Natural factors that destroy the traditional family
The death of any of the two main pillars of the family; the mother or father, results in huge changes in the structure of the family. The parent who remains with children has to compensate for the absent spouse that is a tough job especially with young children. Many of these single parents choose to remarry to regain the companionship and support of the life mate in addition to obtaining assistance with the family. Therefore, death usually deals a huge blow to the traditional definition of family.
Some of the diseases that modern human being has to face have a profound effect on the traditional definition of the family. While they do not necessarily pluck the affected member of the family as death does, the level of incapacitation has somewhat similar consequences to the family life. Strokes and brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s Syndrome affect the victim’s ability to coordinate their activities and interaction with even the most important member of their families resulting in strained relationships that sometimes collapse altogether.
The contemporary family
The society’s view of the family has changed from a functionalist one to a descriptive one. The traditional family was more about the functions and roles in society that related members could play, however, the contemporary one has other functions. With the pressures of divorce, death, and separation, the remaining fragments of the initial family have learned to cope by forming new bonds. These bonds are formed with existing families or other fragmented ones resulting to new families with new characteristics
There are new types of families that have evolved from these contemporary views of family. Based on biological, psychological, and legal factors, these families do not conform to the traditional characteristics of the family but do continue to offer an almost similar environment. Issues such as remarriage, divorce, separation, polygamy, and homosexuality have led to the emergence of new forms of families whose role of more descriptive that it is functional. Homosexuality has had the most profound effect on the family due to the radical changes it introduces to the components. When two men or women decide to marry, adopt children, and call it a family, the ramifications of the traditional definitions of marriage are profound. However, in the spirit of tolerance and equality, the modern society has nothing it can do other than watch as the definition of the family continues to evolve.
