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What defines a family? It's a difficult question! Families have changed gradually over time; they are all unique, and neither is the same. Families and households are important topics for sociologists as they look at how they've changed over time.
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Sign up for freeWhich of the following types of family consists of two partners who have no emotional or sexual ties with one another but live with their child or children in one household?
Fill in the blank: Wilmott and Young suggested that as society changed, the symmetrical family emerged due to the fact that men's and women's roles were ______.
Fill in the blank: Functionalists believe the ideal family structure is the ____.
In the post-modern world, people don’t have the pressure to conform to traditional norms of family, religion, culture, etc. True or False?
Have rates of child-bearing increased or decreased recently?
Which of these sociological perspectives believe that marriage is a necessary institution in society?
Which of these sociological perspectives argues that family diversity is beneficial as it helps individuals' personal fulfilment and happiness?
What do we call a union that is organised by the two peoples' families and is usually not based on romantic love?
In 2018, ONS registered the lowest number of marriages in England and Wales since 2009.
Due to secularisation, people no longer hold the same God-centred religious beliefs about marriage as before; for example, people are less likely to see marriage as a match created by God.
Sexual assault within marriage has always been considered a criminal offence in Britain. A husband was not allowed to take advantage of his wife's body at any time against her will.
Which of the following types of family consists of two partners who have no emotional or sexual ties with one another but live with their child or children in one household?
Fill in the blank: Wilmott and Young suggested that as society changed, the symmetrical family emerged due to the fact that men's and women's roles were ______.
Fill in the blank: Functionalists believe the ideal family structure is the ____.
In the post-modern world, people don’t have the pressure to conform to traditional norms of family, religion, culture, etc. True or False?
Have rates of child-bearing increased or decreased recently?
Which of these sociological perspectives believe that marriage is a necessary institution in society?
Which of these sociological perspectives argues that family diversity is beneficial as it helps individuals' personal fulfilment and happiness?
What do we call a union that is organised by the two peoples' families and is usually not based on romantic love?
In 2018, ONS registered the lowest number of marriages in England and Wales since 2009.
Due to secularisation, people no longer hold the same God-centred religious beliefs about marriage as before; for example, people are less likely to see marriage as a match created by God.
Sexual assault within marriage has always been considered a criminal offence in Britain. A husband was not allowed to take advantage of his wife's body at any time against her will.
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Team Families and Households Teachers
In this explanation, we will provide a brief overview of the sections within the "Families and households" topic in A-level Sociology. We will be looking at:
When discussing families and households, it is important to define these terms. Equally, we must have a working definition for 'childhood', before we look at theoretical perspectives. After that, we can consider changes to family structure, households, and childhood.
All sociologists do not agree on what an accurate definition is for any of the above terms.
The Collins Dictionary defines a family as “a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children”.1
You will see how this definition changes according to the sociological perspective being used. Generally, functionalists tend to view the family in the traditional sense, namely, a married heterosexual couple with children. Postmodernists disagree and prefer much broader definitions of the family that include civil partnerships, cohabitation, and even family friends and pets.
Fig. 1 - There are many ideas and conceptualisations of family.
Regardless of theoretical perspective, there are different types of families in modern society.
A nuclear family consists of two married parents living with their biological children in one household. It is considered a 'traditional' family arrangement.
A reconstituted family consists of two partners caring for one or more children in one household, but only one partner is biologically related to the child or children. This includes families with a step-parent.
A single-parent family consists of a child or children with one parent in one household.
An extended family consists of a 'nuclear family' living with relatives from outside the nuclear family. Extended families can be either vertical (with grandparents and great-grandparents) or horizontal (with uncles, aunts, or cousins) in one household.
An empty nest family consists of two partners in one household whose children have 'flown the nest' (moved out).
An empty shell family consists of two partners who have no emotional or sexual ties with one another but live with their child or children in one household.
A same-sex family consists of two partners of the same sex with a child or children living in one household.
A cohabiting family consists of two partners living together and unmarried in one household.
