FAMILY
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Scholars have struggled for several decades to have a standard definition of a family. Most researchers still restrict their definition of families to nuclear families, while others believe that universal families exist. In my perspective, a family is a group of specific people who reside together in a particular household, promote social, material, reproduction, and emotional support, and builds a sense of identity, personal ties, and shares history and future.
There are other diverse perspectives and definitions of family. Lisa (2016) elaborates that Murdock was a researcher in 1949 who defined a family as a socially relating group, sharing a similar residence and has obligations of sharing economic maintenance of reproductive and other household needs. In his definition, Murdock argues that a nuclear family can exist in diverse historical and cultural periods, making it a universal family. Lisa (2016) further explains another definition by a female sociologist, under research by Smith in 1993. The Sociologist views the Standard North American family as an ideological code. The traditional family (a heterosexual, married couple with children) is a culturally appreciated and valued family. The Sociologist criticizes Murdock’s view that the nuclear family is culturally universal. She argues that standard North America should be the lens through which he interprets and view his data patterns. My argument is in line with a study by Lisa (2016), who argue that conceptualizing family on traditional and normative definitions restricts the understanding of a family to nuclear families, with married couples (who are heterosexual) and their biological children narrow. The description in that perspective only considers the cultural families and disregards the other classifications of a family. The definition thus exclusively concentrates on familial ties and bonds and another legal status. Despite the continued differences and disagreements in the Universality of the nuclear family, the US Census uses the traditional and normative definitions of a family (Lisa, 2016). However, the US Census definition emphasizes the structural arrangement as it assumes that members of a family share residence. According to Lisa (2016), the US Census Bureau defines a family explicitly as a group of people in the same household, whose relationship is based on factors such as birth, adoption, or marriage, and resides together. Some critiques on this definition are that it relies on narrow conceptions of a family, thus underestimate the gay families and cohabiting couples (Lisa, 2016). The consequences of underestimating some families are that the government may gather and present wrong information concerning the family poverty measurements, statistical changes, social welfare eligibility programs, among others.
I believe a more inclusive definition of a family is better. There are diverse forms of family communications, change, and cohesion, which are essential basics in understanding a family. A study by Tiffany and Jeffrey (2019) explains that a more vital understanding of family communication and its theories is applicable in defining, theorizing, and examining content areas in a family, which can be a different approach to family definition. Some crucial topics covered under family communications, cohesion, and change can reinforce family definition. Such issues include communication patterns, intimacy, sexuality, commitment, diversity, power, and influence. Supplementation of a family’s purpose with the content ensures that the definition is not narrow and covers every family perspective. According to Puja (n.d), some essential features to consider when dealing with the family are mating characteristics, the form of marriage, the members’ habitations, economic provisioning, and communication systems. Other distinct features are Universality, emotional role, family size, social regulation, and member’s role (Puja, n.d). I, therefore, believe that getting a single definition for a family is complex. However, the crucial features should not be left out in defining a family.
References
Miller, L. R. (2016). Definition of family. Encyclopedia of Family Studies, 1-7. https://sci-hub.st/10.1002/9781119085621.wbefs137
Mondal, P. (n.d). Family: The Meaning, Features, Types, and Functions. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/family/family-the-meaning-features-types-and-functions-5230-words/8588
Wang, T. R., & Child, J. T. (2019). Perspectives on Teaching the Family Communication Course. Journal of Communication Pedagogy, 2(1), 2. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=jcp