How the Environment Affects the Family Unit - Essay Example

Effects of Community on Family Unit A family structure consists of a set of relationships. Parent-child is the mainrelationship in the family structure. The parents may be biological or non-biological. The parent’s marital status plays a major role in the family structure. The marital status of the parents may be married, re-married, divorced or separated (Sarah, 2003). The recent change that positively affects the family setup is formal employment of women. The rise in women’s employability has had a positive effect in child rearing.

The paradigm shift has forced fathers to spend more time with their children when their mothers are away at work. Fathers are increasingly becoming more involved in child upbringing while mothers delve into occupational, educational and social spheres (Sarah, 2003). The composition of a family structure affects the development of a child .Research shows that children from single-parent families perform poorly when compared to children from a family with both parents. Children from single families are more prone to developing health, social and academic problems.

However, in some instances, children with single parents perform well just like children from two-parent families (Sarah, 2003). It is important to study the functioning of the family as a unit to comprehend child development. Whole functioning of the family is a process where a family interacts closely and bond together. The wholesome functioning of the family affects the development of young one through the interactions occurring in the family. Positive characteristics such as warmth, closeness and cohesion serve to enable children face difficult circumstances later on in life (Sarah, 2003).

Internal relationships within a family undoubtedly are the most effective way of influencing lives. However, social, economic and physical environment plays a major role in the functioning of the family as a unit.