Family Theories: Foundations and Applications

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What Is Theory?

You are probably familiar with Apple's phrase There's an app for that! – it is one we use often in modern society to refer to the ways in which our smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices can help us be more efficient, more creative, and better at what we do. Apps help us problem solve, help us think in different ways about our everyday lives, our friends, our families, and our social calendars. They help us put it all into a manageable, knowable format that provides a framework for understanding our daily lives.

You may ask yourself why we are beginning our theory text with a discussion of electronic applications. A theory – or a set of ideas – serves as a framework for understanding the world around us. The social science theories that we describe in this text can be applied, tested, and even revised over time in order to fit the changing social world. This text presents you with 10 theories of family; 10 unique ways to look at the world, to help you, as a student, better understand how to look at and solve problems that you will face in your profession someday. As a practitioner, how will you make sense of the dynamics of the families you are serving? How will you make an informed decision about how to provide services, inform policy, or conduct research on changing family dynamics? As an example, consider that you are charged with developing state policies to make the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (2006) more accessible to very diverse working- and middle-class families. As a policymaker, you will need to know the demographic trends that show just how diverse families are in modern society: there are blended families, single parents, same-sex partnerships, grandparents raising grandchildren, and many more variations. Contemporary society tends to be pluralistic, which means we have a heterogeneous population made up of different genders, racial-ethnic groups, religions, sexual orientations, and social classes. You need to be aware of how each of these characteristics intersects to create advantage or disadvantage for your clients. You need to be aware of barriers that prevent working-class families from using family policies because they cannot afford to. You need to be aware of historical data, so you can consider what has and has not worked. You need to be able to think outside the box – question the status quo – so that you can develop new, innovative policies for today's changing families. In sum, you need an app for that.

Theory – as we present it in this text – is your app. Theories help you be a problem solver, an informed researcher, an effective educator, program director, nurse, social worker, or therapist with a unique perspective to be able to work through problems and solve them with forethought that will set you apart. We want your theoretical mind to be actively engaged at all times, so that when you are tasked with problem solving in your profession, you are able to tackle the problem with the applicability that theory offers to your profession.

When it comes time for you to utilize your theoretical knowledge in the everyday world, we want you to be able to say There's a theory for that! – a theory that will help you look at the problem through a critical lens. Knowing theory means you are able to access multiple data points – you are familiar with larger trends and patterns that help explain social institutions and social injustice. Theoretical minds are also familiar with how the theory has informed research; for instance, we are able to study families on a macro-level by analyzing larger patterns in society, such as rates of marriage, fertility, and divorce. Using a macro-level of analysis, we can examine patterns of behavior on a large scale: How is socioeconomic status (SES) related to marital patterns, fertility, and divorce? Do middle- and upper-class individuals wait to get married until they are older, compared to working-class individuals? In addition, studying families through a theoretical lens can also be done at the micro-level, by analyzing phenomena more closely, in smaller doses. For example, a micro-level of analysis would frame questions about social class and marriage much differently: instead of large-scale patterns, we would be interested in finding out what the meaning of marriage is for individuals from different social class backgrounds. We could also explore each partner's perceptions of what an ideal spouse is, based on their SES. Has the ideal changed over time? Does the description of an ideal spouse depend on gender? What about whether or not the partnership is lesbian, gay, or heterosexual? Theories give us a framework for understanding each and every one of those intersecting factors – on multiple levels – as we work with and study families.

Case Study

Bo-Meh, the subject of our case study, is a first-generation college student who has only been living in the United States for five years. She entered the country with refugee status, along with her mother and three younger siblings, after living in a refugee camp in Thailand for eight years. After graduating from high school in America, she enrolled in college with the hopes of becoming a social worker so she can someday pay back the many services she benefited from as a newcomer to the US. She has three younger siblings, all of whom have depended on her for care since her mother works 12-hour shifts at her job.

As Bo-Meh sits through her first Theories of Family course as a family studies major, she wonders about her classmates. The professor put the students into groups of five for a class project, which requires them to work together to answer a research question using various theories of family. Her group members are very diverse. Maggie is a 41-year-old mother of three who put off college to raise her children, and she is majoring in nursing. Seneca is a 22-year-old media studies major who wants to develop television programming for children. Natalie is a 20-year-old elementary education major, and Curtis is a middle-aged war veteran who wants to go into marriage and family therapy. Given how diverse the group members are, Bo-Meh wonders how well they will work together, and how they will find anything in common to be able to accomplish the tasks for the semester. Will they be able to find times to meet outside of class, given their conflicting schedules and outside responsibilities? Will they be able to agree on a theoretical framework to answer the research questions, given how different their majors and career goals are?

