FAMILY
Family is one of the oldest and most controversial institutions in the world. Its origin is still hidden in obscurities. Today the very nature and character of the family are changing. Its functions have also considerably changed. The joint family system, which was very common in the past, is now being replaced by single family system. Religious sanctity which was attached to family is now no longer there. In advanced societies, marriage is now considered more of a friendship than anything else. Divorces, which were rare in the past, are now quite common, particularly in India. Family and marriages are, however, universal institutions and their existence and utility are unquestionable.
DEFINITION OF FAMILY
According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, “Family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife with or without child or of a man or woman alone with children.
According to Maclver, “Family is a group defined by sex relationships sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.”
Burgess and Locke have noted that “A family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood or adoption constituting a single household, interacting and inter-communicating with each other in their respective social role of husband and wife, mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister, creating and maintaining a common culture.”
Elliot and Merill say, “The family may be defined as the biological, social unit composed of husband, wife and children. The family may also be considered as social institution, a socially approved organization for meeting definite human needs.
Kingsley Davis defined “Family as a group of persons whose relations to one another are based upon consanguinity and who are therefore kin to one another.”
According to Talcott Parsons, “Families are factories which produce human personalities.”
(Any one definition)
0 Comments