Sociology of the Family Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Sociology of the Family?

The sociology of the family is the study of how a family functions, both in its internal dynamics and its external environment. The focus is on understanding how the family works as a social institution, and how this impacts individuals within it. This can include topics such as marriage, parenting, work-family balance, divorce, gender roles, power dynamics within the family unit, and more.When looking at a family from a sociological perspective, there are four main perspectives to consider: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism and exchange theory. Functionalism focuses on how families meet their needs by performing certain tasks which help them survive as an institution. Conflict theory looks at how power imbalances within the family shape relationships between members; symbolic interactionism examines how individuals interact with each other through symbols; while exchange theory looks at economic aspects of families to understand their structure and behavior. The sociology of the family has been studied extensively over time due to its strong connection with other social issues such as education levels or access to healthcare services for example. There is also evidence that suggests that certain types of families may be more successful in meeting their needs than others for instance traditional nuclear families tend to have higher educational attainment than single parent households when comparing children from similar socio-economic backgrounds. Furthermore studies have also shown that there are differences in power dynamics between males and females when it comes to decision making within couples with women being more likely to take on traditional gender roles (such as childcare duties) while men tend to take on more powerful roles (such as financial decisions). This points towards an unequal distribution of power within these relationships which can lead to disagreements or even divorce if not managed correctly. Finally it is important to note that although some trends may be observed across different types of families there can also be huge variations due to factors like culture or religion meaning that no two families will ever function exactly alike regardless of what type they are classified under.