When studying the institution of the family, special attention is paid to the analysis of the functions performed by him. The opinions of specialists on this issue are in good agreement with each other. The existing differences relate mainly to the degree of detail in the spheres of family life. For example, some authors separate the sexual erotic function from the reproductive one, firstly, due to its independent value, and secondly, assigning a leading role to the family in the psychosexual development of a person.
Family Institute
The family is a complex social formation in which the interests of society as a whole, an individual family and each of its members in particular are intertwined. It is defined as a historically established concrete system of marital and child-parent relationships. It is considered as a small group, whose members are connected by marriage or family ties, community of life and mutual moral responsibility. They see in it a social need, determined by the need of society for the reproduction of a physically and spiritually healthy population.
The family has a whole range of important social functions and roles for which society is ready to create, maintain and protect this social institution. It is important to consider that in human culture, social norms reflect idealized ideas about what a family should be in terms of the moral values of society.
Therefore, a normal family is a very conventional concept. These can be considered those that provide the necessary minimum welfare, social and psychological protection, create conditions for the socialization of children until they reach maturity - psychological and physical. Normally functioning families are those that responsibly and differentially fulfill their functions.
Regarding the basic functions of the family, the judgments of psychologists are largely consistent with the views of sociologists and culturologists. Such famous psychologists as Druzhinin V.D., Elizarov A.N., Matskovsky M.S. According to Elizarov A.N., value orientations unite in a family of people, and they also set the prospect of its development.
Under the social functions of the family refers to the types of its life, directly related to the satisfaction of the needs of its members. From time to time, they undergo some changes due to the development of society.
At present, there is no single universally accepted classification of social functions of the family, however, interdependence and complementarity are observed between the existing ones. Differences in views on this subject are not so significant. The following are the characteristics of the basic functions of the family.
Sexual Erotic Function
Sexuality is an inborn need that expresses itself in a combination of biological, physiological, mental and emotional reactions. All of them are inextricably linked with the attraction to each other of the opposite sex and with the satisfaction of this attraction. Therefore, one of the most important functions of a family is sexual erotic, which implies receiving pleasure from meeting the sexual needs of partners.
Dissatisfaction in the intimate sphere prevents a person from living normally and fulfilling his daily duties. He becomes irritable, gloomy. Sexual dissatisfaction is a strong destabilizing factor for marital relationships.
Reproductive function
The reproductive function of the family means satisfying the individual needs of the child. It is also associated with maintaining health. Indeed, in this case, the family faces the task of preventing the manifestation in new generations of various biological anomalies. The reproductive function of the family is of tremendous importance for society as a whole, since it satisfies its need for the reproduction of the population.
Educational function
The educational function of the family is very important. Psychologists emphasize that of all the young, the human is the least independent. In order for him to grow and develop normally, he needs long-term care and care of his parents. The main thing that they can give him is love. Together with her, they convey to the child their life experience and knowledge, and also help to reveal and develop his unique abilities and talents. Family education has a much stronger effect than public education, as it is more emotional and is associated with the love of children on the part of parents, which provokes reciprocal feelings in children.
The educational function of the family extends not only to the younger generation, but also to adults. The systematic impact of the educational character on the part of the family team is felt by a person throughout his life. There is also a constant effect on the part of children on parents and other adult family members. Self-education of parents is primarily associated with the constant influence of children on their lives.
Economic function
Under the economic function refers to the organization of activities for the financial support of the family, including all sources and the amount of family income. The material conditions of family life are based on them. This is the creation of normal living conditions. This includes financial support for minors and disabled members. It has the potential to meet growing needs and empower families.
Adult family members take part in the field of social production, form and distribute the family budget, and organize consumer activities. To a greater extent, labor and economic education of children is carried out by their example.
Household function
This family function is responsible for the conduct of home life. Maintaining cleanliness and order in the house, creating coziness in it, washing, ironing, cooking - all these are routine everyday measures that generally contribute to maintaining the health of partners and children. This includes caring for babies and caring for elderly relatives.
All this requires a large amount of time, so the question of the distribution of roles between spouses, introducing children to domestic work becomes relevant. This process has the most direct impact on the moral and psychological climate of the family group.
Leisure function
Leisure function provides for the satisfaction of the needs of family members in communication and organization of free time. They can arrange for watching TV together, going to the cinema, organizing family holidays, traveling, playing, playing sports, and creativity. This creates a favorable emotional background and helps strengthen the family. If the family is happy, then there is a mutual enrichment of the interests of spouses and children, and its activities are, as a rule, of a developing nature.
Leisure - free time, which a person can dispose of at his discretion. This is the time when he can carry out activities for his own pleasure, whether it is entertainment, self-improvement or the achievement of some goals on a personal initiative, and not because of necessity. Primary skills for the constructive use of free time are acquired within the family.
Psychotherapeutic function
Everyone has a need for love, acceptance, understanding, respect, recognition, psychological support. The niche where it is fully satisfied should be the family. In it, first of all, a person should feel accepted and protected, without regard to his status, appearance, life achievements or their absence, financial situation. This contributes to the preservation of the emotional and mental health of the individual, and this is precisely the task of the psychotherapeutic function. Lack of family understanding often leads to depression, aggression, the development of deviant behavior.
Primary socialization function
The functions of the family in society cannot be overestimated. The family is the very first social institution in a person’s life, within which he begins to learn about the world. It is in it that the child learns moral standards and rules of behavior in various spheres of life, is familiarized with sanctions for their violation, learns about responsibility and obligations in relations between relatives. Parents introduce the child to the culture of the country, its traditions. This is the function of primary socialization. The quality of the psyche and the primary socialization of children in the very early stages of their development depend on how well it is performed.
Social Status Function
The family is a key institution in human life. In addition to influencing the formation of his personality, she also gives him support and support in adulthood. The family also leaves an imprint on his position in society - determines membership in a particular estate, gives titles, if any, transfers the inheritance. By providing family members with a certain social status, it contributes to the formation and satisfaction of their needs for social advancement.
Join function
One of the most important features of family functions is complexity. Any of the above needs can be satisfied without creating a family. And yet, only the institution of the family allows us to perform all these functions together and provide comprehensive satisfaction of human needs.
Mowgli kids
In the world, there are cases when human cubs fell into flocks of animals and were brought up there. Their "parents" were wolves, bears, less often leopards, baboons. Such children were repeatedly caught by people. Catching them was as difficult as catching a wild beast.
Wild children behaved like animals - ran on all fours, could not stand and move on two legs, showed aggression, and even more than the animals from their pack. Their sense of smell, sight and hearing were well developed. They were distinguished by great muscular strength and dexterity. In all other respects, they were inferior to ordinary children of their age.
In reality, children raised by animals, there is practically no way to socially adapt and return to human society. As practice has shown, they fiercely resist attempts to introduce them to civilized life, trying to escape back into the wild.
These numerous cases clearly show that in the absence of inclusion in the collective, public life, a person cannot develop as a person and remains at the level of the animal. The psychophysical development of a person very much depends on the quality of upbringing and education, the foundations of which are primarily laid in the institution of the family.