The Change of Family Setup in American Society

Change in Family and Marriage in the American Society
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Introduction
The term norm refers to a sort of paradigm and theories that act as a guide in the way individuals behave in a given societal setup (Ferris, & Stein, 2016). As per the social sciences, the norms tend to define particular cultural group therein. In this case, it is vital for the respective communities to uphold the norms to maintain cohesion and progressive development o the entire society. However, some circumstance may lead to the revolution of the underlined norms in the community. Nevertheless, the resulting changes may bring a positive impact on the well-being of the entire group whatsoever. For instance, there is a drastic have in the marriage and family set up in the American society over the last 100 years. Marriage is a dominant culture, and it results in some benefits such as improve health, financial boosting, and raising children in a right and stable environment. Conversely, leading new marriage brings a challenge to the various sociologists. Thus, the thesis aims at giving an in-depth analysis of the revolution incident as well as the factors that trier the change.
In the past years, the decision of marriage and establishing a family was dependent upon the economic and political situation rather than the love, and personal fulfillment in the current ate. Therefore, in the initial times, marriage was a compelling organization for the younger generation and most importantly a coercive institution for the women and considered sacred.

In the current date, there are no any particular considerations political, legal or economic that dictates the marriage and personal relationships (Ley, 2002). It is dependent upon the love, affection and personal relationships. Consequently, individuals have the freedom to choose whether, whom, when and how to organize the marital relations. In most marriages, the aspect of legal subordination does not apply anymore as most women have equal economic and education levels with their male counterparts.
Although change and revolution are frequent and inevitable in most aspects of the society, the concept of family and marriage tend to be more complicated and challenging. According to Ley, (2002), the availability of new choices leads to new opportunities for success as well as chances to fail. In the empirical study, the transformation of the family set up in the American society had led to more problems and challenges. For instance, the number of people who engage in marriage to establish a family is declining with time. Some sociologists argue that poverty acts as an element that hinders persons from participating in marriage. People fear the burden that may arise as a result of marriage. It entails situations where the men are not confident to offer the necessary support to the family due to lack of financial stability. In this case, the women may also evade marrying a man with little income as well. The second element is the increase in the personal freedom. Currently, the younger generations have more freedom to make marital decisions as compared to the past years. As a result, the individuals may neglect their duties and responsibilities once they become parents. Subsequently, the isolation leads to the increase in the number of divorce cases in the American society.
As the challenges continue to unfold, the scholars develop strategies that solve the existing problems. Nonetheless, since the norm is complex, the solution of the current difficulties leads to the creation of new issues (Ley, 2002). It is evident in the cases where the rich and average parent invest and devote most of the resources in developing a good environment for their children, yet the children from the poor background are at risk. Most rich couples establish a successful and long-lasting marriage. Due to the sociological imagination, the wealthy men marry the wealthy women and hence making it possible to raise the significant funds and resources that aid in raising their children. As a result, the gap between the rich and the needy families continues to widen as the children from the low-income families continue to suffer. Similarly, evidence that shows the complexity of the family and marriage aspect is a failure of the relationships due to failed expectations. Since the modern marriages are based on the round of love, mutual affection and personal relationships, the parties have high expectations from the union. In cases where the expectations are not met, the marriage is bound to fail due to the couple divorces.
The reformation of the economic and the cultural trends create significant challenges in the marriage and family set up in the American community (Ferris, & Stein, 2016). Ever the decades, the marital rates tend to decrease, and most individuals fail to tie the knot as per the culture of establishing a family. Similarly, there is a significant increase in the number of divorce cases in the country. Initially, women were subordinates to the males, but due to the economic equality, both counterparts tend to hold equal abilities. While there is a definite reassurance as scholars find mechanisms to solve the existing marital problems, new problems are created leading to culture shock. The rich marry the rich widening the gap that exists between the poor and the wealthy. The children from the needy families are thus exposed to various vulnerabilities and suffering. As the challenges unveil, it is imperative to realize that the increase in the marital freedom and poverty are the key influences that are shaping the families in the society.

References
Ferris;, K., & Stein, J. (2016); The real world: An introduction to sociology (5th ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,.
Ley, C. (2002). “The American Family: Change and Diversity”. Journal Of Teaching In Marriage & Family, 2(3), 259-271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/j226v02n03_01