What Is The Functionalist View Of The Extended Family

Functionalist sociologists believe that the family is the most important institution of society and that it performs the necessary functions for the maintenance and well running of society as a whole and for individual members within society. The family is said to be a close domestic group comprised of people related to one another by bonds of blood, sexual mating, or legal ties. The family has adapted over time and there are many different forms of families. Murdock says the family reproduces the next generation of society. A household is when one or more people live under the same roof. It does not only contain families.
Parsons argued that the pre-industrial society was focused on the extended family. In extended families were based on ascription and not achievement. This meant that people were born in to their jobs and could not work their way up. The extended family performed other functions for it members. The family members were equipped with the skills and education that was required to take their place in the division of labour. Industrialisation had many effects on the family. Parsons argued that the extended family had evolved in to the nuclear family due to industrialisation. In an industrial society the economy demanded a …show more content…
Young and Willmott disagree with Parsons’ view on how quickly family structure changed. They believe that it was more gradual in nature. Their research showed that in the 1950s, which was when industrialisation was in its advanced state, extended families existed in large numbers. This was due to emotional attachment and obligation. Instead, they believe that the extended family structure went in to decline in the 1960s due to communities being rehoused. In addition the 1944 Education Act meant that people would have more qualifications and move on to better paid jobs away from the family. This further caused the breakdown of the extended