Family and marriage. Characteristics, functions, types of family.

Definition of the concept

The concept of family is complex and includes a whole system of relationships that develop between husband and wife, parents and children. It is based not only on everyday issues and everyday life, including moral support and mutual assistance. This is also the level of responsibility and the desire to influence the life of another person, the formation of your own microworld with special rules and your own laws. From a legal point of view, family relations are regulated by civil law.

Depending on how the concept is viewed, the subject of research also changes. In a small group of elements of society, family relationships are considered the basis of everything (between spouses, between parents and children, between other participants in the family process). And although humanity has many historical examples of what relationships between family members should look like, each social group has an individual choice .

If we consider the concept as a social institution officially recognized at the state level, attention here is focused on the relationship between family and state, common functions and the ability to regulate legal relations. This is the embodiment of social roles. Although the family is based on marriage, there are times when these concepts are separate and exist on their own.

Extramarital relations in society are usually called civil marriage. This does not violate the institution of marriage, but allows such unions and relationships to be defined separately from family ones.

Thanks to family social status, the place of members in the structure and their role are determined. Experts identify the following main types:

1. Spousal (wife and husband).
2. Parental (mother, father).
3. Children's (son, daughter, brother, sister).
4. Intergenerational (grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter).

Each family member performs a specific social role. It is an expected behavior that is determined by the basis of marital status.

Family structure

Based on the family structure, its typology is built. It is influenced by the number of members and their relationships. Attention is paid to the division of responsibilities within the family. If power is in the hands of one person, this is an authoritarian relationship. If there is equality, they are democratic.

According to their quantitative composition, the cells of society are distinguished:

• nuclear;
• extended;
• mixed;
• incomplete.

Family roles:

• marital;
• parental;
• individual.

On the territory of Russia, the predominant type of family is nuclear or extended. These are husband and wife, sometimes their parents, children, alone or as a couple. Usually the father is recognized as the head - patriarchal.

The ideal option is a cohesive structure, where the hierarchy is built, taking into account the consent of everyone, the atmosphere of the house is pleasant and calm.

Key Features

Thanks to the family, a number of functions can be carried out. Depending on the characteristics of this group, the type of society in which the family is created, some functions may not be performed or limited in practice. In the Russian Federation, the family form consists of the following functions:

1. Regulation of sexual relations by marriage.
2. The embodiment of reproduction. Children are almost always born into a family, which is the goal for a small group.
3. Raising the younger generation and protecting children from danger, providing suitable conditions for their comprehensive development.
4. Socialization. Through this function, children learn social norms and characteristics of the society in which they were born and develop.
5. The economic function consists of housekeeping, a joint budget and control over the development of the household or family business. To avoid future problems with the division of property in the event of divorce, lawyers recommend that you always draw up a prenuptial agreement.
6. Status. The transfer from generation to generation of status, aristocratic affiliation, nationality and other rights that parents or relatives owned.
7. Emotional. This is a key psychological factor that helps a person realize his wishes and fulfill his needs for love and affection. Relationships, a certain level of understanding and attention are very important for a couple.

Protective and leisure functions can also be realized in the family. Parents protect their children from possible dangers, protect each other and create optimal conditions for a comfortable life. Fulfilling these functions is a good basis for family relationships.

Basic functions of the family

The family union is a social institution with functions. The most important of them are listed in the table.

Modern tendencies

Along with social conditions that change in society, the family is also formed. The modification of this group is also influenced by the intrafamily patterns of its development. Trends also depend on what social roles family members perform. The main meaning will be as follows:

1. Equality of spouses and distribution of all family responsibilities equally. If in classic family models a woman plays the role of a housewife, and a man looks for money to provide for and manages the budget, in modern ones a husband and wife can simultaneously work and form a common budget together. In a family, no one can interfere with each other.
2. Loss of traditions and authority of elders. In modern conditions, the experience of other generations is no longer perceived as a template for the formation of new ones.
3. The birth rate is falling and the number of divorces is rising. Due to the change in social roles and the substitution of basic concepts that previously formed the basis of society, people began to lose important components of the formation of seven as a social group.
4. Deterioration of the psychological climate in the family and uncertainty about the future.
5. Loss of religious values.

Unfortunately, the presence of such trends in a modern family cannot be called an effective basis for quality development. According to psychologists, a necessary solution for families today is the search and implementation of new values ​​and moral markers, thanks to which the family institution will develop and strengthen.

