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Parsons Family - History and 'Fit' Introduction Functionalist theory asserts that there will be a specific pattern of family organisation corresponding to different types of society. Hence there is a particular family form that best suits the conditions of industrial society. Parsons rejects the thesis of the declining function of the family in industrial society and asserts: 1. That the family is subject to the basic principle of structural differentiation brought about by industrialisation. 2. Changes in the form of the family are adaptations to new conditions. 'The family is now a more specialised agency than before.' (Parsons and Bales, 1956). Structural differentiation Structural differentiation leads to: 1. The isolation of the nuclear family from an organised extended kinship network. The nuclear family becomes self-contained and no longer dependent on material or emotional support from the parents of either spouse or from other kin. (Does this sound right? Think of weddings, funerals, Birthdays, Christmas, inheritance). 2. The family becomes organised around...

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