Sometimes, family is all we have. Nobody knows you like your parents, grandparents, or siblings, as they’ve shaped the way you are today, for better and worse. They make up an important cornerstone of our society, yet the study of families and their dynamics has not always been formalized.
Family Science as a field emerged to provide an evidence-based approach focused on relationships to better understand how family systems work. This social science discipline can be a useful tool to look at how the nuclear family has changed over time.
For example, women used to be stay-at-home mothers, but now they’re often as equally involved in the workplace as their male counterparts. In part, this is due to increased accessibility to tertiary education and shifting social dynamics that allow women to engage in specialized careers from law at top-tier schools to nursing through nursing degrees online.
This article will explore what family science is, have a look at its historical development, and talk about why it is an important lens to view the world through in the modern era.
What is Family Science?
Family science is an interdisciplinary field, mainly discussed through a social science lens, that focuses on the study of families and close interpersonal relationships. A number of different aspects are part of the discipline: marriage, parenting, family dynamics, communication patterns, and how external factors like culture and economics affect family life. Essentially, family science aims to understand how families operate, especially in the face of challenges, and how the strengths and weaknesses of families in different situations can inform preventive action for others. The field has a massive scope, bringing in aspects of sociology, psychology, public health, and even economics, as the reality of the family unit is that it is complicated and must be informed by as much information and as many perspectives as possible.
The History of Family Science
Researchers like Sigmund Freud and Emile Durkheim were the first to formally explore the roles and functions of families within the fields of sociology and psychology. Durkheim viewed the family as a fundamental social institution that was a key part of keeping the world around us cohesive and running smoothly. Freud, on the other hand, was more focused on how family changes us psychologically, with a particular interest in how early childhood experiences impact the development of our personality later in life.
The first formal course in family-related study emerged just before the Second World War in 1938 at the University of Chicago, indicating growing recognition of the importance of family studies. Post-WWII gave rise to the nuclear family model as a response to the economic instability of the early 20th century in the United States. Returned soldiers were encouraged to start families in closely defined units so as to stimulate the economy and prevent economic situations that would lead to a repeat of The Great Depression.
In the 1950s and 60s, family science programs started to spring up around different American universities, with many focused on understanding marriage, family dynamics, and how these affected growing young minds. The discipline continued to evolve in the latter half of the 20th century, shifting as women gained more rights, beginning with Ronald Reagan signing a bill in 1969 that allowed a married person to seek divorce without the consent of their spouse.
Suddenly, there did not have to be a precedent for women to leave marriages they were not happy in, granting much-deserved independence and signaling a massive win for the feminist movement. As families evolved, the nuclear family was no longer de-facto: single-parent families, blended families, and same-sex parent families all began to emerge leading into the 21st century.
Why does Family Science Matter?
Some disciplines are focused purely on academic pursuits, but family science has real-world implications that have the power to affect change for many people and can massively contribute to the sustainability and well-being of a society.
First of all, there are family relationships to consider. Can you think of a time when your parents didn’t understand you as a teenager? It’s something that many of us experience, and with formal studies that look at communication strategies and conflict resolution, it doesn’t have to end in tears or a screaming match. Families are all about working together, and family science can help strengthen these relationships by providing real strategies that work to build the bond you have with those you care about most.
Looking more broadly, family science can be a great tool to inform public policy. Evidence-based insights can be used by policymakers to design programs to support the development of a healthy society. For example, child welfare and parental leave guidelines can be difficult to write without studies to refer to, so family science can play a valuable role in formalizing details which are often hidden.
Finally, family science can give us insight into how familial structures and dynamics vary with culture. Our globalized society is more diverse than ever, and cross-cultural interactions are part of everyday life. As a result, understanding more about parenting styles, marriage, and elder care from people of different cultures can help with cultural sensitivity and celebration, and perhaps inform how we can understand neglected aspects of familial care in our own cultures. Diversity represents an opportunity to learn from one another, and the formalization and universality of this learning is what makes family science so useful.
Family science seems like a simple field from its name, but it is anything but. In order to provide a deep understanding of the complex dynamics of families, this area of study has to dive into many different sociological aspects of what makes up a family.
From its early roots in sociology and psychology, it has evolved into a unique and complex area of its own, all to address the changing needs of families in a world that continues to evolve and surprise. Modern life can be challenging, but with the insights provided from family science, we can improve life at home one step at a time.
