Describe kinship ties and distinguish between families of orientation and procreation as well as extended and nuclear families

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In preindustrial societies, the primary form of social organization is

through kinship ties. Kinship refers to a social network of people based

on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption. Through kinship networks,

people cooperate so that they can acquire the basic necessities of life,

including food and shelter. Kinship systems can also serve as a means

by which property is transferred, goods are produced and distributed,

and power is allocated. In industrialized societies, other social institutions

fulfill some of the functions previously taken care of by the kinship

network. Consequently, families in industrialized societies serve fewer

and more-specialized purposes than do families in preindustrial

societies. Contemporary families are responsible primarily for regulating

sexual activity, socializing children, and providing affection and

companionship for family members. The family of orientation is the family

into which a person is born and in which early socialization usually takes

place. By contrast, the family of procreation is the family that a person

forms by having or adopting children. In the United States, although many

young people leave their family of orientation as they reach adulthood,

finish school, and/or get married, recent studies have found that many

people maintain family ties across generations, particularly as older

persons remain actively involved in relationships with their adult children.

Sociologists distinguish between extended and nuclear families based

on the number of generations that live within a household.

An extended family is a family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents

and children who live in the same household. These families often include

grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives who live close to the parents

and children, making it possible for family members to share resources. In

horticultural and agricultural societies, extended families are extremely

important; having a large number of family members participate in food

production may be essential for survival. With the advent of industrialization

and urbanization, maintaining the extended family pattern became more

difficult in societies. Increasingly, young people moved from rural to urban

areas in search of employment in the industrializing sector of the economy. A

nuclear family is a family composed of one or two parents and their

dependent children, all of whom live apart from other relatives.