Box 1.1 At a Glance: Theory Is …

"The word theory sends a glaze over the eyes of most people. This is somewhat ironic because the word theory comes from the Greek theoria, which means a looking at. … A theory is simply one's understanding of how something works" (Shoemaker, Tankard, and Lasorsa, 2004, pp. 5–6).

Theorizing is like being presented with a puzzle where only some of the pieces are visible or seem to fit together. Fitting the pieces together is fun, though often frustrating, particularly when the overall picture is vague or elusive (Bengtson et al., 2005, p. 5).

In everyday family life, there are many activities that take up considerable time, energy, and attention but that are poorly represented in our theorizing about families … The result is that family life tends to be viewed in terms of averages around measures of central tendency, rather than in the diversity and complexity of shared meanings and interrelated perceptions (Daly, 2003, p. 772).

No one group possesses the theory or methodology that allows it to discover the absolute ‘truth’ or, worse yet, proclaim its theories and methodologies as the universal norm evaluating other groups' experiences. Given that groups are unequal in power in making themselves heard, dominant groups have a vested interest in suppressing the knowledge produced by subordinate groups (Collins, 1990, p. 235).

Like other students taking a family theory course, these budding professionals (e.g., social worker, nurse, television programming developer, elementary school teacher, and family therapist) all have to take family dynamics into account as a part of their coursework. Yet, their interactions with and perceptions of families will differ greatly, possibly creating rough patches when it comes to completing their project. Finally, how will each classmate's own family upbringing affect how they view families? In this chapter, we explore epistemologies – or, one's orientation to answering questions about the world – as they relate to the study of families. Your epistemology provides a framework for how you approach answering questions, such as Why do people get divorced? Think about how different people may answer that question, depending on their life experiences and beliefs. If you have grown up in a family that has experienced divorce, you may feel that poor communication skills or financial strain lead to divorce. Another classmate may see divorce as a blessing, given how much his parents verbally abused one another. Yet another classmate may suggest that divorce is not even on his radar, since his two fathers fought most of his life for the right to be legally recognized as a married couple in his home state of Minnesota. Each of these different life experiences contribute to one's view of families. In addition, each student's major or career trajectory will influence how they perceive issues of the family as well. While Bo-Meh may see these differences as barriers to her group coming to consensus on a theory to explain family dynamics, it is important to instead consider them as valuable differences. With each person's experience and academic focus comes a new lens – or, epistemology – that can help others in different professions view the family in a new way.

Theory Building Blocks: Epistemologies, Assumptions, Concepts, and Propositions

In order to understand theories, we first need to understand how they are used to explain ideas. Scientific theories consist of epistemologies, assumptions, concepts, and propositions. These building blocks of theory are important to both build and deconstruct theory. Figure 1.1 shows how to think of each layer of theory building as a pyramid; beginning with the bottom layer (epistemologies), each layer builds on the previous one. In order to understand how a theory explains families, we can remove the blocks and analyze each layer.

Figure 1.1 Building blocks of theory

Epistemologies

At the foundation of the pyramid are epistemologies. Epistemologies are the overall frame of reference that a theorist brings to the study of families. They answer the questions: (a) What is knowing? (b) How do we know what we think we know? And (c) How useful is what we think we know? (Bengtson et al., 2005). All theorists have an epistemology that guides their thinking.

For example, a positivist epistemology presumes that there is an objective truth that we can discover about families through systematic research procedures. Positivism guides the scientific method and presents knowledge as value-neutral or value-free. When studying families, a positivist would approach the study of divorce by examining perhaps length of marriage, age at first marriage, and variables such as the race/ethnicity of the couple, the region of the country in which they marry, and perhaps their religious identity. From a positivist view, a family researcher is able to explain the who, what, and where of divorce, but not necessarily the why. Positivist theories are useful for predicting and explaining phenomena on a large scale.