The Collins Dictionary defines a household as “all the people in a family or group who live together in a house”.2
A household is broader than a family; it simply means a group of people living in the same house and sharing communal spaces, meals, and bills. A good example of a household is one with university students living together under one roof. It may sometimes be easier to use 'household' instead of 'family' to describe family arrangements.
As you can probably tell, families and households are not the same. The difference is the relationship between the people in the household or family.
A family is a group of people living together who are related to each other, usually parents and children; there might also be other family members involved, such as grandparents.
A household is a group of people living together who may not be related to each other but share common living spaces, meals, and bills; an example is a student household. Families can also be split across different households.
In the topic of families and households, a key area of study is family and household diversity. This refers to the changes and variations in family structure and types of household due to various factors such as age, gender and sexuality, race, marital history, rising living costs, and legal changes. Family and household diversity can also refer to the organisation of the family, for example through changes in the division of labour.
We will be studying demographics and patterns in the UK that illustrate how families and households have changed in recent years.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines childhood as "the state or period of being a child".3
In many countries, it is legally and socially accepted that an individual is a child until the age of 18. However, this has not always been the case. It is important to understand the varying definitions of childhood across society and history as well as theories on what childhood should look like. (Check out Children and Childhood for more information.)
We will be studying several sociological perspectives on families and households, including what sociologists believe the role of the family is and how family structures fit into wider society. These include the views of:
The New Right
Further explanations will look at what the approaches below have to say, specifically about families and households. (Visit each page for a better understanding.)
The explanations that follow will be looking at changing patterns across various factors in recent years; these have changed the structures of families and households in the UK.
We will be considering changes in not only marriage and divorce rates but also the increase in diverse family types and how they have helped shape modern UK society as we know it.
We will be describing and evaluating the symmetrical family. This is a sort of family structure that consists of equal responsibilities and roles in the family, such as between two partners. The idea of a symmetrical family was theorised by Peter Wilmott and Michael Young in 1973.
They suggested that as society changed, the symmetrical family type emerged due to the fact that men's and women's roles were not as segregated as earlier. Both men and women could work and share household responsibilities. The gendered division of labour was decreasing and time was shared more equally.
Wilmott and Young described the symmetrical family as the third stage of family development as characterised by modern society.
In our other 'families and households' articles, we will also be considering demographic trends in the UK and how they have affected family structures and wider society. We will also, where suitable, evaluate sociological explanations for:
Why have these trends taken place?
What impact do they have on current and future society?
The trends we will look at include birth rates, death rates, the ageing population, migration, and globalisation.
Family formation and the composition of households are not purely private matters - social policy also impacts families and households in society.
Various laws and policies over the years have, for example, made divorce easier, recognised same-sex marriages and civil partnerships, introduced child benefits, established financial support for lone parents, etc.
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What is the difference between households and families?
The difference between households and families is the relationship between the people in the household or family. A family is a group of people living together who are related to each other, usually parents and children; there might also be other family members involved, such as grandparents. A household is a group of people living together who may not be related to each other but share common living spaces, meals, and bills; an example is a student household. Families can also be split across different households.
How do households and families affect business?
The structure and composition of families and households affect many aspects of society, including business. This is because families and households are units of consumption. For example, nuclear families consist of mothers, fathers and children, and they get certain goods and services marketed to them on the basis of that, e.g. toys, household wares, and family vacations.
When there is a decline in the number of nuclear families, companies must change what they produce and who they market to.
What is family and household diversity?
This refers to the changes and variations in family structure and types of household due to various factors such as age, gender and sexuality, race, marital history, rising living costs, and legal changes. Family and household diversity can also refer to the organisation of the family, for example through changes in the division of labour.
What are the different types of households?
A household is a group of people living together who may not be related to each other but share common living spaces, meals, and bills. There are many types of households - university students sharing a house, friends living together, unmarried and cohabiting couples, nuclear families, and so on.
Are all households families?
No, all households are not families.
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