The family is the simplest form of social interaction; it forms the base of a society. Ideologies, believes, and functions undertaken in family set-up determine the kind of society that emerges in a particular area. Sociological perspectives and theories are used to define different situations in society; they try to give meaning of existence of certain social phenomenons.
Although major theories focus on the larger community, the family can also be explained using the similar sociological theories/ideologies (Beah,19-89). This paper diagnoses the concept of family using sociological perspectives and theories.
Symbolic interaction
After birth, a child is introduced to a family setting; this is where the child gets the initial socialization and life lessons starts. It is in the family that children learn values, adapt to certain norms, have ideologies and get a sense of belonging.
According to symbolic theory, people perform certain duties from the feeling they have towards others; it is in the family, a social institution that children learn to listen and respect adults, parents and value other people’s opinions.
The sense of identity and belonging comes into being as the child gets emotional and psychological development. The reinforcements both negative and positive at this stage affect the later life of the child.
Functionalism theory
According to the theory, the family is seen as the noble most unit of a society where norms and values are learnt; it develops collective conscience among its members. According to the theory, each individual has a function to undertake. Parents have the role of providing food and shelter to their children; this helps the entire family to be maintained; children learn on adaptation attributes and how to share the available resources.
Parents set base for goals attainment between themselves and for their children. On the other hand, children should respect their parents and perform allocated duties with decency. Home keepers and caregivers can also be taken as part of the family; they play a role in family integration and pattern maintenance.
Conflict perspective
According to conflicts theory, the society is thought to be under constant struggle for available resources; resources can be wealth, status and power. It sees the world to have two categories of people, the haves and the have-nots. The have-nots are constantly struggling with the haves and the haves are trying available options to oppress and dominate in the have-nots.
In a family setting, there is the weaker partner, mostly the woman, she is dominated and have to be submissive to her husband. They are oppressed through income differences, culture and societal briefs. Men dominate families and they have their word as final. Although there are a number of human rights advocators challenging this theory, its effect can be trace in families.
Children have to listen and not object what their parents rule; enforced by the community and the societal culture that parents should make decisions for the children. It is seen as struggle since children would not mind having their own will to make decisions. In most cases, family violence emanate from conflicts among family members.
Deviance
Deviance is said to have occurred in the society if a member of the society does things that contravenes what the majority think as just in most cases, it leads to punishment through correction methods operation in a certain community. In the family, there are disputes between parents and children; they are brought about as social justice is instilled especially to children.
Alternatively, people have different beliefs, perspectives and personalities; wife and husband may have such differences making them conflict that might result to deviance like domestic violence, rape, abandonment and selfishness. In most societies, culture has a way of solving domestic violence; all that parents need to do is consult the right people with the differences they have.
Children on the other hand may deviate from the norms of a family leading to conflict; if they are deviant, then the family will use correction methods put in place to correct such occurrences (Beah,19-89).
Social stratification
Stratification is division of different classes of people into different social status defined by wealth, status and power. Though in a family, set up the stratification may not be seen out rightly, it exists. Dominating partner in a family is mostly the one who is financially better off while the other is oppressed and has no option than to lie low.
The dominant spouse can be said to be in a high social class while the other is in a lower social class. The case above of dominance and unconscious division of power is seen as social stratification in the family.
Success in education in children or spouses brings social stratification where the well-performed party feels to have an upper hand than the rest.
Childhoods and teen violence
When one is talking of domestic violence, what comes in mind is wife or husband violence; in most case women are on the receiving end, they are subjected to physical, psychological and emotional violence. However the scope of domestic violence extend far beyond this believe to include child abuse and the effects that such abuse have on a child.
The most common types of violence within the family are wife abuse and child abuse. Violence in this sense may include slaps, pushes, sexual abuse, battering, and use of abusive words. A research conducted by in United States of America, shown that each year over 3.3 children suffer from domestic violence. The recognition of this is affected by lack of data that can be used for the analysis.
The effect is mostly psychological, emotional and sometimes physical. The most noted one is physical and thus emotional and psychological remains not recorded (Beah,19-89). Children are sometimes the subject of war and they suffer from beatings and physical injury; when such a case happens, then the child is more likely to become violent at his later stages in life; this creates another relationship of domestic violence and violence of children and teens:
- Violence among children and teens (V.C.T.) = f (domestic violence (D.V.))
Child behavior development
The environment they are brought up in shapes the behavior of children; in case his families are violent, the behavior that the child will develop is likely to be inclined to that angle. A family is a sociological unit, which includes parents and children. The environment that he grows in will shape the kind of behavior that a child has the relationship is as follows
- Children behaviour (C.B) = f (domestic violence (D.V.))
Self-esteem
The family as the simplest unit of a society moulds children self-esteem; self-esteem means the self-value that human beings hold. If a child is brought up in a violent family, his/her sense of esteem is lowered. The relationship will be as follows:
- Child’s self-esteem (C.E) = f (domestic violence (D.V.))
Conclusions
A family is the smallest unit of a society; it has all elements of a society at micro level. When analyzing family concepts and ideologies, sociologists use sociological theories to explain different situations/circumstances within the social unit. Income, education, and societal norms are the major players in maintaining social stratification within the family.
Work Cited
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, 2008. Print.