Marriage and Families

IntroductionFamilies argon central institutions in our society. They argon com heraldic bearinged with the pivotal tasks of children upbringing and providing continuing intimacy and companionship to members. Traditionally, a family consists of persons colligate by blood, marriage or adoption. Other definitions of a family prolong begin a common househ nonagenarian, economic independency, and sexual and reproductive relations (Lamanna and Riedmann, 2005)Sociologists observe to recognize the family beta responsibility in performing necessary friendly roles such as child rearing, economic validate and domestic maintenance. As families ar becoming less traditional, the legal definition of a family has beat much flexible. Traditional or modern families sustain wholeness mission in that they all create a place to belong in at least two ways. They create boundaries, and they serve as a repository or archive of family memories and traditions.Marriage which is a formal agreement surrounded by two people is the initial stage of forming a family. Our discussion forget answer the basic questions on the legal bindings in marriages and outline factors that whitethorn simulate marital stability.Primary provisions of a premarital agreement and in-person contractBack in history husbands and wives were prohibited from making some(prenominal) contract in the midst of themselves. Still on the same period prenuptial agreements particular those meant to pass on property rights take noteing a split were prohibited. It was thought that these agreements would encourage divorce. In the recent times this laws have gradually traded to permit husbands and wives to machinate contracts with separately opposite by which they agree about what assets would be held separately by either of them during the marriage. (Weisman, 2003)In many states, prenuptial agreements and personal contracts atomic number 18 highly encouraged. They come to assets for children in case th ere is a divorce or the pargonnts die.Weisman, (2003) comments that for a prenuptial agreement to be enforced, both people in the birth must clearly disclose all the assets they have. Any agreement base on fraud will however not be accepted (pg, 7). The two parties be advised to have a lawyer for original to ensure that the signing of the agreement is fair and reasonable.In America to the highest degree states follow the uniform provisions act on prenuptial agreement. The act provides matters that are subject to a prenuptial agreement. (Weisman, 2003). They include the right and obligation to make a contract in regard to property the modification or elimination of spousal support ownership rights and disposition of death benefits from a conduct insurance policy The disposition of property upon time interval a break up of marriage, death or the extendrence or any other event and lastly the making of a will, trust or other arrangement.The above provisions for making of a per sonal contract are important because without such provisions in a prenuptial agreement, may guide to fraudulent claims.In the United States people who are old or senior citizens use prenuptial agreement to protect their assets and their children from precedent marriages in the event that a collaborator goes into a nursing star sign and Medicaid cover is sought. (pg, 8)Factor affecting marital stabilityAn analysis carried out by (Veroff and Shirley, 2002) describes these factors more schematically according to the process and number of course of studys the couple has been into marriage. The first base analysis is based on the factors that occur before getting get hitched with and starting a family. This factors are called pre-marriage factors and includes social status of spouses, pre-marital connections of the couple and family place setting of the spouses. The pre-marriage factors studied under social status include father and overprotect education, owns education, person al income, poverty ratio, race and educational attainment. Under the family background we have number of siblings, broken home background and presence of older siblingsThe south category discusses personal factors at the time of marriage. They are the characteristics comprising each spouse and their personality. They are ambitiousness, cooperativeness, orientation of power and Neuroticism.The third analysis is based on interpersonal factors which describe how each individual relates with other people, and how he or she views others. They include interpersonal perceptions, perceived interacting attitude in compatibility, and actual interactions.There are other factors that people face when they interact with others and they form our fourth category. These factors are referred to as external factors. Stress is one of the factors. Stress is an emotionally troubled or unsettling gap that may exist between how we would like our life to be and how it actually is. Another external factor is network support which describes how well the family is connected with the outside world. The amount of support they receive from other families and friends.The final factor is the qualitative sense that the couple makes of their life together. These are the integrative feelings which can be both specific and general. Feelings in one year of set the stage for the marital factors in the next year which in turn affect the feelings in that year and so on. These feelings include marital happiness, marital competence, marital control, marital tension and marital equity. This are measured separately for each spouse. (Veroff and Shirley, 2002.pp 5-6)The above factors underline the stability or instability of a marriage.Forms of Marital DisruptionMarital problems are risk factors in a family environment where children are brought up. Marital conflicts that lead to divorce are the most detrimental towards children welfare. Marital disruptions according to (Richardson and Carol, 2002) are after associated with a change in economic circumstances and adjustments to altered linking conditions (pg, 1907). When heightens are stressed they affect their parenting practices.A part form divorce parents may disagree but save remain together. These parents have persistent conflicts that do not end. The end result of such conflicts is that they affect childrens behavior and lower their self esteem.Marital military group is part of marital disruption and involves physical aggression. This form is more upset to children than other forms of marital disruption. When children are exposed to marital violence they race to imitate this in their relationships with others and display violent behavior towards teachers, peers and family members. (Richardson and Carol, 2002) excessively kick up that where children are exposed to negative emotions, their safely and security may be threatened and therefore they express anger towards their parents. Marital Abuse also results when parents are use violence against each other in marriages. Parents who have no respect for their children and end up abusing them either physically or sexually. Abuse falls under the marital violenceMarital disruption may occur as a result of death of one person in a relationship. The irreversible loss of a close companion begins a process of grief and extended transition for the surviving spouse. There is an increase risk for emotional disturbance to bereaved individuals compared to their non-bereaved community counterparts. These effects may persist for second years or more for a meaningful number of individuals.Epidemiological data has demonstrated that, there is a strong standstill between marital disruption and poorer health. This is because of the physiological suffering that the bereaved face, especially when their loved ones depart.ConclusionThe family, functions to fulfill six basic human needs enculturation of children, economic production, welfare for the sick and the elderly, recreation and emotional attachment, sexual relationship regulation and reproduction. Through the ages marriages and family has been used to establish basic patterns of inheritance, authority, lines of descents and mate selections.These are some of the commonly accepted descriptions and functions of a family. The changing face of families anatomical structure has been as a result of certain factors which includes the higher expectations for marriage, higher divorce and remarriage rates, expenses on personal fulfillment avoiding economic concerns and increased single parent families.The primary provisions of a prenuptial agreement are important in a family setting whether the couple trust or doubt each other. Marital stability and instability is part of normal experiences in marriage and family and the factors discussed in the document contribute negatively or positively towards the family. The various forms of marital disruptions described in this text include death, separation or divorce. Strong marriages are therefore needed for families to be effective.ReferencesLamanna, M.A and Riedmann, A.2005.Marriages & Families make Choices in a Diverse, Thomson Wadsworth publishersRichardson, J., Carol, J.2002.Parent Training Programs for the Management of children, Psych PublicationsVeroff, J. and Shirley, H.2002.Marital imbalance A Social and Behavioral Study of the Early Years, Greenwood PublishingWeisman, S.2003.A Guide to sr. Planning Everything You Need to Know to Protect Yourself,FT Press