by Jodie Harper

Created on: June 23, 2007   Last Updated: June 25, 2007

Functionalists believe that industrialisation led to an increase in the nuclear family type. The nuclear family is a type of family that consists of just two generations; this is parents and their children. According to Wilmott and Young, two functionalists the number of nuclear families only increased and became popular during and after the industrial revolution. The structure of families has changes over time.

Wilmott and Young carried out a longitudinal study on the change in structure of the family at four different stages. These were stage one- pre-industrial (pre 1750), stage two- industrial society (1750 onwards), stage three-present day and stage four- the future. Their study was debatable as not all researchers agreed with the information that was found.

Wilmott and Young found that during pre-industrial times there was a mainly agricultural society, so the most common type of family structure was that of a classic extended family.

However Laslett disagreed with this. Laslett checked parish records and found that the most common family structure was a nuclear family, only 10% of families were classic extended during pre-industrial times. This was because couples married late, had children late and died early, so it was rare that more than two generations were alive at the same time.

Like Laslett, feminist Oakley also disagreed with Wilmott and Young. Oakley agrees with Laslett, she found that people lived in small family units working in cottage type industries or living off the land producing enough to survive.

Wilmott and Young found that the family type became nuclear during the industrial revolution. This was because as industry progressed people moved away from their families to find work, so the family decreased in size and became nuclear, this was known as the theory of functional fit. The nuclear family suited the needs of society more because its small size made it more mobile and the mobility weakened family ties and obligations.

However Anderson disagreed with these findings. He found evidence of the industrial family being classic extended by studying parish records and official records of births, marriages and deaths. A classical extended family type was evident because people moved into towns and cities to find work and other family members either travelled with them or followed them. People also met partners earlier; married earlier and therefore had children earlier. Families produced more children because they were an economic asset and

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