Custom «Applying a Sociological Theory to a Family» Essay Paper

According to Lamanna, and Riedmann (2011), a family is a unit of individuals, who share a common ancestry. The family can also have some sexually expressive relationship; they bear and care for children, build economic wealth, and have the obligation of helping others who are in this unit (p. 4). The family life course development framework is the theory that I agree with because it is more family based. At the same time, I cannot agree with the family ecology theory as it is extremely broad and does not necessarily concentrate on the family unit.

I come from a large family. In the course of life, I have witnessed several changes in the behavior of my family members. The family life course development framework is the best theory to explain the changes in predictable family experiences. The theory relates the changes that occur in the family to predictable family pattern behavior caused by “the addition or subtraction of the family members, the various stages that the children go through, and changes in the family’s connections with other social institutions (Lamanna, and Riedmann, 2011, p. 32). Traditionally, the theory argues that a family starts with a marriage, and then the married couple proceeds to having children. The married couple takes care of children and ensures they are protected and emotionally secured while growing up. The children then are supposed to leave the parents’ house and go fend for themselves. This pattern repeats in every generation (Lamanna, and Riedmann, 2011, p. 34). In order to prepare for these roles, children must pass through all the family stages without skipping any of them. This theory supports the idea that there is a transitions pattern, which should be followed by the family in its development. Every transition should happen in time.

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There are three main roles in my family. These roles include but are not limited to; raising children, providing economic and other services, and offering emotional support. In the family, parents are responsibility for taking care of their children, providing them with all the basic necessities and security they require. The children in my family are going to pass through all the development stages in the course of their lives and leave the parents when they reach adulthood. At the time when the children leave the family, the parents will already have some resources. However, since one crucial role of a family is assisting the family members, the children are expected to provide their parents with the social security and economic aid in the future. This is the expected norm, but it is changing nowadays. One of the reasons why this pattern is changing today is because complicates economic situation hinders young family members from moving out from their parents’ homes on time. In addition, there are new social networks, which are diverting family connections making family members move closer to friends rather than the distant family members.

The theory of family life course development framework corresponds to my life because it covers all the stages, through which an individual goes in life. According to my life views, things and events should follow a certain sequence, which has a beginning and a defined end. This theory analyses changes in behavior that are prone to occur within a family over time. It also argues that life should begin in a family and end in death. Consequently, this theory provides a complete analysis of the family development, unlike the other theories.

I have two blinders of personal experience. The first is that I believe that most families are religious. This is because the family I belong to is a religious one. The second blinder is that I assume that relationships between the family members are active and open, and individuals make fun of each other. This is because, in my family, we are playful and we rarely shout at each other even though we argue sometimes. These two scenarios are not present in all families around the globe; they are just perceptions in my mind that have developed because of my previous experiences, which are not true to everyone. I have realized that they do not apply to every person’s life.

To remove the large family blinder, I have to visit several other families. This will assist me in understanding the fact that not everyone lives the same way. This is more of a scientific data collection study that seeks to find out how many families are like mine. I am going to learn and appreciate the fact that some people are religious and others are not. It all depends on numerous factors, experiences, and location of a person’s family. For instance, if one is from the Muslim community, there are chances that his or her family follows Islamic rules, but that does not mean they are extremely religious. The same applies to those whose families live among Christians or Buddhists. I believe that a religious person is any individual, who strictly adheres to most if not all teachings of his or her religion. Such small study will assist me in acquiring a different view of life and family behavior, as well as in getting rid of my personal blinders.

Of all the family theories, the theory that I find difficult to agree with is the family ecology theory. This theory argues that the environment affects a family the most. It is essential to note that, although the surrounding does not affect an individual’s behavior, it influences the ability of the family to access opportunities (Lamanna, and Riedmann, 2011, p. 29). This theory emphasizes on the interdependence of people in the world. It provides an exceedingly broad perspective that does not focus on the family itself. Instead, it looks at family as a broad unit of the world community.

I disagree with this theory because not all decisions of a family are influenced by the external factors. For instance, there are families in the world that go against their religion and take their children to hospitals while this is against their beliefs. A perfect example of a religion that does not allow for life-supporting treatment is the Amish community. The religion believes that death is a part of life that cannot be avoided. Some families belong to this religion, but ignore this part of belief and take their beloved ones to hospitals to save their lives (BBC, 2009).

In my opinion, most family decisions originate from care and concern that each family member has for the other. Similarly, a person's true character can stand the test of time whether there are external factors that influence the individual. Therefore, the same case applies to a family. This means that despite any external factors that can influence the decision of a family, opinion of the family members prevails at the end. In addition, this means that external factors cannot entirely influence the decisions of a family.

Looking back, I have learnt two key things when writing this assignment. The first is that families are different and exhibit different behaviors. Finally, the most notable discovery I have made is that individual’s experience has a considerable influence on his/ her perception of a family (Lamanna, and Riedmann, 2011). Everyone believes his or her family is the best while, in the actual sense, this may be far from the truth.

In conclusion, families differ because all individuals are unique personalities. Family beliefs and traditions change in the course of life in response to various factors that occur in life. Beliefs and perceptions can change as people realize that their experiences are not similar to everyone’s.