Each person has specific needs. Most of these needs are related to communication and interaction with other people. Belonging to a family gives a person the opportunity to satisfy them. A family is a system that exists according to certain rules and performs certain functions.
The main functions of the family
Most researchers define the function of the family as an area of life that is responsible for meeting the needs of all family members. What does it mean?
Relate to the functions of the family social roles, social status and focus. Naturally, depending on social influence, some may disappear, being replaced by others.
Family functions include:
- reproductive;
- educational;
- economic;
- communicative;
- household;
- Sexy
- emotional and spiritual communication.
If we consider each of these functions, we can make sure that all areas of human needs will be covered.
The need for intimacy and love
Of course, each person needs close contact with other people. All people strive to love and be loved. Some of the basic functions of the family just satisfy the needs of the person. Sexual interaction of spouses, parental love, communication with relatives - all this gives a person confidence, the necessary amount of communication and emotional nourishment.
The function of emotional and spiritual communication, as well as sexual, give spouses the opportunity to express their needs for intimate communication, tenderness and affection, psychological support for each other, acceptance and participation on the part of the partner. The ability to inspire each other, support in solving problems, help in matters of personal development - all this affects the harmonious relationship of spouses and satisfaction with marriage.
Security need
Feelings of security and safety are of great importance for a comfortable human existence. Ways to ensure them relate to the functions of the family. When creating a family, two people strengthen their financial situation, thereby providing each other with a sense of security and support. Economic and economic functions fulfill this need.
For posterity, safety and protection are provided by the reproductive and educational functions of the family. The need for the birth of children and their protection is inherent in humans on an instinctive level. And the educational function adds awareness and love to this process.
The need for membership in society
A person is not able to live in absolute loneliness; for a normal existence he needs communication. The society gives what it needs: communication with other people, through which a person develops and learns, receives respect and recognition from others, provides himself with the necessary status and influence in society.
Thanks to the social functions of the family, the child learns to communicate and interact with other people. The family helps him in this and gives the necessary support throughout the development and maturation of the child. Among the social functions can be identified educational, economic and communicative.
In the process of upbringing, parents have to contact with educational and other institutions, the child takes a direct part in this and adopts the styles of interaction with social organizations from parents. The economic support of the family is also associated with social interactions, so from childhood the child is preparing to become a full member of society. And for this, he will need to master the art of communication, which he begins to master in his family, gradually expanding the circle of friends.
The need for self-actualization
Family functions include the need for emotional interaction and spiritual communication, which also play an important role in human life. A person needs constant development and spiritual growth. From childhood, he was instilled with moral and moral principles that will influence his actions throughout his life. Growing up, a person already independently determines his beliefs and the direction of his development. But the family prepares basic beliefs, which are laid as the basis of spiritual search.
Self-actualization is the highest link in the hierarchy of human needs described by A. Maslow. The desire for development and growth, to realize their potential is laid down since childhood. The influence of the family plays an important role in the realization of human capabilities. But this largely depends on the level of development of parents and their participation in raising a child.
It is difficult to single out the most important function of the family, because each of them to varying degrees has an effect on all spheres of human life. The relationship of family functions with human needs is obvious. Of course, a lonely person can also satisfy all these needs, but it is the family that provides the most effective satisfaction of all needs.