This document summarizes different family types in sociology. It discusses nuclear families, extended families, single-parent families, and other types like singletons, same-sex families, and reconstituted families. It also examines factors like class differences, trends over time showing declining nuclear families and rising single-parent families, and debates between functionalists, feminists, and others regarding the ideal family structure.

1. FAMILY TYPES
SOCIOLOGY AS

2. KEYWORDS
• PRIMARY SOCIOLISATION: toolkit for social survival.
How we teach children to socially survive.
• FAMILY: a group of people living together either
related by blood or marriage.
• HOUSEHOLD: a person living alone or a group of
people sharing accommodation. May or may not be
related
• FAMILY LIFE CYCLE: the different family types you
experience throughout your life.

3. Rapaport&Rapaport
• Researched family trends and statistics in 1982
• Found that nuclear family is no longer most common
• We live in a pluralistic society where we have freedom and
choice
• SPFs and reconstituted families were commonly growing
FEMINISTS: agree with R&R as it allows women to leave unhappy relationships. The
nuclear family benefits men more than women as the women's job is unpaid,
unrecognized and never ending.
FUNCTIONALISTS: criticize the findings as the nuclear family is most functional by
having 2 parents to adequately socialize into gender roles.
NEW RIGHT: the nuclear family is the corner stone of society
CHESTER: R&R exaggerated the extent of diversity. Most of us want to or do
live in a nuclear family and the only significant change is the neoconventional
family.

4. DIFFERENCE IN CLASSES
• DISIPLINE
Working Class- physical punishment
Middle Class- verbal, negotiable punishment
• CHILDCARE
Working Class- use family and friends
Middle Class- Pay using child-minders or clubs etc.
Upper Class- Pay for a nanny or opera etc.
• EDUCATION
Working Class & Middle Class- State education
Upper Class- Pay for education

5. Family Types
NUCLEAR: mother and father with dependent children,
most people experience this.
EXTENDED: three generations living together
BEANPOLE: nuclear family where children have regular
contact with grandparents
SINGLETON: person living alone
Same Sex
Single Parent
Reconstituted

6. Extended
• This is strongest in the working class families
• This is not as common today as we are geographically mobile
• Finch and Mason- 90% of families receive financial help from extended
families
Beanpole
• As the family size shrinks, the relationship becomes stronger. We have less
children and a longer life expectancy
Asian
• ¼ households in the UK are extended
• Divorce is uncommon
• ¾ have children as opposed to 1/3 white
Afro-Caribbean
• More likely to be SPF
• Women in charge of the household

7. Single Parent Families
• Since 1970, the number of SPFs have tripled
• 25% of families are SPFs
• 1/5 children live in SPFs
• 90% of SPFs are headed by women
Increased because…
• Quick and easy to divorce
• Women are financially independent
• There is less stigma
• Secularisation
• Easier to leave a relationship
• Welfare state allows financial support

8. • Headed by women because…
• The social construction that women are better at
looking after children
• Girls are socialised to believe it is their role (dolls etc)
• Courts grant the custody to women (too traditional)
• Men on average earn more so may be reluctant to
give up job to become an SPF
• Men see becoming an SPF a threat to their
masculinity

9. • FUNCTIONALISTS: 2 parents are needed to socialise a child
into their appropriate gender roles
• NEW RIGHT: 1 parent needs to work, 1 needs to child care.
SPFs are on benefits so this is unfair on the nuclear family
• McLanahan&Booth children who grow up in SPFs are more
likely to become SPFs themselves, do worse in school and
commit crime
• Chester most people want to/do live in the nuclear family. If
an SPF was ideal, people would choose this
• Don’t chose to be an SPF so it is wrong to critisise
• SPFS do worse at school because of money, not family type
• Other family types aren't perfect
• FEMINISTS: freedom and choice is more important than family
type
• Cashmore one happy parent is better than 2 unhappy

10. SINGLETONS
• 30% live in this (most common)
• On the increase as:
• Widowed women living alone (ageing population and
women live longer)
• Women waiting to find ‘the one’
• Women becomes an SPF and the man becomes a
singleton
• People focus on work and earning money, a
relationship is not a priority
• 20-30 year olds do not want to settle down but are
financially stable

11. SAME SEX
• Data is unreliable as it is a sensitive topic
• There is less stigma due to media and celebrities etc
• Laws have accepted
• Secularisation
• Reproduction in technology laws
• Increase in gay awareness
RECONSTITUTED
• 10% live like this
• Divorce is easier and cheaper
• Less stigma
• Secularisation
• Sexual freedome