Families

What Families covers

Families is examined in Paper 1, The sociology of families and education. It covers functions of families, family forms and diversity, conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour, changing relationships within families, criticisms of families and divorce in Britain since 1945.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Functions of familiesMurdock's four functions, Parsons on primary socialisation and the stabilisation of adult personalities, instrumental and expressive roles, and feminist and Marxist challenges including Engels.Open →
• Family forms and diversityNuclear, extended, reconstituted, lone-parent and same-sex families, cohabitation, monogamy, polygamy and communes, and the Rapoports' five types of family diversity.Open →
• Conjugal roles and the domestic division of labourSegregated and joint conjugal roles, Bott, Oakley on housework and the conventional family, Edgell on decision making, Pahl on money, dual-career families and the double shift.Open →
• Changing relationships within familiesPre-industrial families and industrialisation, Willmott and Young's symmetrical family and stratified diffusion, privatised families, the new man, caring for relatives, and arranged marriage.Open →
• Criticisms of familiesThe idealisation of family life, Leach, patriarchy and double standards, the class deal and gender deal, dysfunctional families, Zaretsky, and Delphy and Leonard.Open →
• Divorce in Britain since 1945The changing divorce rate in England and Wales, the laws of 1949, 1969 and 2020, secularisation, women's changing status, empty shell marriages, serial monogamy and the consequences of divorce.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Families further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Nuclear family vs Extended family

  Nuclear family: two parents living with their dependent children in one household. Extended family: parents and children plus grandparents, aunts or other relatives.

• Segregated conjugal roles vs Joint conjugal roles

  Segregated conjugal roles: separate tasks for each partner, with a male breadwinner and a female housewife. Joint conjugal roles: housework, childcare and paid work shared between both partners.

• Reconstituted family vs Lone-parent family

  Reconstituted family: a couple raising children from at least one partner's earlier relationship. Lone-parent family: one adult raising dependent children without a partner.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How do sociologists define a family?

   Model answer

   A family is a group of people related by blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption. Many sociologists also count cohabiting couples and their children as families.

2. 2

   Which four functions of the family did George Murdock identify?

   Model answer

   Murdock identified the sexual, reproductive, economic and educational functions. Murdock claimed these functions were universal after comparing 250 societies in 1949.

3. 3

   What is the sexual function of families?

   Model answer

   The sexual function is providing a stable, socially approved setting for sexual relationships between adult partners. Functionalists argue that this limits the conflict caused by sexual rivalry.

4. 4

   What is the reproductive function of families?

   Model answer

   The reproductive function is producing children who become the next generation of society's members. A society without reproduction would die out.

5. 5

   What is the economic function of families?

   Model answer

   The economic function is providing for members' material needs, such as food, shelter and money. Pre-industrial families were also units of production that worked the land together.

6. 6

   What is the educational function of families?

   Model answer

   The educational function is teaching children basic skills and knowledge before and alongside school. Parents teach language, manners and a sense of right and wrong.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Families revision questions

What does Families cover in AQA GCSE Sociology?

6 subtopics: functions of families, family forms and diversity, conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour, changing relationships within families, criticisms of families and divorce in britain since 1945. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Families organised?

By the AQA 8192 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.