Single Parent Family Research

There have always been differences in opinions on multiple things in different generations. Each generation poses its own unique ideas and perspectives, so it is natural that these opinions and views would change over time. To prove this, I interviewed my great grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother. I asked them what their opinions of single parent families and stepfamilies were; I was really surprised at the results that I received. My great grandmother is ninety-five and she has actually been married several times. Most of her remarriages stem from her husbands passing away. My grandmother, her daughter, has had several step dads. When I asked my great grandmother what her personal views on blended families were, she said that her …show more content…
She said when she was younger, more people got divorced because it was much more accepted. It still was not a widespread epidemic like it is in today’s society, but it was more common than it was in her parents’ time. My grandmother has only been married once and she believes that she will never remarry because she does not want to. She personally thinks that they should not get divorced because it harms the family and it harms society’s view on the sanctity of marriage itself. She thinks the acceptance of divorce in society has led to more divorce. In regards to stepfamilies, my grandma firmly states that blended families were even more scarce during her time. Single parent families did not exist where she grew up. It was not something that was easily accepted because divorce itself was not accepted as much. This is why I can say without a doubt that my grandma takes on the functionalist perspective. She is a little different from my great grandma in the sense that she does not consider the reasons behind the divorce or the actions involved. She simply thinks that people should stick it out for the betterment of the family and …show more content…
My mother thinks that divorce is always an option for the people that simply are not happy. Remarrying and having a blended family is something my mom does not see as a bad thing. She thinks that if a person is happier remarrying and having a blended family that they should do so without judgment. She also believes that single parents should not be judged or persecuted, especially if it was better for the child involved to only have one child. She simply thinks it depends on the treatment of each spouse towards one another and the reasons for divorce and remarrying. She says she cannot make a generalized statement. It would depend on the people and their perspective. This is why my mom would fit into the symbolic interactionist perspective. She looks at the perception of the people involved and what makes them happy or unhappy. Her views differ quite a bit from my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s. My mother’s views were much more progressive and lenient than that of the older generations. When I first set out to complete this essay, I thought I had an idea of what to expect. I thought my grandmother would be the one that was more progressive in her thinking, but she was less progressive than her mother. I think it’s because of their marriage circumstances that they have both had to endure. My mother, as I suspected, was the most progressive of the three and definitely had less judgement