Discussing the Proponents of the Family Decline Perspective Regarding the Nature of Families Today

Discuss the concerns of proponents of the family decline perspective regarding the nature of families today
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Discuss the concerns of proponents of the family decline perspective regarding the nature of families today
Far-reaching changes are happening within household and family structure living arrangements in the developed nations. The timing and pace of change differ from one country to another, but the general direction is similar practically everywhere. Within this context, families are increasingly becoming smaller, and household’s composition trends over the previous decades have been shifting away from a nuclear family organization – husband, wife, and children living within one household – towards more single-parent structures, more individuals living alone, as well as more couples living together outside the wedlock. Undeniably, the “consensual union” is becoming more accepted and visible family form within several societies. The one-person household is also becoming the fastest emerging household type. This report discusses the concerns of family decline perspective proponents, particularly concerning the nature of contemporary families.
Family decline theory posits that the family institution is evolving in a manner that could be described to be within a weakening state. It is suggested that the family’s general functions – to have youngsters and develop them into appropriately functioning holistic adults, are increasingly endangered by revolutions within societal norms and values domains. The traditional nuclear family decline has triggered transformations within diverse areas of life across history. Family decline perspective proponents argue that the marriage rates’ decline, divorce rates’ rise, marital responsibilities’ changes, as well as family structure changes undermine the family’s role as an institution. Nevertheless, many researchers reiterate that the family institution is experiencing transformation and shifts, leading to emergent and novel family structures driven by values that mirror the reforms in societal norms (Laplant, 2016). In that vein, the family system can be adapted in diverse ways to a sequence of conditions that prompted transformations in societies.
The family decline could be attributed to societal culture changes inclined to downplay the role and value of male-led households. Families typically change as interrelated evolutions that co-happen over time, despite not essentially within an orderly or predictable adaptations’ series to exogenous shifts in technological advances, polity, economy, as well as alterations in societal culture. Demographers refer to these related elements as the second demographic transition [SDT]. They imply that the family system is governed by individual members’ preferences rather than by elders (mainly males) who once held the considerable authority to inculcate their will on the family as a predominantly collective system. In that way, the contemporary family decline phenomenon can be attributed to patriarchy decline, although it could be viewed as the core of it within the world’s strictest sense (Allendorf & Pandian, 2016). Allendorf’s findings relate to Laplant’s (2016) argument that family decline derives from a host of issues that concurrently undermine the conventional order often centered on patriarchal prospects.
With respect to family decline perspective proponents’ arguments, the declining marriage rates can be explained via economic development lens. Change in family systems mostly happens when macro-level conditions’ transformations happen; the most crucial shift from the traditional primary subsistence setting to a production-driven economy changed by its ability to offer exports to manufacturing, industry, and agro-business. As Goode (1993) suggested, this change expands or creates the job-driven economy that encourages younger and more geographically mobile persons, including the typically unmarried and young women. Economic progress generally is anchored on urban centers, meaning a change from rural to urban populaces. This culminates in family control loss, particularly when young individuals within cities continue to support their kins financially within the countryside (Laplant, 2016).
In addition, these economic developments do not outrightly result in changes in cultural practices and expectations. Still, it is expected, particularly among the younger generation, a redirection to more individually-driven lifestyles and a deterioration in social influence b elders and particularly in males’ control of females. Somewhat independently, economic progress triggers technological improvements (Greenwood, 2019). The fast spread of smartphones and computers stimulates development in terms of social media use within developing countries – a powerful determinant on younger individuals quickly adopting the emergent communication forms (Pew Research Center, 2018). In that vein, the arguments are congruent with the...