Role of the Nuclear Family in Contemporary Society

Functionalist Perspective on the Nuclear Family

Functionalist theorists - Primarily view the nuclear family as beneficial to society by fulfilling specific functions.
George Murdock (1949) - Believes that the nuclear family fulfills four basic functions in every society: sexual, reproductive, educational, and economic.
Talcott Parsons - Argues that a nuclear family is an efficient unit for carrying out the tasks of modern industrial society such as socialisation and stabilisation.

Other Sociological Perspectives on the Nuclear Family

Marxist criticism - Marxists criticise the nuclear family for perpetuating a socio-economic system where wealth remains within a few families, thereby contributing to social inequality.
Feminist critique - Feminists argue that the nuclear family reinforces gender roles and the patriarchal structure of society, therefore perpetuating gender inequality.
Postmodern perspective - Postmodernists assert that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ model for families. They argue that the concept of the nuclear family is outdated, as contemporary society has diverse family structures.

Changing Role of the Nuclear Family

Decreasing prevalence - The nuclear family is decreasing in number due to various reasons, such as rising divorce rates and increased acceptance of alternative family types.
Economic necessity - In contemporary society, both parents in a nuclear family often need to work due to the economic pressures, challenging the traditional gender roles.
Increased diversity - The definition of the nuclear family has been stretched to include same-sex couples, thereby expanding the model’s traditional structure.

Influence of Policies and Laws

State policies - Some policies indirectly promote the nuclear family by granting certain benefits such as tax credits to married couples with children.
Legal changes - Laws, like the legalisation of same-sex marriage, have broadened the definition of a nuclear family. This shows the flexibility and adaptability of the nuclear family structure.

Conclusion

Multiplicity of family structures - With the growing acceptance of different types of families, the singular dominance of the nuclear family in society is decreasing.
Persistence - Despite increasing differentiation, the Nuclear Family persists, indicating its potential perpetual role in society.