

The different sociological concepts of family

Various sociological approaches all have their own views on the family and its functions. Let's study the perspectives of functionalism, Marxism, and feminism.

The functionalist view of the family

Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is the building block of society because of the functions it carries out. G. P. Murdock (1949) defined the four main functions the nuclear family fulfils in society as follows:

• Sexual function

• Reproductive function

• Economic function

• Educational function

Talcott Parsons (1956) argued that the nuclear family has lost some of its functions. For instance, the economic and educational functions are taken care of by other social institutions. However, this does not mean that the nuclear family is unimportant.

Parsons believes that personalities are not born but made during the primary socialisation or upbringing of children when they are taught social norms and values. This primary socialisation happens in the family, so according to Parsons, the most significant role of the nuclear family in society is to form human personalities.

Functionalists such as Parson are often criticised for idealising and only considering the white middle-class family, ignoring dysfunctional families and ethnic diversity.

The Marxist view of the family

Marxists are critical of the ideal of the nuclear family. They argue that the nuclear family serves the capitalist system rather than the individuals in it. Families reinforce social inequalities by socialising their children according to the ‘values and rules’ of their social class, not preparing them for any kind of social mobility.

Eli Zaretsky (1976) claimed that the nuclear family serves capitalism in three key ways:

• It serves an economic function by making women do unpaid domestic labour such as housework and childrearing, enabling men to focus on their paid labour outside of the home.

• It ensures the reproduction of social classes by prioritising having children.

• It fulfils a consumer role that benefits the bourgeoisie and the whole capitalist system.

Zaretsky believed that only a society without social classes (socialism) could end the separation of private and public spheres and ensure that all individuals find personal fulfilment in society.

Marxists are sometimes criticised for ignoring that many people are fulfilled in the traditional nuclear family form.

The feminist view of the family

Feminist sociologists are usually critical of the traditional family form.

Ann Oakley was one of the first to raise attention to the ways traditional gender roles, created through the patriarchal nuclear family, contribute to the oppression ofwomen in society. She pointed out that as early as childhood, girls and boys are taught different things to prepare them for different roles (homemaker and breadwinner) they will have to perform later in life. She also talked a lot about the repetitive and boring nature of domestic work which left many, if not most, women unfulfilled.

Researchers Christine Delphy and Diana Leonard also studied housework and found that husbands systematically exploit their wives by leaving all the unpaid domestic labour to them. As they are often financially dependent on their husbands, women cannot challenge the status quo. In some families, women also suffer from domestic abuse, making them even more powerless.

As a result, Delphy and Leonard argue that families contribute to maintaining male domination and patriarchal control in society.

Conjugal roles and the symmetrical family

Conjugal roles are the domestic roles and responsibilities of married or cohabiting partners. Elizabeth Bott identified two types of households: one with segregated conjugal roles and the other with joint conjugal roles.

Segregated conjugal roles meant that the tasks and responsibilities of the husband and wife were distinctly different. Usually, this meant that the wife was the homemaker and carer for the children, while the husband had a job outside of the home and was the breadwinner. In joint conjugal role households, the domestic duties and tasks are shared relatively equally between the partners.

The symmetrical family:

Young and Willmott (1973) created the term ‘symmetrical family’ referring to a dual-earner family in which the partners share the roles and responsibilities both in and outside of the household. These types of families are much more equal than traditional nuclear families. The move to a more symmetrical family structure was accelerated by numerous factors:

• The feminist movement

• Women’s increased participation in education and paid employment

• The decline of traditional gender roles

• The growing interest in home life

• The declining stigma around contraception

• Changing attitudes towards fatherhood and the emergence of the "new man"

Marriage in a global context

In the West, marriage is based on monogamy, which means being married to one person at a time. If someone’s partner dies or gets a divorce, they are legally allowed to get married again. This is called serial monogamy. Marrying someone while already being married to another person is called bigamy and is a criminal offence in the Western world.

Different forms of marriage:

• Polygamy

• Polygyny

• Polyandry

• Arranged marriage

• Forced marriage

Statistics show that there has been a decline in the number of marriages in the Western world, and people tend to get married later than before.

