Under the NHE approach, families are analyzed as households that "consume," and these 'consumables' can be both tangible (basic commodities such as food, clothing, shelter) and intangible (such as health and relaxation, among others). All these socio-economic variables impact the family, according to the UN study (Zeitlin et. al., 1995). Examples of these impacts include the following findings: (1) "loosening social controls" -- legal controls or social norms that must be followed by members of the society -- lead men to "discontinue their support to wives and children," (2) "economic profitability" (i.e., more financial resources) for female head of the family allows other female members of the family to be economically profitable as well, and (3) increased employment opportunities for women in the family improves child welfare in general...

These findings demonstrate that power and conflict in the family is determined by the social forces and economic resources that are available to each family member. Inevitably, access to more resources results to increased power within the family, particularly to the family member with direct access to these resources, including family members directly associated to the more powerful and/or economically profitable family member. It is in these examples that both social and economic forces indeed impact the family, as well as individuals in the society (who are also individual members of the family.
Reference:

Zeitlin, M., R.Megawangi, E.Kramer, N. Colletta, E. Babatunde, and D. Garman. (1995). Strengthening the family: Implications for international development. Tokyo: United Nations University Press.