Non-specific family functions

A small cell of society is viewed from different angles. It also has non-specific functions. They are not paramount, but their importance cannot be denied. Non-specific functions:

1. Leisure. The family spends time together - having dinners, outdoor recreation, and watching movies together. All its members have a pleasant time, exchange knowledge, interests, and opinions. Leisure helps a person restore physical and spiritual strength.
2. Recreational. In a relationship, you should feel comfortable and carefree in each other’s presence, because home is a place where you take a break from work and study.
3. Economic. Young children, teenagers, unemployed adults and the elderly are not providing for themselves. Family members with a stable income usually support them financially.
4. Emotional. When problems arise, they turn to the support of loved ones who have known each other for a long time, and not to a stranger.

Basics of Marriage

Intergender relations that have developed historically and can be regulated through social legal bodies are called marriage. This concept also establishes the responsibilities and rights of family members, as well as key principles of development. At the state level, this is a normative and legal institution that establishes a mandatory order of communication between family and society and influences the characteristics of relationships in a small group.

Depending on the system, there are several types of marriage. The most popular include :

1. A group union of several men and women (characteristic of the early stages of primitive development of society). Today, this is a negative sexual type of relationship and is practically not used in family formation.
2. Polygamous marriage. This includes the possibility of one spouse living with several. There may be two women and a man or two men and one woman. What the combination will be is determined by the spouse.
3. Monogamous marriage. A classic version that is used in all modern societies. The conditions for marriage are also no different; it is a union of one man and a woman, whose relations are regulated by the Russian Family Code.
4. Exogamous and endogamous marriages characterized the possibility of concluding marriage relationships within or outside the kinship group. The Unified State Exam (USE) history papers provide a brief outline of the characteristics of such marriages.
5. Couple marriage. An option that was used during the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy and became the basis for monogamous relationships with an equal division of responsibilities and rights of family members.

Although examples of polygamy can be found in some countries, modern societies prefer monogamy and make such marriages the basis for this social institution. Experts also distinguish between love marriages, arranged marriages, kidnapping marriages, unequal or repeated unions, and others.

Lecture 14. Family and marriage

A family is a small social group and at the same time a social institution. As a small social group, it satisfies the personal needs of people (procreation, education, etc.), and as an institution, it satisfies the needs of society (replenishing society with new members, organizing the education of a new generation, etc.). Thus, a family is a small social group and social institution based on consanguinity and marriage that carries out population reproduction and the primary socialization of children. The family is the “unit” of society, the most important element of its social structure.

The family performs a number of functions: - reproductive - ensures the reproduction of the population, satisfies the human need for procreation; — socializing — carries out the primary socialization of individuals; - economic and household - organizes the joint life of spouses, children, housekeeping and care for children and elderly family members; — economic — provides material support to its minors and disabled members; - social status - provides its members with statuses, passes them on by inheritance (nationality, religion, etc., and also helps to achieve new statuses; - emotional - provides psychological support to its members; - protective - physically, economically, socially protects its members; - leisure - organizes rational leisure for each of its members.

The functions of the family are historically variable and depend on the type of society. Thus, in ancient times, the family performed mainly only the reproductive function, while other functions were successfully implemented by the community and tribe. At this time, public education, first of all, of a warrior, prevailed. Life and leisure activities were most often organized by the community. In the modern world, one can note the expansion of family functions.

Families in the modern world are diverse. Several classifications of families can be distinguished. Based on the criterion of the number of members, we can distinguish types of families: - nuclear - a married couple with or without children; In such a family, a maximum of two generations are represented under one roof. These are the majority of families today. Children who have created their own families try to live without their parents. - extended - a family that includes more than two generations (grandparents, grandchildren, etc.), or relatives organizing a common life. Families are distinguished by the type of marital relationship: - monogamous - married couple: one husband and one wife. In Russia, only such families are allowed; - polygamous - polygamy; one husband and many wives. Polygamous families are common in the East today. Families also differ in the nature of the relationship between spouses and children. Based on this criterion, families can be distinguished: - patriarchal (traditional) - families in which the husband is the undisputed head; the woman occupies a subordinate position. Such a family is based on the authority of a man. He is the “breadwinner”, the woman is the “keeper of the hearth”; - democratic (partnership) - families based on the equality of men and women; Decisions in such a family are most often made jointly, and responsibilities may be mixed—for example, the husband can perform some traditionally female roles (for example, cooking), and the wife can play male roles (for example, building a career, etc.).

Marriage is a historically changing and currently regulated by law form of relationship between a man and a woman, regulating their sexual life, the birth of children and establishing marital, parental and other related rights and responsibilities. In Russia, marriage is regulated by family law, the basis of which is the Family Code. Marriage is built on the principles of the voluntary union of a man and a woman, equality of spouses, etc.