Since 2005, same-sex partners have been able to enter civil partnerships, which granted them the same rights as marriage except for the title. Since the 2014 Marriage Act, same-sex couples can now marry as well.

More and more people now decide to cohabit without getting married, and there has been an increase in children born out of marriage.

Divorce

There has been a rise in the number of divorces in the West. Sociologists have collected many factors playing a role in the changing divorce rates:

• Changes in the law

• Changes in social attitudes and declining stigma around divorce

• Secularisation

• The feminist movement

• Changes in the presentation of marriage and divorce in the media

Consequences of divorce:

• Changes to family structure

• Relationship breakdown and emotional distress

• Financial hardship

• Remarriage

Problems of the modern family in sociology

Some sociologists have claimed that the three most important social issues regarding children and families are:

• Issues around parenting (especially the case of teenage mothers).

• Issues around the relationship between parents and teenagers.

• Issues around the care for older people.

Postmodernist scholars, like Ulrich Beck, argued that people nowadays have unrealistic ideals for what a partner should be like and what a family should look like, which makes it more and more difficult to settle down.

People are also more isolated from their extended families as globalisation enables geographical mobility for more people. Some sociologists claim that the lack of family networks makes family life more difficult for individuals and often leads to marital breakdowns or creates dysfunctional families, where domestic and child abuse can happen.

Women's status and role in families are still often exploitative, despite the positive changes that have happened in the past decades. Recent surveys have shown that even in a family where both partners think that the domestic duties are shared equally, women do more of the housework than men (even when they are both in full-time employment outside of the home).

Sociology of Families - Key takeaways

• Defining family can be difficult as we all tend to base the definition on our own experiences with our own families. There are many types of families and alternatives to traditional families in contemporary society.
• Family relationships have changed throughout history, including relationships between spouses, extended family members, and parents and their children.

• There are 5 types of family diversity: organisational diversity, cultural diversity, social class diversity, life course diversity, and cohort diversity.

• Sociologists of different theories have differing views on the family and its functions.

• Marriage rates have been declining while divorce rates are rising in almost all Western countries. Modern families face many challenges, both old and new.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sociology of Family

A general definition of family is that it is a union of a couple and their dependent children living in the same household. However, this definition doesn't cover the increasing family diversity that exists in the world now. 

Sociologists differentiate between many different types of families, such as nuclear families, same-sex families, dual-worker families, beanpole families and so on.

According to G.P. Murdock, the four main functions of the family are sexual function, reproductive function, economic function and educational function.

Sociologists have noticed certain patterns in family formation and family life depending on the social class, ethnicity, gender- and age composition of the family and the sexual orientation of the family members.

Sociology is the study of society and human behaviour, and one of the first social institutions many of us are born into is the family.

Final Sociology of Family Quiz

Question

Why is it difficult to give a sociological definition of 'family'?

Show answer

Answer

Defining family can be difficult as we all tend to base the definition on our own experiences with our own families. Therefore, Allan and Crow argued that sociologists must first specify their terms around family when they research and write about the topic. 

Show question

Question

Give a general definition of the family.

Show answer

Answer

A general definition of family can be that it is a union of a couple and their dependent children, living in the same household. 

Show question

Question

What are the most common family forms in the UK?

Show answer

Answer

• Nuclear families

• Same-sex families

• Dual-worker families

• Extended families

• Beanpole families

• Lone-parent families

• Reconstituted families

Show question

Answer

A household means either one person who lives alone or a group of people who live under the same address, spend time together and share the responsibilities for the home.

Show question

Question

Who are looked-after children?

Show answer

Answer

Looked-after children are the ones who don’t live with their families due to the experience of maltreatment or neglect. Most of these children are taken care of by foster carers while some of them live in children’s homes or in secure units.

Show question

Answer

A commune is a group of people who share accommodation, profession and wealth. Communes were especially popular in the 1960s and 1970s USA.

Show question

Question

Kibbutzim is a Jewish agricultural settlement where people live in communes, sharing accommodation and the responsibility of childcare.

