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First , pick one of the eight theoretical perspectives on families,…
First, pick one of the eight theoretical perspectives on families, briefly describe the family theory and explain all important terms/concepts.
Second, present the strengths of the theory.
Third, discuss the weaknesses of the family theory.
Fourth, apply the theoretical perspective to a recent event that occurred in life involving and at least one other family member. In response, sure to clearly articulate how the family event/situation illustrated the particular family theory’s concepts.
READing
2.1.3 Theories and Research Help Us Make Informed Decisions
We rarely read a newspaper, newsmagazine, or social media without coming across statistics that affect some aspect of our lives. We listen numbly to the probabilities of dying earlier than expected because of our genes, lifestyle, or environment. We are inundated with advice about exercising, losing weight, lowering cholesterol levels, and not smoking.
Some of the information is sound, but much is biased, inaccurate, or generated by self-proclaimed “experts.” They whip up anxieties and then sell solutions that include their own books and consulting services. As “Self-Help Advice: Let the Reader Beware” shows, one of the best ways to protect yourself against false and misleading information is to be informed.
Choices
Self-Help Advice: Let the Reader Beware
For centuries, people have turned to self-help material to solve their personal problems, but what’s the quality of the advice? A recent study evaluated 63 top-selling stepfamily self-help books that practitioners recommend to their clients. The researchers found that only 13 were of high quality and based on empirical evidence rather than opinion. Even fewer addressed critical topics like stepfamily legal issues and protecting children from stepparents’ and parents’ conflict (Coleman and Nickleberry, 2009).
Many self-help books and websites are based on opinion and anecdotes rather than scholarly research. As a result, these materia
2.2.1 The Structural Functional Perspective
Structural functional theory (often shortened to functionalism) examines how a society’s interdependent parts work together to ensure its survival. When functionalists study families, they look at how families contribute to a society’s stability (through procreation and socialization, for example), and the relationships between family members and between families and other institutions such as education and religion. For example, according to functionalists, adult family tasks are best accomplished when spouses carry out two distinct and specialized types of rolesinstrumental and expressive (Parsons and Bales, 1955).
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Family Roles
The husband or father, the “breadwinner,” performs instrumental roles: providing food and shelter for the family and being hardworking, tough, and competitive. The wife or mother plays the expressive roles of the “homemaker”: providing the emotional support and nurturing that sustain the family unit. These family roles characterize what social scientists call the traditional family, a family form that many conservative groups would like to preserve (see Chapter 1).
In a traditional family, the father is the breadwinner and the mother is the homemaker.
Michaeljung/Fotolia
These and other family roles are functional because they make and preserve order, stability, and harmony. They also provide the physical shelter and emotional support that ensure a family’s health and s
