Is the decline of the traditional family a national crisis

Decline of Traditional Family

The decline of the traditional family structure and concomitant values has been the subject of many worried religious and social documents. These documents quote high divorce rates as the reason for all social problems from crime and suicide to the AIDS pandemic. Single-parent families are demonized for their propensity towards abuse and poverty. Gay marriage are seen by many as the ultimate disgrace; a parody of the healthy family structure. Others again view social problems as caused by many different sociological problems, of which the declining family structure might be just one. These persons hold that the family structure has historically not been extremely stable, and that to blame escalating crime and suicide rates solely on this decline, is somewhat unbalanced. Like many other social phenomena and paradigms, there are therefore more than one view of the issue, some of which are examined below.

According to Allan Carlson (2006), for example, there are more issues facing the family than meets the eye. It is for example necessary to consider how the "family" concept is in fact defined. According to Carlson, family issues have always been problematic within society. Abuse, for example, is not a recent phenomenon, nor is the necessity for women to find work and supplement the household income. Indeed, before the inception of child labor laws, even children as young as six years old were forced into labor to help support their families. This is hardly the "traditional" family, with the father as breadwinner and the mother as nurturer.

Po Bronson (2006) makes the same point in terms of family structure. He quotes a report by the United Nations in its finding that there is an increasing diversity of household types in modern society over the last few decades. Like Carlson, Bronson points out that the phenomenon of family complexity is hardly new. The difference is however the causes of the celibacy, single-parenthood and reconstituted families during Victorian times as opposed to the same phenomenon today. Po cites morality levels, economic constraints and ideological choices as some of these reasons for pre-Victorian family diversity, while the ideological attitude today has changed from the uniform ideal towards tolerance and acceptance. It is this tolerance and acceptance that are often used by religious and social groups to lament the decline of the family as a "national crisis." further point that Carlson makes is that the "traditional family," as it is currently viewed, is largely a political concept. As such, "pro-family" political parties have used the family angle to promote their own election goals, rather than as a concern in itself. Indeed, this family structure, based upon the man as breadwinner, is focused on the patriarchal paradigm, furthering the election of males into power.

The family structure then, according to Carlson, changes and evolves as society changes and evolves. It grows in concomitance with the specific needs in each family. As such, the understanding that females have something more to offer society than merely good looks and good cooking, has led to a family structure with both parents working and joining in the management of the household finances.

Another important issue that Carlson raises is that the "traditional" family structure means different things to different cultures. In African cultures, for example, the focus tends to be matriarchal rather than patriarchal. Eastern cultures also traditionally provided women with greater power within the household financial realm than was the case in the United States.

A related issue is the general view of races and racism as it manifested itself in the United States during the earlier parts of the 20th century. Vincent Rougeau (2003) for example points out that poverty and single-parent families were often phenomena assumed to relate to black people in the United States. Men were seen as lazy and irresponsible, while black women were often seen as equally irresponsible, and also immoral, with unwanted pregnancy a common problem among them. From this point-of-view, black families were often blamed for the general decline in the American household.

Another phenomenon often blamed for the decline of the family unit is the decline of the marriage rate concomitantly with the rise of the divorce rate. According to the U.N. report cited by Po (2006), the number traditional marriages, along with remarriage, has fallen somewhat drastically across the globe. Such unions are however found to be replaced by other, consensual unions such as cohabitation.

Cohabitation is almost as controversial as the few that the traditional family is falling apart only to make way for wide scale anarchy. Bradly & Crews (2001), for example view the institution of the traditional Western family as a sacred unit, upon which the whole of American society is built. If this basic structure fails, it means the failure of society as it is known. Indeed, the authors darkly view the "devaluing of the institution of the family" as a lack of commitment to the Judeo-Christian values upon which American society as it is currently known, is built. Hence, it is indeed not only a national, but also a moral crisis.

Bradly & Crews go on to report on the various societies brought into being for the purpose of promoting healthy families. The focus of many of these societies is patriarchal, i.e. making men aware of the responsibilities of fatherhood and concomitantly manhood. Once such society is the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), focused upon encouraging families with fathers who are involved and present in their children's lives.

Paul Vitz (1999) approaches the subject from a scientific, statistical point-of-view. As such, the author examines the issue only in terms of recent decades, from the 1950s. To prove the point that the traditional family and its values are indeed on the decline, Vitz cites the are of illegitimate births, which shows an increase of 310% from 1950 to 1990. Concomitantly, the author cites a recent estimated figure of 30% illegitimacy rate. Unsurprisingly, the rate is higher for black women and women who did not finish high school. However, it is also true that white women, college graduates and those at professional or managerial skills saw an increase rate of more than 50% of illegitimate births. Included in this is the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, which Vitz estimates to be the highest in the developed world. All this is ascribed to promiscuity, irresponsibility, and a disregard for the legitimacy of the family unit.

Vitz considers the divorce issue from the viewpoint of child involvement. The number of children in America affected by divorce per year comes to approximately one million, according to the author. An interesting raised concomitantly with the divorce rate is cohabitation. Vitz claims that couples that cohabit prior to marriage are more likely to divorce after marriage. He cites several studies that have been conducted in this regard, which found that such couples are not as committed to marriage, often come from divorced families, and hence are prone to divorce themselves. In terms of morality, it was even found by one of these studies that cohabiting women are more likely to cheat on their husbands after marriage. Furthermore, such women are at greater risk of physical violence, as one of the cited studies found that male cohabiting students are more accepting of rape.

Vitz goes on to address the issue of single-parent families and poverty. The single parent is obliged to either rely on government funding or daycare to take care of his or her children when they are very young. As day care can be expensive, a single income is often not sufficient to both carry this cost and the cost of the family need. The decline of the traditional family structure therefore has a devastating impact on the earning potential of the family unit.

Probably those who suffer most as a result of family decline is the children involved. Vitz cite statistics that show children from divorced and single-parent families having difficulty coping with several areas in their lives. These children are for example claimed to be more prone to becoming involved in drug abuse and violence, while concomitantly struggling with their school work. Living with an example of a broken family, these children are also more likely to repeat the pattern in the future with their own families. From this viewpoint then, the decline of the traditional family unit can indeed be regarded as a national crisis.

When considering the various arguments regarding the family unit and how different critics regard the issue, it is difficult to estimate the extent of the "national crisis" claim. Personally, I believe that a more tolerant view of society is in order. Many divorce and cohabitation statistics for example are compromised as a result of legitimate but unreported causes, such as domestic violence or infidelity. Even Vitz admits that separation is better for children who live in a household where violence or other conflict is at the order of the day.