Family diversity

The Rapoport's

We have moved away from the nuclear family into a range of different family types

There are five types family diversity

Organisational diversity

Cultural diversity

Social class diversity

Life-stage diversity

Generational diversity

Postmodernism

Giddens

Society has become 'disembodied' from traditional family structures, leavings free to choose how we live our lives

This has led to a 'pure relationship'- one that exists solely to satisfy each partner's needs

Beck

Equality and individualism have created the 'negotiated family' which varied according to the members wants

Functionalism

Parsons

Family diversity has increased, and there has been a shift away from the traditional nuclear family

Nowadays, it's more common for reconstituted, lone-parent and cohabiting families to exist. However, Functionalists and the New Right reject this in arguing the nuclear family is the only family type functional for society

Personal Life Perspective

Smart

We aren't disembodied individuals, but we make decisions about relationships within a 'web of connectedness'

Chester

Although there has been some increase in diversity, the nuclear family still remains dominant

There has been an important change from the conventional family (segregated conjugal roles) to the Neo-coventional family, which adopts a symmetrical family structure