Sociological Perspectives on the Family

Sociological Perspectives on the FamilySociology and the familyIntroductionThis essay provide focus on two sociology theories, which be the family mannerstime motorbike and the functionalist snuggle. It will give a plan all overview of separately theory. The essay will go on to turn over theory to practice, as this essay will make reference to a service user with a sudo name kat oncen as Sean, to up hold confidentiality. time applying the family aliveness history wheel well-nigh to the particular proposition service user, this essay will reexamine the theories strengths and limitations.In applying the functionalist commence, this essay will highlight how the family is seen as an institution in its self and how other institutions inter play in the service users deportment. The theories used in this essay will highlight atomic number 18as which apply to the service user and areas in which the theory lacks netherstanding of the complex situations. goal will be drawn .Overview of separately theoryAccording to Falicov (1988, p. 9) the family support round of golf has been applied widely to hearty science, he explains that the life course of families evolves done predictable arranges which appear universal in spite of ones culture or subculture. Family transits to different sets as form of tenacity and changes over the life motorbike. Falicov identifies two main aspects to the family life speech rhythm, which are cohesiveness and adaptability (Falicov1988, p. 9).The cohesion relates to the interdependence parts of ones life and adaptability refers to the flexibility of the family to change, in this the family daily round essentially focuses on a boors passage into adulthood in spite of appearance a family setting (Falicov, C. 1988, p. 9). As family goes through its continuity phase and changes, theres a need for the role of each member in the family to be recognised. Claveirole, A Gaughan, M. (2011) determines the family life sta ve as a developmental way of looking at families it sufferd a manakin for an idiosyncratics development of family members and the cycle itself is influenced by socio cultures developments divulgeside the family.Falicov, C. (1988, p. 13) says the family life cycle is a subject to mirror timing and coping strategies. Carter, E.A McGoldrick, M. (1999) supports this model as they stated the family cycle is really ones individual life cycle, which changes and moves in a framework within the body structure of a family. This theory meets into account that ones framework is structured by the families ultimo, present and future hopes for an individual introduced into the family life cycle. The family life cycle highlights the circumstance that ones experiences within the family life cycle impacts on our star of self, for vitrine the determine we produce and the development of our personalities. This applies to each individual in spite of the structure, qualities of familys or g enetics of ones family. The family has a responsibility to provide whats known as a natural baseline for an individual to commence physically, mentally, socially and emotionally, it excessively holds responsibility for the social institutions in which will pertain the growth of the individual i.e. schools and church they may attend. The family life cycle it-self is broken in into six parts, which are Independence (second determine changes), coupling (with or without espousal and synergy), parenting young children (participating in reproduction), parenting adolescents, launching adult children and retirement (facing senior historic period). each(prenominal) present contains mastering certain skills or milestones and once this is achieved it allows for the next stage to be developed.There are galore(postnominal) ship canal to study the family which creates many different perspectives. One of these ways is through the functionalist mount. The functionalist blast focuses on the relationship between the family and high society. When looking at the family the functionalist approach shot studies the function in which the family severs to society, such as reproduction and stabilization. Shaws 2002 explains the development of the functionalist approach stating that the perspective emerged as a leading suppositious model, mainly in the area of sociology as troika well known sociologists influenced the model. Wallace and Wolf (1995, p.76) defines functionalism, as a whole theoretical perspective, which takes into account four main areas, which are Functional Independence in maintaining social structure, Collective norms to maintain social order/ stability, Societal chemical equilibrium in areas of conformity, adjustments and consensus, along with social constituents and finally Social Pathology and deviance which fetch resulted from maladjustments of social wholes.The functionalist perspective studies society on two levels called macro and Micro. Macro focuses on society as a whole, polices, work and the community in general. Micro focuses on the individual, the family and reproduction system. The functionalist approach realizes society is broken into institutions. Institutions are defined by Giddens (1984, p.24) as the much enduring social features in life. The main institution in society is the family, OSullivan (2012, p.1) define the family as a natural, primary and fundamental unit group in society a object lesson institution that possesses inalienable and imprescriptibly rights. It is the nuclear family (a yoke with a depended child or children) thats a core unit in all types of society. The usefulness of a family in society is immeasurable in many ways, for example socialization and social order and so by seen the family as a whole in society, it provided changes in society as the needs of family changed, and creating change depends on how societies are governed/run. In support of this is Fletcher (1973) who states th e role of the family in terms of socialization and social order falls into two categories which are satisfying human needs and purposes and providing a functional interconnection with the wider social networks of society (school, church).Overview of the client family circumstancesSean is a male aged 27 years. He has an skilful deterrent and has tended