Lone Parent Families Essay

571 Words3 Pages
There are many policies that have been introduced which can have a positive or negative impact on family life, based on different sociologists’ points of view. Functionalists believe that many social policies have a positive effect on family life because some policies help the family. The welfare state relieves the family from pressure in education and healthcare by having schools and the NHS. This means that the welfare state works alongside the family so they can perform the essential functions and can focus on the socialisation and nurturing of their children. Fletcher agrees that with the introduction of health, education and housing policies this had led to the welfare state supporting the family in performing functions effectively. From a Functionalist point of view, the social policies have had a positive impact on the family because they have helped and supported the members of the family.…show more content…
One reason is because of the welfare benefits that are given to lone-parent families, as it encourages young women to get pregnant because they know that the state will look after them and their child. They believe that the nuclear family should be encouraged and the lone-parent family should be discouraged by eliminating benefits for single parents. They should also make divorces harder to acquire and make marriage less expensive. Murray states that giving benefits offer ‘perverse incentives’ as they reward people for bad and irresponsible behaviour. It will encourage fathers to abandon their responsibilities to the family because they know that the state will maintain their children and it encourages more lone-parent families. Social policies are negative from the New Right point of view because it challenges the nuclear family as different family types are starting to arise, that aren’t good for
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