On the other hand, an interpretive epistemology views knowledge as subjective, with the goal of understanding how families make meaning of their own experiences. Family scholars with this epistemological orientation differ from positivists because they are interested more in the why of explaining family dynamics. That is, instead of being interested in facts and statistics about divorce, the interpretivist would want to know what divorce means to families. Divorce could mean very different things to families, depending on the situation. In some families, divorce could signify the end of an abusive and unhealthy relationship. In others, it could symbolize a mutually agreed-upon move in a new direction for both partners. Therefore, an interpretive epistemology allows researchers and theorists a way to conceptualize truth as something that is changing and not the same for all parties. This orientation allows for multiple truths to hold for each family, and each family member, being studied. Interpretivist theories are useful for understanding multiple dimensions of family, and being empathetic with different lived realities for each.

A critical epistemology holds that what gets to count as knowledge is defined by those who are in power, and thus, the powerful members of society impose their definitions onto others. This orientation is critical of what is held to be true about families; that is, the assumption that all families should procreate. That perspective, however, is not a truth for all members of society wishing to call themselves families. Critical theorists also examine what are referred to as social constructions of reality. A social construction is something that was defined as important and valuable by powerful members of society. Often, socially constructed truths serve the purpose of reifying the social structure and inequality that exists. For example, if divorce rates increase, powerful members of that society may start disseminating rhetoric, which refers to messages that are aimed at persuading the audience. Anti-divorce rhetoric would suggest that the American family is on the decline and the future of America is at stake unless the increase in divorce rates is stopped. The rhetoric is based on a social construction that suggests divorce is always harmful, not only to the individuals involved, but to society as a whole. Critical theorists examine these messages as social constructions of reality that are not true for all families. Critical theory is useful for breaking down ideologies and suggesting that it is important to give voice to those with marginalized power and status in society.

Assumptions

Given how different these epistemologies are, each theory will have certain assumptions about how the world works. Assumptions are the ideas that scholars believe to be true about families. They are the starting point for a theory – the taken-for-granted ideas that lay the groundwork for theory building. Assumptions are unique to each theory – they provide an orientation to studying the social world that is specific. For example, functionalist theory (Chapter 2) assumes that families are functional for all members. This assumption overlooks a stark reality for families – that some interactions are harmful for family members. Other theories, such as conflict theory (Chapter 3), assume that conflict is an inherent part of both the social world we live in, and inevitable within families as well. These two theories have very different assumptions, which will shape how the theory is applied and how it is used to explain family forms and family dynamics.

The way that social scientists view and theorize families inevitably changes over time, as norms change and society evolves. How assumptions have shifted over time is evident when we examine perceptions of women in families and in the legal profession throughout the past century. For example, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, women tried to enter the legal profession, which prompted responses not only from law school administrators, but also from state and Supreme Court justices in the United States. Based on the dominant gender and family ideologies of the time, women were denied both entrance into law school and licenses to practice law. Three concurring Supreme Court justices wrote in 1869:

Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender. The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life. The constitution of the family organization, which is founded in the divine ordinance, as well as in the nature of things, indicates the domestic sphere as that which properly belongs to the domain and functions of womanhood … The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. (Weisberg, 1977, p. 492)

In 1875, the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed, writing that any woman who attempted to become a lawyer was committing ‘treason’ against ‘the order of nature’ (Weisberg, 1977, p. 493). This view of women was not only widely accepted in the legal profession, but also among other professionals. A Harvard University physician argued that women should not even be allowed to study law because it posed a threat to women's health (and therefore the future of America) because women would become unable to reproduce: [It is] dangerous for women to engage in strenuous intellectual activity, [which would] divert energy from female reproductive organs to the brain, harming the health of women and their children (Clarke, 1873, p. 126).

Some men supported letting women into law school, but with certain stipulations. A graduate of Yale Law School wrote to the admissions office that he supported allowing women to study law, provided they are ugly (Morello, 1982, p. 625).

Clearly, these views are no longer a part of our orientation to studying families. Yet, perhaps some of the views remain, such as the perception that women are better suited to care for children. This is called cultural lag, where society evolves but facets of culture, such as beliefs and values, take longer to change. What do you think? Do we still view women differently than men, when it comes to families? What are your own personal assumptions about studying gender and families?

Concepts

Concepts are terms and definitions used to explain the theory's framework based on the assumptions. Concepts are integral to explaining theories: they provide the building blocks used to create the theory. For example, structural-functionalist theorists use the term roles to describe a set of expectations associated with each family member. The head of household – typically assumed to be the husband in functionalist theory (Chapter 2) – performs instrumental roles in the family, or the tasks needed to ensure the family's basic survival (Parsons, 1970). Based on the assumption that families are functional for all members, the husband makes important decisions, gives orders, and exerts power over other family members. The concepts used in this example are role and instrumental. They are derived from the assumptions that functionalist theorists hold to be true about families.