to(p) services for those who wee-wee an intellect disability all his life. World health Organisation (2014) define intellectual disability as extensively reduction on ones capability to be aware of learning and to learn and apply new(a) skills, in this, individuals are affected to head individually as the disability have affected their development. Sean is now in a service that promotes license for those who have an intellectual disability. Sean lives in rude capital of Ireland, a partly disadvantaged area. He lacks motivation and self confidence. He has the capacity to physically work in certain areas and has work for a s hort period of time. He had the capacity to write and read, but has neer been assisted appropriately in the area and is now restricted to learn. He has a great knowledge about current affairs and enjoys lecture about this with people he knows. He has a passion for symphony and one of his hobbies is listening to music. He grew up in a family of trine boys who are younger than him, his mother and father. One of Sean brothers pasted away collect to tragic accident. The family members are very supportive and its clear Sean has a immobile attachment to them.Critique of strengths limitations of each theory in relation to the particular client familyLimitations of the family life cycleThe family life cycle does not take into account the fact that an individual bottomland skip or senesce to another step without fulfilling each step as a sequence. For example in Seans subject area he hasnt well(p)y transitioned out of the independence stage but has committed to a new social syste m which is attending his work on a daily basis. He has also started at the independence stage and may skip past the coupling, parenting and launching children stages and still reach his senior years. The family life cycle can be studied and understood from two perspectives a limitation to this is that in general it focused more on the family perspective. For example in Sean case he has an intellectual disability, but up until Sean started attending the service which promotes independence his perspective wasnt accounted for. The independence stage highlights one gaining their identity within the family and outside the family unfortunately for Sean this transition has become difficult and is still a working progress, because in the area of gaining roles and learning the rules within the family Sean gain a role of depended, eve in areas he had the capacity to be independent for example making a sandwich or buying himself new clothes. The rules underlining this depend behavior was neve r challenged and from a family perspective is understood as they wanted to care for Sean in the go around way they taught. Caring for Sean in this way would have also become a norm for the family, as he is depended on the family for other things such as transport.The family life cycle was limited as the understanding of the stages wasnt promoted or applied specifically to Sean case (a person with an intellectual disability). In general the family life cycle is utilise as vanquish practice, when really it should be implemented loosely and globally for families as a clear outline of ones transitions. In Seans case if the family understood when he was born that he needed to transition though these stages (for a positive/ practical future) to the best of his capacity even with an intellectual disability then he could have reached his full potential for example reading, writing living more one by one which would benefit him and his family, as the family will reach their retirement an d senior years and Sean would have learnt the sanctioned life skills which he needs at a more practical time and he would have become little depended on the family and became more confident and motivated in his everyday life.Strengths of the family life cycleThe family life cycle strength is that it highlights ones life cycle in general. In Seans case he will reach his senior year, in this the life cycle insures that one builds on each stage to the best of their capacity so they reach their full potential as individuals. Working with Sean gives him the opportunity to develop as a person and live his life in the way in which he chooses. For example he acknowledges now that he want to become more independent and aspire to how his younger brothers are living and by applying the family life cycle to best practice and the family it gives him the opportunity to so accordingly.The independence stage is defined by My health Albert (2014) as the most critical stage of the family life cycl e. It is a stage where one begins separate emotionally from the family and in Seans case he is doing by speaking out on how he feels and by participating in such activities as buying himself everythings like food and treating himself to DVDs. However, the family life cycle begins when a child is born therefore the life cycle gave Sean the chance to be able to work on the stages even at a afterwards stage in life. For example Sean is 27 years of age and its now hes working intensely towards the other stages of the family life cycle and even though some stages may not apply to him its and a benefit for him to be able to work towards the ones he is undetermined of reaching with support from services and his family.Limitations of the functionalist approachA limitation to the functionalist approach is the elevated or overly harmonious image of the family, one in which is well interconnected, holding social order and socialization. It doesnt provide a practical image of the stresses and difficulties in which the traditional family go through. For example Sean was the primary child born into the family and he had an intellectual disability. This could have distorted the estimationl image/norm/traditional of what the couple had expected with the birth of their primary child. The functionalist approach does not consider the alternatives ways for the couple to provide the basic care for a child with an intellectual disability. For example in Sean case, the functionalist approach doesnt highlighted the importance of services provided for a couple with a child who has an intellectual disability, as the couple may need to depend preferably on services such as the health services to