Theoretical Perspectives on the Family

The complexity of family patterns makes it difficult to understand families from any single theoretical perspective. Is the family a source of stability or change in society? Are families organized around harmonious interests, or are they sources of conflict and differential power? How do new family forms emerge, and how do people negotiate the changes that affect families? Above all, family is an abstract concept; it is a social institution. There are so many questions such as these which guide sociological theories of the family.

Sociologists who study the family have used many perspectives in their analyses. However, in this lecture, we are going to discuss four primary perspectives, viz. functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism and feminism.

Table I           Theoretical Perspectives on the Family

Now let us explain each of these.