There are many important concepts used in family theories. Sometimes the same term is defined in different ways by different theories. For example, the concept of conflict is defined as inevitable in conflict theory (Chapter 3), but as deviant in functionalist theory (Chapter 2). In order to understand how theorists see the world and explain family dynamics, we need to be familiar with the concepts and their definitions, as they are used in various theories. Once we can explain the assumptions behind a theory, and define the concepts, we can then apply, test, and refine the theory in family practice and research.

Propositions

Propositions are statements based on both assumptions and concepts that we use when we apply theory to the study of families (Bengtson et al., 2005). For example, a proposition derived from social exchange theory (Chapter 7) is that a husband's income level is related to the probability of divorce. Propositions are operationalized as hypotheses; that is, hypotheses restate the proposition in a way that can be tested in research (Babbie, 2013). The proposition that a husband's income level is related to the probability of divorce can be restated to test in a research study as: Men with higher incomes than average have lower divorce rates than average (Nye, 1979). Hypotheses, which reformulate propositions into their empirical version, specify the direction of change the researcher expects will occur. Propositions, then, can be upheld based on the findings in a research study, or they can be refuted, or deemed inapplicable, depending on the family to which we are applying the propositions.

Propositions are the pinnacle of the theory; propositions allow us to tell whether the theory is still relevant 50 years after its creation, or perhaps that it needs to be updated to reflect, for example, changing demographics and marital patterns in society. Thus, theory informs research, and research informs theory (Klein, 2005; Wallace, 1971). Science is a process of going from induction (beginning with observations and moving on to theory) to deduction (beginning with theory and moving on to observations) in repetitious fashion (see Figure 1.2). One way to think about this cycle of knowledge building is to imagine theory building as a cycle. Theoretical propositions contribute to scientific inquiry (hypotheses and data collection), and those results then contribute to a broader body of knowledge about the topic. Then, the theory is either confirmed, or updated and modified depending on the results.

Figure 1.2 The scientific process and theory building

Propositions make theories testable; what this means is that each theory has statements about how the world works – or in this case, how families work. When you are using the theory, whether it is for data collection as a researcher, or interpreting a case as a social worker, you will be applying the propositions to the families you are working with or studying. Depending upon the result of applying a proposition, you will either confirm or refute the proposition, and thus further refine the theory. To build on our example using functionalist theory (Chapter 2), one of this theory's propositions is that when a family member deviates from their role expectations, dysfunction may occur. Then, in order for the family to properly function again as a whole, the family member must figure out a way to conform to the role expectations set forth by the family. Functionalists view the family as a human body – when the brain is compromised, so are other parts of the human body. The brain sends messages to the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. If the brain is injured, functionalists argue that in order for equilibrium to be reached, repairs need to be made to allow the brain to continue fulfilling its role expectations. Similarly, according to this theory, a husband, or head-of-household, must fulfill instrumental role expectations in order for everyone else in the family to know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

What Is a Family Theory? Common Assumptions across All Theories

Although this is a book about different types of family theories, there are several assumptions made about families that are embedded in all of the theories we cover in this book. These assumptions reveal what the community of scholars, that is, the researchers, theorists, and practitioners, in the family field perceive about the inner workings of families and the broader structures that constrain their lives.

Developmental assumption: families change over time

The incorporation of time into the family life course is one of the most important contributions of family theory. Families consist of interdependent lives that continually change over time. Conceptualizing both the individual life course and the family life cycle is critical to family theorizing. Your own life course, for example, begins with your birth and ends with your death. In that sense, the life course is linear. However, the life course of families is cyclical, in that family roles and relationships at each stage are eventually occupied by new members. As a person moves through time, he or she occupies various positions in the life course (e.g., child, sibling, partner, parent, widow), but the cycle of the family spirals on, beyond any one person's life course. Think back to our case study; Bo-Meh is in the life course stage of young adulthood, and her group member Maggie is in the middle of her life course, having raised children before attending college. Each person has an individual life course (i.e., young adulthood versus mid-life) as well as a family life cycle. Bo-Meh has cared for her younger siblings in the absence of her working mother, which situates her a little farther along – in terms of the family life cycle – than her peers. In fact, she and Maggie share child-rearing in common, even though they are at different stages of the life course. Each of these intersecting experiences is important to take into account when thinking about families and development.

