Sociology

The paper discusses how the term family diversity is applied in sociology to explain various types of families that can exist. It also explains how the increasing trend of diversity in the family structure has affected the family functions which include child bearing, provision of basic needs and socializing.

Todays families are characterized by great diversity. The initial family structure has undergone serious transformation in the recent years. Factors that have contributed to these changes include divorce, teenage pregnancies, remarriage, and serious changes in social and cultural values.
Currently there are various types of families. The initial nuclear family which comprises of a husband, wife and children, joined custody families where parents are divorced or separated and sharing a custody of a child, cohabiting type which may include children or not, single parent families with children raised by one parent, and child free families. There are also families formed by gays or lesbians where children may or may not be present and grand parents parenting children because their parents are ill or are dead or unconcerned parents (Lerner, Sparks,  McCubbin, 1999).

Although there are different ways in which families can be formed, most of these varied families carry out their roles accordingly. Some of the family roles include childbearing, providing the basic needs, coming together with other family members, establishing family traditions and delegating duties. There are some social institutions which affects the society as the family (Demo  Acock, 1993).

In the past few decades, American families have changed dramatically in its compositions. Social scientists have realized that children are more likely to experience disruption of their parents union and end up living with single parent than children who were raised in the 1960s. The increasing family instability and single parenthood has elicited debate. The main concern here is that children raised by single parents, especially those who are raised by their mothers are likely to experience poverty as compared to those raised by their fathers. Since one of the functions of the family is to provide the basic needs, single parenthood exposes children to poverty and this lowers their levels of health and well being (Krause, 2000).

Despite the fact that impact of family structure on the development and well being of children has been researched on widely, the ways in which family structure influence is transmitted to the well being of children is not understood. Proponents of nuclear family argue that children brought up in families headed by both biological parents show higher levels of well being as compared to those in single parents or step parents. Research has also indicated high chances of developing negative health and academic outcomes among children who do not live with their biological parents (Metiboba, 2000).

It is true that children who are not raised by both biological parents are at high risk of developing negative health and academic outcomes. This is because children get severely affected by the emotional trauma and stresses that result from marital termination and the relative lack of parental support and supervision as it is with single parents. The effect of family structure on the outcome of children is not conclusive owing to the cross sectional nature of the research done. The emotional stress associated with marriage termination, divorce, and remarriage usually declines with time. In addition, laying more emphasis on family structure overlooks the possibility that children from different social backgrounds may have different family relationships and parenting styles and these differences may be very crucial as compared to family structure in determining the outcome of children (Demo,  Acock, 1993).

The link between family structure and economic resources is illusive, and the frequently asked question is whether parental absence lowers the childrens well being.  According to the investments theory, investments decisions made by parents together with the donations parents can give to their children are the determinants of the childrens economic success. Investments in children refer to expenditures on their skills, health care, learning, motivations and numerous other expenditures.  Financial problems lower the chances of families taking their children to good schools, staying in safe neighborhoods, accessing community resources and recreational facilities (Metiboba, 2000).

One of the major impacts of the marital dissolution to the functions of the family is the absence of the father from the household and his inability to provide economic resources to the family. The absence of the father is viewed as the major cause of the loss of commitment and economic resources which eventually results in loss of social capital for the child. Studies have showed that marriage dissolution usually results in substantial financial decline. Decline in material comfort coupled with financial insecurity can impact negatively on the childrens emotional insecurity thereby hindering healthy development. Absence of parents can therefore lead to behavioral problems among children due to lack of supervision and support (Lerner, Sparks,  McCubbin, 1999).

In different societies, there are varied functions of the family. One of the most common functions of the family is keeping social network with the extended members of the family. The other function is placement of new members of the society. Socialization can be defined as the process in which biological human being becomes socially human. Socialization is aimed at teaching individuals to behave in a manner accepted by the society and integrate them into the society. With the increasing family diversity, some types of marriage are not fully accepted in the society therefore they fail to socialize their children (Krause, 2000).

Children raised by single parents or those brought up by gay families grow up thinking that the family they are brought up in is the ideal one. Among the functions of marriage, the most common one is procreation. With the increasing number of child free families, gay and lesbian marriages, this function of marriage is likely to lose its value. Many couples are now opting to adopt children rather than giving birth to their own children. Children brought up by gay families are likely to copy their parents family style and this is likely to threaten the creation of new generation (Demo,  Acock, 1993).

Conclusion
It is true that the increasing trend in family diversity impacts negatively on the roles of the family. The current trend has led to dissolution of many marriages resulting into single parenthood. Divorce of parents results in emotional trauma to the children. Absence of one parent is likely to result in financial constraint therefore affecting the well being of children. As the children grow, they require support and supervision and all these roles cannot be attained by a single parent.

The other functions of family are raising children and provision of basic needs like shelter, clothing, food, and education. These roles can no longer be performed because of the changing family structure. Financial support to the family is always done by the father and with his absence the family is likely to experience financial problems. The continuity of the society is also threatened with the current of family diversity.