We can distinguish types of marriage: - civil marriage - a union of a man and a woman, registered in the manner prescribed by law. It is such a marriage that gives rise to all the legal consequences provided for by the Family Code. However, it is often confused with cohabitation - the unregistered long-term cohabitation of a man and a woman; - church marriage - a relationship between a man and a woman based on the traditions of religious norms, weddings, etc. Such a marriage in Russia does not give rise to legal consequences.

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Elements of a social institution

The concept of marriage can also be characterized through the key functions that are performed by its implementation in society. The rights and obligations of spouses must be legally formalized and socially approved; in the future, this significantly simplifies the process of relationships and the manifestation of social roles. This function of marriage characterizes society as a democratic system.

Thanks to the institution of marriage, the regulation of sexual relations between partners in society is carried out, and at the same time the formation of economic and household relations at the level of cohabitation.

Social relations between the family and the state are carried out, the legal status of each family member is regulated . For example, if a person registers a marriage, he receives the status of “husband” or “wife” and can dispose of the material property of his spouse in the event of death. The marriage contract indicates the opportunities that are open to the spouses in terms of material possessions. These factors can be discussed in advance with a lawyer and the contract can be drawn up in such a way as to protect yourself from possible theft or protect yourself from poverty in the event of annulment of the relationship by appealing the contract.

Depending on who will take on more responsibilities and resolve key family issues in marriage, historically there has been a division into types of patriarchy and matriarchy. The first option involves the leadership of a man, he becomes the head of the family and is fully responsible for the marriage. In the second option, the same functions are performed by a woman. Regarding modern society, equality is popular here, when spouses are in equal conditions and have the same influence on the marriage.

Concept of family legal system

Social life is governed by legal rules and regulations. They cover all aspects of human existence. However, it is interesting that the concept of law and family is not regulated by any separate legislative act. That is, the family code, of course, exists, and it has enormous power. But it cannot be applied to family relationships as such. Legal obligations arise not because of the existence of family ties between people themselves, but rather because of the resulting marital relations and kinship ties. It is these circumstances that are considered in the relevant codes.

Thus, in jurisprudence, a family is understood as a group of persons related by some relationship of kinship and for this reason bearing legal obligations to each other. Of great importance are the duties of parents to young children and adult children to their elderly parents, the relationship of spouses, grandparents with their grandchildren, guardians and persons adopted by them.

However, there is the so-called concept of the legal family, which is often mistaken for a legal category related to marriage. In fact, we are talking about abstract things here. On the territory of a certain state or countries with similar mentalities, as a rule, a special system of legal relations develops, different from the one that may appear, say, on another continent. And the concept of a legal family here does not mean the “unit of society” that is familiar to us, living according to the law, but a system of legal relations and categories of a certain state. Such formation may also arise due to differences in views on the law of a certain group of people. This is how, for example, a religious legal family unlike the traditional one was formed.

The concept and types of family in psychology

Psychologists love to classify everything, so the family category has not escaped the same fate. The division is carried out according to many criteria, but the most famous is probably the classification according to the time people lived in marriage.

There are young families with 1–3 years of experience, mature ones, in which the spouses have spent 3 to 20 years together, and older “cells of society.” Thus, we can conclude that there is a certain life cycle that every marriage goes through during its existence.

“Young family” is a concept that interests psychologists more than others. During this period, people adapt to living together. Their mutual fascination fades, giving way to the improvement of everyday life. It is at this time that a single, integral mechanism is formed - the family.

Mature couples first devote all their time to raising children. The concept of family becomes central among people: dear people are given warmth and care, almost all their free time is devoted to them. And then the grown-up children “fly away from the nest.”

An elderly couple is learning to live again, just the two of them. Sometimes they start traveling around the world together, sometimes they break up. Some find solace in hobbies and creativity.

Marriage and family in psychology

Psychology has its own concept of marriage and family. Thus, the researchers supplemented the already known sociological definition of a “small cell of society.” The new definition is as follows: a family is an association of people who are emotionally close and significant to each other, arising on the basis of marriage, parenthood or blood ties. Marriage is a union of people bound by marital ties and vows.

We see that psychology puts in first place not the usefulness of the family for society and not the legal grounds for its emergence. Particular importance is attached to sacred family ties, and the spiritual comfort of each person is valued above the individual’s usefulness to society.

In psychological science, the family is considered as a system, since certain relationships arise between its members. The position of each individual person in it, his role and spiritual ties with relatives are studied.

But even in psychology, the family is assigned special functions. Let's compare them with the sociological ones discussed earlier.