Family as a Social Institution: Functions, Roles, and Significance

This essay provides an overview of social institutions, focusing on the family as a primary unit within society. It discusses the family's universal nature and its role in maintaining order through established values and norms. The essay details the major functions of the family, including residence, econo...Read More

SOCIAL INSTITUTION

SOCIAL INSTITUTION
• Structures and institutions
mechanised to maintain
order in society (Van
Krieken et al., 2013).
• A stable and acceptable
cluster of values, norms,
roles and group (Ritzer &
Stepnisky, 2017)

Family as social institution
• Primary unit of all society
• Universal in nature
• Group of people living as an unit
• Sharing a common descendants
(Spillius, & Bott, 2014)

•Residence
•Procreation and child
rearing
•Socialization
•Economic function
•Social care
•Emotional care
According to Forrest (2013) Family is an primary
social institution playing major role in society.
Major roles family play are:

Residence:
• Provide shelter
• Nourishment of the child
• Basic home is provided by
family
• Peace, protection and
comfort

Procreation and child rearing
• Procreation by stable sexual
desires
• Family gives legitimate
basis for producing children
• Family contributes to the
continuity of family
• Family brings up children
providing affection, care,
food, shelter and protection.

Education and Socialization
• Primary agent of
socialization
• Teaches family culture,
norms and values to the
children
• Family helps in acquiring
character
• Family helps in developing
personality of a child.

Economic function
• Family takes the responsibility of a
child’s each economic requirement.
• Usually family provides economic
support till a child is able enough
such as education, food and clothing.

Social care
• Family introduces the young to the
adult society.
• Family gives social status to
individuals
• Family is a big part in social norms
and occasions such as marriage,
death and birth of the new children.

Emotional care
• In critical situations, the family
provides the emotional support
• Family helps in achieving
mental equilibrium.
• The dependents adults are
looked after by the young
adults.

References:
• Forrest, R. (2013).
• Ritzer, G., & Stepnisky, J. (2017). Modern sociological theory.
SAGE Publications.
• Spillius, E., & Bott, E. (2014). Family and social network: Roles,
norms and external relationships in ordinary urban families.
Routledge.
• Van Krieken, R., Habibis, D., Smith, P., Hutchins, B., Martin, G.,
& Maton, K. (2013). Sociology. Pearson Higher Education AU.