Diversity assumption: families vary in their composition and structure

As we explain below, there is no singular type of family. Families differ in multiple ways, according to the intersections of each individual's race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, and other characteristics. Families also differ across these divisions (e.g., Black families; families where the parents are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ); childless families; extended families; single-adult families). There are many structural variations in families as well. For example, families include intragenerational relationships (e.g., married couples; adult sibling relationships) and intergenerational relationships (e.g., parent–child; aunt–nephew; grandparent–grandchild). Families also differ by household structure: members of families, even nuclear ones characterized by two parents and their children, can live in different households; examples include (a) a young adult who lives in an apartment away from home during college; (b) a married couple who live together apart by occupying two households, often due to working in separate locations; and (c) a binational family, in which a mother goes to work in a country with greater economic opportunities, while her children stay back in the home country and are cared for by relatives. This diversity assumption is an important one; before family theorists adopted the assumption that families were not one-size-fits-all, theories were developed based on one standard model, which does not fit for families in contemporary society.

Systemic assumption: families are systems

Families are more than a collection of individuals related to each other. Families consist of interrelated parts, where lives are connected through communication (process) and composition (structure). When some event occurs in one person's life, all the members of the family system are impacted. If a father gets a new job, the whole family could move to a different state, possibly disrupting the children's lives by having to change schools and find new friends. The parents could experience stress at work, and that stress may spill over into family life. What happens to one family member may affect the entire family system, and therefore, the whole of the family is greater than the sum of its parts. An example of this systemic assumption is Curtis, the middle-aged veteran from our case study. Curtis put off attending college until after he served in the military, including a two-year deployment in Afghanistan. During his time in Afghanistan, an explosion close to him injured Curtis, and damaged his nervous system. Three years after the explosion, Curtis married his high school sweetheart and they had a daughter within their first few years of marriage. Unfortunately, the damage to his nervous system from the explosion started to cause seizures, one of which resulted in hospitalization and Curtis being unable to drive for six months (until he could be retested and evaluated). Therefore, every weekday morning at 5 a.m., his wife Donna has to wake up their infant daughter and drive Curtis to the train station for his commute into work and his night classes, and then pick him up every night after his classes are done at 9 p.m. This is a perfect example of how one family member's well-being affects the entire family system.

Processual assumption: families are dynamic

At the micro-level of analysis, families are an emotional domain (Daly, 2007). Family members constantly communicate with one another in visible and invisible ways. Sometimes there is harmony, sometimes there is conflict, and sometimes harmony and conflict are simultaneous. For example, families are often a site of tension between the dynamics of caring for one another and the competing needs that arise in fulfilling caregiving responsibilities while also taking care of oneself (Dressel and Clark, 1990). Bo-Meh is a good example of completing the developmental tasks of emerging from adolescence to adulthood, while at the same time, filling in as a caregiver for younger siblings because her help is needed at home. At the macro-level of analysis, families are dynamic in that they both affect and are affected by broader social systems. Families must deal with social and historical change – demographically, economically, and politically. Bo-Meh's family fled to the United States in order to escape war and persecution. Upon arriving, her family had to adapt in several ways, most notably to a new culture that was more individualized than collectivist. Refugees and immigrants alike still experience similar macro-level cultural adjustments after relocating to the US.

Box 1.2 Family Theory in Pop Culture: Modern Family

A scene from Modern Family, 2009, cr. Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, 20th Century Fox Television

Modern Family is an American sitcom based on the lives of three families, tied together by the patriarch, Jay. In the show, Jay is married for the second time to a Latina woman (Gloria) who has a 14-year-old son (Manny) from a previous relationship. Jay and Gloria have another child together, a son (Joe). This nuclear family is a good example of a blended family.

Jay's daughter, Claire, has a nuclear family that most closely resembles the traditional family in US society. Claire is married to Phil Dunphy, and they have three children (Haley, Alex, and Luke). Claire is a homemaker for the majority of the show (although she does run for local political office in one episode), and she fulfills fairly traditional feminine gender expectations.

Jay's son, Mitchell, is partnered with Cameron, and together they adopted a Vietnamese daughter, Lily. Their gay-father family is an example of pluralistic American society; modern families vary and a one-size-fits-all model is rare.

