The Dissolution of the "Nuclear Family"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the trend of the shift away from the nuclear family structure. It discusses the social and evolutionary changes that have contributed to this shift, as well as the psychological and social implications to the family of the shift. The paper discusses some of the problems that have been associated with this shift towards an individualistic society.

From the Paper:

"The shift from the nuclear family toward an individualistic society seems inevitable, and yet regrettable. The social and psychological results of the shift hold substantial risk to all members of society. Under the individualistic model, adults are not guaranteed the "vital" functions of sex and conjugal bonds (Soto 499). Adults and children are both at risk in the absence of a nuclear family structure due to the lack of permanent or stable paternity and childcare. Finally, children are at risk of social and psychological confusion, as well as the lack of "patrimonial knowledge" gained from a cohesive parental unit (Soto 499). Children raised without a clear structure or understanding of their social system create a cycle wherein society fails to protect and work for its members. As such, the individual and the family are in crisis as it becomes more and more socially acceptable to move away from the nuclear family model."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bar-Yosef, Rivka W. "Family Sociology in the Light of Social Change and Biotechnical Innovations." Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences 7.1 (1994): 69-82. Academic Search Premier. 9 April 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com.
• Buzar, Stefan, Philip E. Ogden, and Ray Hall. "Households matter: the quiet demography of urban transformation." Progress in Human Geography 29.4 (2005): 413-436.
• Harris, Marvin. Cultural Anthropology. 4th ed. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1995.
• Henning, James S., and J. Thomas Oldham. "Children of Divorce: Legal and Psychological Crises." Journal of Clinical Child Psychology (Summer, 1977): 55-58.
• Jones, Steve, Robert Martin, and David Pilbeam, Ed. Human Evolution. Cambridge: University Press, 1994.

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