Show answer

Question

The fertility rate has been declining in Western countries in the past decades due to several factors, including the declining stigma around contraception and abortion and women’s increasing participation in paid labour.

Show answer

Question

Parent-children relationships were much more child-centred in earlier centuries than now.

Show answer

Question

What term do sociologists use for those young adults who leave the home to study or work and return during a financial, housing or employment crisis?

Show answer

Question

What were the 5 concepts that the Rapoports based their differentiation of family types on?

Show answer

Answer

• Organisational diversity

• Cultural diversity

• Social class diversity

• Life course diversity

• Cohort diversity

Show question

Question

According to statistics, women of Asian heritage often work in full-time employment even when they have children while African-Caribbean mothers tend to become full-time homemakers when they have kids.

Show answer

Question

According to G. P. Murdock (1949), what are the four main functions of the nuclear family?

Show answer

Answer

• Sexual function

• Reproductive function

• Economic function

• Educational function

Show question

Question

What is the most important function of the nuclear family, according to Talcott Parsons?

Show answer

Answer

According to Parsons, the most significant role of the nuclear family in society is to create human personalities during primary socialisation.

Show question

Question

Eli Zaretsky (1976) claimed that the nuclear family served capitalism in three key ways. What were these?

Show answer

Answer

• It served an economic function by making women do the unpaid labour of the housework and childrearing, on which the men’s wage labour outside of the home depended.

• It ensured the reproduction of social classes.

• It fulfilled a consumer role, that benefitted the bourgeoisie and the whole capitalist system once again.

Show question

Answer

Conjugal roles are the domestic roles and responsibilities of married or cohabiting partners.

Show question

Question

What is a symmetrical family and who created the term?

Show answer

Answer

Young and Willmott (1973) created the term ‘symmetrical family’ which referred to a dual-earner family, where the partners shared the roles and responsibilities both in and outside of the household, creating much greater equality between themselves than before.

Show question

Question

Give examples of different forms of marriage.

Show answer

Answer

• Polygamy

• Polygyny

• Polyandry

• Arranged marriage

• Forced marriage

Show question

Question

Statistics show that there has been a decline in the number of marriages in the Western world and people tend to get married later than before.

Show answer

Question

Give examples of the possible consequences of divorce.

Show answer

Answer

• Changes to family structure

• Relationship breakdown and emotional distress

• Financial hardship

• Remarriage

Show question

Question

Give a relatively inclusive definition of the family.

Show answer

Answer

An attempt at a more inclusive definition of family would be that it is ‘a union of two people based on marriage, cohabitation or civil partnership with or without dependent children, or the union of a lone parent and their dependent children’.

Show question

Question

Give examples of diverse family forms that do not fit the definition of family as 'a union of a couple and their dependent children, living in the same household'.

Show answer

Answer

• Lone-parent families. 
• Dependent children raised by a member of the extended family, rather than a parent.
• Reconstituted families with step-children from the partners’ previous relationship. 
• Living Apart Together (LAT) relationships. 
• A very closely knit group of friends and non-blood relations.

Show question

Question

People usually experience living in multiple different types of families during their course of life. 

Show answer

Question

Which of the relationships below cannot be described as a family?

Show answer

Answer

Two colleagues and the child of one of them, who spends some time in the office.

Show question

Question

Did Allan and Crow think that the lack of a general definition of family was a serious problem in sociology?

Show answer

Answer

Allan and Crow argued that the diverse meaning of family was not necessarily an issue in sociology, as long as sociologists clarified what they meant by ‘family’ at the very beginning of their research.

Show question

Question

Some sociologists find even this definition too exclusive. They prefer to talk about ‘families’ rather than ‘the family’.

Show answer

Question

What are the most common family forms in the UK?

Show answer

Answer

• Nuclear family
• Same-sex family
• Dual-worker family
• Extended family
• Beanpole family
• Lone-parent family
• Reconstituted family

Show question

Question

How do we call the family of a mom and her dependent children?

Show answer

Answer

Lone-parent family/ Lone-mother family

Show question

Question

What do we call a family of lesbian mothers and their adopted children? (There can be more than one right answer.)

