How Family Systems Vary from Culture to Culture

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Family structures are very different between cultures. That fact is obvious, but how and why is the question. As time progresses, the views of various cultures modernize. During this time the 20th century has seen the greatest change in family structures. Northern Europe and North America have been experiencing a decrease in extended families, and an increase in nuclear families. Over the previous 20 years, there has also been an increase in divorced families, unmarried families, and homosexual families. The point of this paper is to delineate the various types of family structures and why they’ve changed through time. In Cross-Cultural psychology the idea is to explore similitude and dissimilarities in values, norms, history and traditions of different cultures. Hence, I will analyze the family as a social system across various cultures. Sociologists and Anthropologists practice two ideas in exploring the family, which include its function and structure. Family structure pertains to familial status, and the quantity of members in a family. Familial status being grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, son, daughter, aunts, uncle, cousins, and etc. An extended family which is organized of about three generations, for instance, the parents, grandparents, children, and maybe other kin. Moreover, the nuclear family consists of only two generations, the parents and the children. The family function regards how the families fulfill their emotional and manual requirements fitting to sustain the family and their well-being. Considering this, families in every culture all maintain some form of shelter, whether it is a tent, igloo, home, or non-permanent place of residence. Each member must contribute to the sustaining of the home, whet... ... middle of paper ... ... need in todays world. In conclusion, many traditions of 19th century societies have been changed according to the progression of time, and modern day views and values. In various countries traditional views are still alive and have not been impacted by technological advances and etc. Family structures vary vastly from culture to culture, but are no longer effected greatly by ecological factors. Only now the question “Will modernization foretell the change of single parent and nuclear families like North America and Northern Europe in countries such as Korea, and Japan?”. Bibliography Georgas, James. "Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 4, Chapter 4." Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 4, Chapter 4. James Georgas, 2003. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. "The Spectrum of Family Systems across Culture and Time." Trinity.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

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