Social Dysfunction Essay

What Leads to Social Dysfunction? “The family is the first essential cell of human society”( Pop John XXIII). The family is one of the most important social groups an individual belongs to as he or she grows up and becomes a part of society. Most of the essential values an individual learns in the family from his or her parents. In his speech, Dan Quayle claims that high divorce and illegitimacy rate leads to urban poverty, violence, and social degeneration (180). Quayle’s argument is clear and accurate. The role of both parents is very important in the family, particularly in the educational function of the family. Social well-being depends on how well parents teach their children to hard working, family values, love and respect to surrounding

Children of the different social classes receive different education from their parents. Middle-class parents actively foster their children’s talents, opinions, and skills by enrolling their children in organized activities, reasoning with them, and closely monitoring their experiences in institutions such as schools. These parents most likely will raise responsible and hardworking members of society. In contrary, the parents in working class and poor families allow their children to grow spontaneously. These children do not have organized activities. Instead, they play outside and watch TV. Working-class and poor families struggle with economic shortages that often lead to additional labor. That is the main reason why they do not have enough time to actively monitor their children’s experiences and foster their talents. As a result, children of working class and poor families are often drown into lives of crime. Also, they typically assume adult responsibilities-including marriage and parenthood- at an early age. They are at risk of becoming truants or dropping out of school. In part, it is because they may lack the money needed to remain in school. For fixing these problems, governmental programs such as a welfare system, child support system should be reformed and

According to the United States Census Bureau, one out of every two children in the United States lives in the single-parent family. Since 1950, the number of one-parent families has increased significantly. The reasons for single-parent families have also changed. If before most single-parent families came about because of the death of spouse, now most single-parent families are the result of a divorce or single-parents have never married (Cite). Life in a single parent family can be quiet stressful for the children, because they have to deal with many pressures and problems that children of the nuclear family, consisting of a mother, a father, and a children, don’t have to face. For instance, the children may face the difficulties such as the effects of continuing conflict between the parents, less opportunity for parents and children to spend time together or problems caused by the parents dating and entering new relationships (American Psychological Association). Moreover, many of single-parent families’ problems are directly related to their economic condition. The children of single-parent families are at risk for lower levels of educational achievement, more frequently abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to join a gang, go to jail, and to participate in violent crime