manoeuver them in providing the best care for Sean.The services would have to be integrated in Sean case at a earlier level which this approach does not highlight, for example they could provide information in the area of intellectual disabilities, enrolling him in appreciate school, i ntegrating him into society. In the area of developing institutions functionalist says its developed out of satisfying the human needs through fulfilling and organizing several(a) human social needs, in Sean case he hasnt been accomplish academically, such as reading and writing and his social needs also lack as the hasnt intergraded or participated in areas of his choice. The various ways in which the functionalist approach organizes and institutionalizes the human needs is ultimately creating social structure in society, although it does create order its not the best approach to practice as it creates stigma around such areas as intellectual disability for example Sean had the capacity to attend mainstream school but repayable to the fact he had an intellectual disability he attended a special needs school. The stigma from institutionalizing those who have an intellectual disability promoted the idea they didnt have the capacity to make decisions for themselves (social norm) or to participate in activities including intimate relationships, for example Sean has the capacity to make a decision for himself but overdue to the influence/ norms of the family and society he wasnt given the opportunity.Strengths of the functionalist approachThe strength of the functionalist approach is the fact it highlights the importance of services for families caring for children. In Sean case he was able to attend services in which provided the best care for those who have an intellectual disability at the time. It highlights the importance of family and even with the services interacting with the family the family fundamentally provide the basic fundamental care. The family provide the think ofs and norms for the individual and they take responsibility to intergraded their children into the community, for example Sean attend the service regularly as the family provide the transport for him, Sean father encourages Sean to go to the movies and participate in music as he ha s a passion for music. Sean own value shine through as he completes such things as disbursement money, a value in which relates to his home environment and where he was brought up. As society grows, the social needs become greater, which in turn gives minority groups a voice. The functionalist approach appreciates and highlights these changes. Once highlight the changes can be implemented into lawmaking systems, it can develop the political system and education system.In the case of Sean he can voice his opinion and make decisions for himself, due to the rights provided by policies which have been amended. An example of this would be the work done around the issues of sexuality and relationships for those who have an intellectual disability. The Irish raise Education internet has the primary aim to promote a high professional timeworn in the area of sex education for those who have an intellectual disability (Allen and Seery 2002, p.3)ConclusionIn conclusion to this essay has g iven a brief over view of two sociological perspectives, which are the family life cycle and the functionalist approach. In reference to these theories it has applied a practice based example, in which it gives an in depth review of the strengths and limitations of the each theory.In reference to the family life cycle, it highlights the different stages in which Sean has progressed through and ones he could work towards with support. The family life cycle helps predict stages in which the service user will not be able to transition into due to lack of support from family and the services provided and in general because their capacity wont allow.In applying the functionalist perspective, it highlights the interaction of the family and the services available for those who have an intellectual disability. It highlights how this interaction is of up most strategic to better the quality of life for service users.BibliographyAllen, M. Seery, D. (2002) The Current Status of Sex Education Practice For People with an Intellectual Disability In Ireland, Online Dublin Irish Sex Education Network. unattached athttp//www.sexualhealthcentre.com/PUBLICATIONS/SHC%20Disability%20Report2.pdf Accessed 27 January 2014American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2013) Intellectual Disability Online addressable at http//aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition.Ux9ntT9_sR8Accessed 1 February 2014Carter, E.A McGoldrick, M (1999) The expanded family life cycle individual, family, and social perspectives, Boston Allyn and BaconClaveirole, A and Gaughan, M. (2011) Understanding Children and Young Peoples Mental Health United KingdomJohn Wiley Sons LtdFalicov, C.J (1988) Family Transitions Continuity and Change over the vitality Cycle, New York The Guilford PressFletcher, R (1978) The Family and Marriage in Britian An analysis and moral assessment,Virgina PenguinGiddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Unit ed States of America The University of calcium PressOSullivan, D. (2012) A Critical Analysis of the protection of families under the Irish Constitution of 1937 Online Dublin Colr .Available at http//corkonlinelawreview.com/editions/2012/ACriticalAnalysisOfTheProtectionOfFamiliesUnderTheIrishConstitutionOf1937.DonnachaOSullivan.pdf Accessed 29 January 2014My Health Albert (2014) Family life cycle Independence Stage Online available athttps//myhealth.alberta.ca/health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ty6171ty6174Accessed 5 January 2014Shaw V.N, (2002) Substance Use and Abuse Sociological Perspectives United States of America Greenwood issue Group IncWallace, R. A and Wolf, A. (1995) Contemporary Sociological Theory Continuing the unpolluted Tradition, New Jersey Prentice-Hall.World Health Organisation (2014) Intellectual Disability, Online Available at http//www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/mental-health/news/news/2010/15/childrens-right-to-family-life/definition -intellectual-disability Accessed on fifth March 2014