This television series also is a good example of both micro- and macro-levels of analysis. In the second season, the show was heavily criticized from the LGBT community for not portraying physical affection between the gay couple, Cameron and Mitchell. This is indicative of a larger, macro-level trend; Americans were not only comfortable with a gay couple on television, they now wanted physical affection – namely, kissing – to be a part of the cultural landscape. The producers of the show responded with just that in an episode titled The Kiss.

Family dynamics illustrating a micro-level of analysis are replete throughout the show. Jay is at first uncomfortable with his son's homosexuality, which strains their relationship. There are also examples of how Mitchell and Cameron negotiate expectations as both partners and fathers; their interactions show the importance of meaning and communication styles.

Finally, it is interesting to note that the two leading women in the series are stay-at-home mothers; this arrangement rarely creates friction between Jay and Gloria, but often presents issues the Dunphy family has to work through. There are times when Phil feels emasculated, and when it is clear that Claire wears the pants in the family. On the surface, it appears that Phil is the head of household. This alludes to the cultural dialogue that occurs within modern families; sometimes role negotiations are ongoing, emotionally charged, and a far cry from what they appear to be on the surface.

It is also important to note that from a macro-perspective, legal barriers prevented certain immigrants from even entering the United States. Until the mid-twentieth century, the US used the quota system, which limited the number of Asian, Latin and South American, African, and southern European immigrants coming to the US. In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed, which opened the doors to others regardless of race or nationality (History.com, 2016). Families need to be flexible and adaptable in order to cope and/or thrive as broader social forces create new challenges and opportunities.

Popular media provide relevant examples to understand the assumptions made by family theorists. As shown in Box 1.2, the television program Modern Family demonstrates the key assumptions we just identified: families change over time; families vary in their composition and structure; families are systems; and families are dynamic.

The Family versus Families: The Normative Family and the Diversity of Families

From the beginning of theorizing about families, scholars were more concerned with the similarity across all families, rather than with the variation among families. The search for what is normal provided a starting point and a baseline for family theorists, researchers, and practitioners to understand how the typical family functions. Beginning with the average or the typical family also gives scholars a shortcut in studying and understanding families. This shortcut allows us focus only on The Family. Focusing on family with a capital F makes it easier to theorize about families as a system that operates among many other macro-systems in the social structure (e.g., the economic system, the religious system, the political system; the criminal justice system).

Assumptions about the normative family are rooted in the nineteenth-century concept of separate spheres for women (inside the home tending to family members' emotions) and men (outside the home, in the world of work and politics). In the language of functionalist theory (Chapter 2), which was one of the earliest family theories to dominate the field, women fulfilled the expressive roles within families and men fulfilled the instrumental roles, and this separation was deemed both efficient and natural. This normative model was based on what family researchers now refer to as the Standard North American Family (SNAF) (Smith, 1993) and reflected the experiences of White, middle-class Americans with married, heterosexual parents. Assumptions about the family against which all other families should be judged included (a) families need a head-of-household with centralized power in order to function effectively, (b) males should fulfill that role, and (c) roles and expectations are static, and unchanging, over the life course.

As the saying goes, one size does not fit all. The SNAF model excluded variations such as single-parent families, LGBTQ-parent families, families without children, grandparent-headed families, aging parents and their adult children, families formed with chosen or fictive kin who are not biologically related to one another, among many other family forms (Allen, 2000). Coontz (1992) and others have critiqued this model as being outdated and a product of what she refers to as the nostalgia trap that we fall into when we romanticize the 1950s as the Golden Era. Her critique is based on the fact that during that time period, the post–World War II economy was booming. Most families had enough economic stability to only need one breadwinner (the male). Mothers stayed at home; the Civil Rights Movement had not yet occurred, so women of color were overrepresented in domestic work, working for White families. Federal assistance programs such as the G.I. Bill and low-interest housing loans were tailored to help young middle-class families become homeowners.

Today, in contrast, most families need two paychecks to maintain economic stability. In addition, the most common family form today is a blended family; one that includes children from a previous marriage (Sweeney, 2010). Today, scholars recognize that families are very diverse and the roles of partners are not as strict as they once were (Cherlin, 2004; Demo, Allen, and Fine, 2000). Therefore, families are inevitably affected by historical and social forces. When society changes, theories must also change in order to remain effective and timely. An example of such social change is legalizing same-sex civil unions. When such a macro-level change occurs, it inevitably affects protections for and perceptions of LGBTQ individuals. It also affects micro-level factors such as meanings associated with marriage, divorce, partnerships, and roles. Each of these dynamics affects the explanatory power theories have: a theory based on the SNAF model would not be appropriate in explaining family dynamics for all.

