Social conflict theories of the family

 

Introduction

Social conflict theories are theories that imply and argue that people and groups that are within the society base their interaction on conflict rather than getting to an agreement. Therefore through these different types of conflicts, groups, people and families can get different types and amounts of resources thus defining the poor and the rich. Social conflict is a basic component of people’s nature. This leads to competition and a struggle for resources. Social conflict theories are based on the type of relationship, and power and help understand the reason why stability and instability occur within a family context.

The origins of social conflicts include the fact that conflict is a major component of the nature of human beings, competition towards getting resources, and the structural condition of the society. In conflict and human nature, the belief of a condition of conflict between men and women exists because the two genders reveal different self-interests. Human nature is characterized by ungratefulness, deceit fullness, and greedy for wealth. Because individuals are naturally equal in terms of body and mind, they believe that they should achieve what their peers have achieved. This is both in the material goods and in terms of power and this is normally a cause of conflict because, in the long run, this does not happen. Some of them achieve more and others achieve less. Competition over resources is when everyone competes to get enough struggles for themselves to be able to survive. Power and the way it is shared has a very big impact on human social existence and can also cause serious conflicts (Farrington & Chertok 2009. When power is given to the wrong people who want to take advantage of other people and their resources, this could lead to conflicts. Social conflict may result in ethnicity, racism, social classes, and gender inequality among other things.

Conflicts theorists view the family as a social structure that benefits the male gender more than the female gender whereby men are always given the power position. (Farrington & Chertok 2009). The male gender tends to hold more power compared to the female gender in that the responsibilities differ greatly. The male gender roles and responsibilities are more valuable compared to those of the female gender which include childbearing, housekeeping, and taking care of the family. In traditional families, men are known to take care of their families in that they are the ones that go to work to fend for their wives and children. In circumstances where the female gender has to go to work, it is still her responsibility to take care of the family and the household. The conflict theories also note that the family focuses on the extension of the societal disparity within a society by upholding and reinforcing the status quo. Education, wealth, power are transferred through the family setting. The wealthy can maintain their social class while the underprivileged families cannot afford to have those social positions or status.

The social conflict approach gives the assumption that society is a place where inequality and conflict co-exist to generate social change. Normally, there is an unequal distribution of power in society because power is shared based on social class, gender, and race. The race conflict approach mainly puts its focus on inequality among people from different racial backgrounds (Boss 2009). Mainly the majority groups have an advantage over the minority group. The social conflict theorists outline that the reason why conflicts prevail, in and out of families is because people are generally striving to act upon what they want. This includes their preferences, values, objectives, and resources that they view to be important and or more advantageous to their everyday life. Therefore, in terms of thinking, desiring, and valuing, individuals differ and are not motivated by the same things. This is a cause of social conflict in a family because a parent may want to watch television whereas a child wants the parent’s attention. One child may be interested in watching the cartoon while the other one wants to play video games. Through these examples, the cause of conflict is brought by an individual’s wants and interests which differ with those of the other person.

Another kind of conflict is one that is brought by individuals who are interested in the same thing but the supply of those things is limited. The conflict occurs because none of them will be willing to sacrifice for the other person. Such a case is the scenario of siblings or individuals who will all be fighting for attention, love, wealth, or power.  The individual motivations underlying conflict in humans is partly a result of internal forces that are part of the human species (Vargus 1999). The self- interest can also be as a result of the social status that individuals occupy and also from the cultural values that they have been exposed to during their social interaction.

Some of the family theories begin with the perspective that families are groups whereby its members struggle to control and protect resources. The perspective is from the notion that families are built on mutual love and harmony (Bengston 2004). The social conflict theories note that negative behaviors in families are as a result of differences and disagreements. Such conflicts can be functional and can also be destructive at the same time. Some of the family conflicts can be resolved whereas others continue and some of those family members avoid them. These conflicts can be managed through compromising or development of new agreements within the members. Family members engage themselves in activities where each member has something that is valued by the other members. This means that there are negotiations that take place and this results in the exchange of valued resources. These negotiations may cause conflict if every member involved is not rewarded.

Conclusion

Social conflict theories of the family originate from the basic elements of human nature and society and competition towards getting resources. The family is a societal structure that benefits men where they are accorded more power compare to the women who are given the roles of child-bearers and home keepers. Conflicts arise due to the unequal distribution of power in society which is based on social, class, the race among other characteristics. It is also a result of disagreements and misunderstandings in the family setting. We are moving past the traditional cultures and practices and this has changed the way people think and act. This is a good way to reduce family conflicts because the cultural values and practices could be reviewed and made to accommodate every person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Bengston, V. L. (2004). Sourcebook of family theory and research. London: SAGE.

Boss, P. (2009). Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach. New York:

Plenum Press.

Farrington, K., & Chertok, E. (2009). Social conflict theories of the family. In Sourcebook of

family theories and methods (pp. 357-384). Springer, Boston, MA.

Vargus, B. S. (1999). Classical social theory and family studies. In Handbook of marriage and

the family (pp. 179-204). Springer, Boston, MA.