Show answer

Question

Family members always live in the same household.

Show answer

Question

In the past decades, there has been a decline in the number of one-person households in the UK.

Show answer

Question

Can friends replace family members in the supportive roles of an individual's life?

Show answer

Answer

Yes. Some sociologists (mainly the sociologists of the personal life perspective) argue that friends have replaced family members in many people’s lives as the primary supporters and nurturers. 

Show question

Question

Communes were very popular and widespread in America, in the 1960s and 1970s.

Show answer

Question

In 1979 China introduced a policy which restricted couples to having only one child.

Show answer

Question

What is a nuclear family?

Show answer

Answer

A nuclear family consists of a father and a mother who are married, are in a civil partnership or cohabit and their dependent children. These two generations live together in one household.

Show question

Question

What do functionalists think about the nuclear family?

Show answer

Answer

Functionalist sociologists see the nuclear family as the building block of society and are keen to have governments implement social policies that support this type of family.

Show question

Question

What is a same-sex family?

Show answer

Answer

A same-sex family is a nuclear family that is headed by a gay couple.

Show question

Question

Since 2005 same-sex partners have been able to enter civil partnerships, which essentially granted the same rights as to marriage except for the title.

Show answer

Question

Since 2010 marriage is also legal between same-sex couples.

Show answer

Question

What are the options for same-sex couples to have children?

Show answer

Answer

Same-sex partners have multiple choices for having children. They have the option to have a baby through a surrogate and they may also consider adoption.

Show question

Question

What is an extended family?

Show answer

Answer

An extended family includes the family members beyond the nuclear family.

Show question

Question

What is a vertically extended family?

Show answer

Answer

A vertically extended family refers to a family where multiple generations live together (or very close to each other) (Charles et al, 2008).

Show question

Question

What is a beanpole family?

Show answer

Answer

A beanpole family is a long and thin vertically extended family with multiple older generations but with few children in each generation.

Show question

Question

What is a horizontally extended family?

Show answer

Answer

Horizontally extended families include multiple members of the same generation, such as the siblings and cousins of the parents, who live together (or very close to each other).

Show question

Question

What does the term 'modified extended family' mean?

Show answer

Answer

Sociologists use the term ‘modified extended family’ to refer to a modern family whose members live apart from each other geographically but are still in close touch with each other, provide emotional support and have regular get-togethers. 

Show question

Question

What is a lone-parent family?

Show answer

Answer

Lone-parent families consist of a lone mother or a lone father and their dependent children.

Show question

Question

What is a reconstituted family?

Show answer

Answer

Reconstituted families can be referred to as blended families or step-families. A reconstituted family consists of the parents and their children from previous relationships living together. The parent who is not related to their partner’s biological children by blood is called a step-parent. The couple might have children of their own too. 

Show question

Question

Statistics show that most lone-parent families are headed by women. In 2015, 90 percent of all British lone-parent families were lone-mother families.

Show answer

Question

Statistically, there are more step-mothers as there are more single women who marry men with children than single men who couple up with women who already have a child or children from previous relationships.

Show answer

Question

In 1996 there were 6.6 million one-person households, which increased to 7.7 million by 2015.

Show answer

Discover the right content for your subjects

No need to cheat if you have everything you need to succeed! Packed into one app!

Study Plan

Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan.

Quizzes

Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes.

Flashcards

Create and find flashcards in record time.

Notes

Create beautiful notes faster than ever before.

Study Sets

Have all your study materials in one place.

Documents

Upload unlimited documents and save them online.

Study Analytics

Identify your study strength and weaknesses.

Weekly Goals

Set individual study goals and earn points reaching them.

Smart Reminders

Stop procrastinating with our study reminders.

Rewards

Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying.

Magic Marker

Create flashcards in notes completely automatically.

Smart Formatting

Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates.

Sign up to highlight and take notes. It’s 100% free.

What do sociologists call marriage from different social groups?

What is marriage between individuals who have different social characteristics?

What might a sociologist say about marriage?

What is sociology is called a tendency to marry someone of a similar background?