On balance, despite the fact that the normative model has been critiqued in recent decades, it is still very entrenched in family theory and research as well as popular culture (Allen, 2000; Bahr and Bahr, 2001; Cheal, 1991). In other words, assumptions about what is normal, ideal, and how families should be, as opposed to how they really are, are very resistant to change. Social norms about the ideal that all families should strive for, and against which all families are judged, are still influential. As Pittman (1993) explains, the normative model may be down, but it certainly isn't out. It is important, then, to understand how this norm developed and why we cannot discount it altogether. As current trends reveal, the SNAF model does not fit all, or most, families; but its influence still lingers.

Although the SNAF model was useful for developing theories of family early on, its description is limited to individualistic cultures, as in North America (e.g., the US and Canada) and Northern Europe (e.g., England). However, as we emphasize in this book, social norms vary from culture to culture, and they also change over time, mostly because ideas and behaviors change. Another important concept related to SNAF is Beck and Beck-Gernsheim's (2001) idea of the post-familial family caused by, in part, the global transition from collectivist concerns of the responsibility to take care of others to individualist concerns, where personal freedoms take precedence in everyday life. That is, there is a major societal trend where living for others has evolved into living a life of one's own. This gradual process of individualization means that the decisions individuals make for themselves affect the possibilities of forming and maintaining families. What should come first: one's responsibility to oneself, or one's responsibility to a spouse, children, aging parents, and others who have traditionally relied on family members for instrumental and expressive support? Thus, the critique of the nuclear family structure as the normative way in which people should live is a phenomenon that is occurring in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and now, throughout the globe.

How Theory Informs Practice in Global Perspective

There are several ways in which educators, practitioners, and family policy makers can apply theory in their work with individuals and families. First and foremost, it is our hope that after reading this text and utilizing theory as your app, you will view the world in a multidimensional way. That is, when you notice family dynamics in your own life, or in television and films, your app will automatically turn on and you will better understand what you see because you have a trained theoretical mind. In this way, theory informs the practice of every professional; no matter where your studies or career take you, your theory app will be with you and will help you see the world and family issues from a variety of different theoretical perspectives. This is vital because one of the most important contributions you can make as a professional who works with and studies families is being flexible. By applying your theoretical app, you will be able to think outside the box to tackle a problem by taking into account both historical data (e.g., what has and has not worked in particular contexts) as well as contemporary shifts in the changing family landscape.

Box 1.3 Global Comparisons of the Legal Definitions of Marriage and Family

There are variations from country to country about how marriage, divorce, parenthood, sex, and gender are defined. Consider these examples of current laws in five different countries:

Brazil   Members of the same sex can be legally married. (www.pewforum.org)

Germany   Gender does not have to be assigned at birth. (www.wsj.com)

Pakistan   A man may be married to more than one woman. (www.refworld.org)

Philippines   Divorce is illegal. (www.npr.org)

South Africa   Same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt a child. (www.adoption.laws.com)

Therefore, for each chapter in this book, we make specific suggestions for how each theory can be used in a practical setting. Some theories may be helpful for informing policy, such as feminist theory (Chapter 8), family ecological theory (Chapter 10), and family stress and resilience theory (Chapter 11). Others, like family systems theory (Chapter 6) and symbolic interactionist theory (Chapter 4), are useful for understanding how families communicate in order to help teachers, nurses, social workers, or therapists work more effectively with students, clients, and patients. Other theories, such as life course theory (Chapter 9) and family developmental theory (Chapter 5), are useful for understanding a family's development through different life stages, including the needs of caregivers or grandparents raising grandchildren.

In addition, theory frames problems we will encounter in our everyday lives and professions from both a micro- and macro-perspective. That is, we can understand family dynamics by gauging macro-level influences as well as micro-level interactions within the family. A good example of this would be socioeconomic status; when a family's income and wealth situate them in the working class, the wage earners (i.e., parents) may not have access to a solid retirement plan because it is not likely to be included as a part of their benefits package at work. Therefore, over time, they realize the only stability they will have access to after a certain age is Social Security income. This could likely create strain not only among the wage earners but also among the children in the family, because the children may be faced with supporting their parents in their later years. Over time, the power dynamic in the family shifts (micro-level interactions) and the parents, once in a powerful position in the family, are now depending on their children for financial support. These dynamics are influenced by larger forces at play – macro-level structures in society – that are often out of the family's control. Having a solid theoretical foundation – an app for problem solving – will help you better serve the needs of your clients, students, and patients. Ideally, a strong theory app will also inform how policies are written and developed to meet the needs of modern families.

Applying Theory: The Case of Transnational Carework

One of the ways that students learn theories is by applying each new theory to the same social issue. Below, we evaluate a contemporary family issue – transnational carework – using the theoretical concepts and assumptions for a few theories. This should provide you with a tangible, internationally relevant example that is applicable to several different theoretical perspectives.

Transnational carework is the term used to describe migrant women working as live-in or live-out domestic workers for families in wealthy nations (Lutz, 2011). Domestic workers can be hired to care for children or older adults, for housekeeping maintenance or specific duties such as cooking meals or running errands. The reason this is a transnational issue is because the majority of domestic workers are migrant women, which means that they come from developing nations, particularly the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, and throughout the Caribbean and Africa, to live and work in more affluent places such as the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Israel, and Middle Eastern countries. Careworkers leave their homes, their families of origin, and their spouses and children, to migrate to another country to work as a domestic servant, nanny, or elder caregiver. This creates complex new family forms that challenge western ideas of what it means to be a mother, a father, or even a family (Mahalingam, Balan, and Molina, 2009).

From a theoretical standpoint, how would we evaluate this issue? How would we begin to evaluate which theory would be a good fit for understanding transnational carework? First, we would have to decide whether we were going to examine the issue from a micro- or macro-perspective. If we are assessing the ways in which transnational careworkers become so integrated into their employers' families that they are considered to be kin, we would be analyzing the issue from a micro-level perspective. From this perspective, we could examine how many hours a day the careworker spends with the family's children versus how many hours the parents, who are employing her, spend with their children, and assess the strength and bonds of the different types of relationships. A family systems perspective (Chapter 6) would be an appropriate theory to use for this type of analysis. We could ask how careworkers frame their domestic caring labor, and how they maintain connection to their own children and family members in their home countries.

On the other hand, if we were to consider the macro-level processes that have led to this phenomenon of transnational carework, we would try to frame our analysis using conflict theory (Chapter 3). The second wave of feminism enabled more women (in wealthy countries) to be able to pursue professional careers that were previously unheard of. However, the capitalist nature of wealthy societies creates advantage for some, and oppression for others. Feminist theorists (Chapter 8) critique carework for the disadvantage it creates for migrant women who work for wealthy families, sending home every paycheck to provide economically for their own children, tens of thousands of miles away (Ungerson, 2006).

Yet another macro-level perspective, functionalist theory (Chapter 2), might suggest that as long as careworkers help family systems and social systems maintain equilibrium, scholars should not be concerned with transnational carework as a social problem. That is, each part of the system needs to contribute to the overall functioning of the whole; careworkers fulfill the expressive duties within the employers' home, and they, in turn, have someone in their home countries caring for their own children and families. Every member of the system has a purpose, and each does their part to keep the system running smoothly.

You can see from the example of transnational carework how each theory applied above has a different epistemology (e.g., positivism, interpretivism, critical), which leads to certain assumptions. A positivist epistemology, which undergirds functionalist theory (Chapter 2), would be interested in whether or not each part of the system worked, not necessarily what having a careworker means to the employer's family or the worker's family of origin. Therefore, a functionalist would make the assumption that if each role is fulfilled and the systems are working smoothly, then the arrangement is functional for all members. This is very different from a conflict theory perspective (Chapter 3), which takes a critical epistemology and questions the dominant paradigm represented by a positivist epistemology. For example, conflict theorists would question the capitalist structure that necessitates the role of paid careworkers in the first place. Feminist theorists (Chapter 8) would also examine how such arrangements can be harmful to societies and families, both the privileged and oppressed groups. For example, why is it assumed that carework should be performed by women? Does this social construction of gender roles prevent men from feeling as though they can fully participate in their children's caregiving? Furthermore, why is it that in some European countries (e.g., France), men's gender roles are more fluid and flexible than they are in other countries, like the United States and Mexico? After reading this text, answering questions like these will come easier, using theory as your app. Likewise, your eyes will be opened to the different epistemologies, concepts, assumptions, and propositions that make up family theories. You will also be able to see how theory can be used by a number of different professions that work