Family Needs and Societal Institutions: Potential Empirical Linkage Mechanisms

Abstract

Family and institutionalized mechanisms are considered as potential concepts for the analysis of the interrelationship between family and society. Two ,fundamental input-output linkages between the family and society are defined as the reproduction of labor power and ideological perpetuation of society, related on the family level to the four universal functions of biological, economic, social, and spiritutal reproduction of man. These functions are also considered in terms of associated needs. It is also assumed that in all societies there are some institutionalized inputs that support the family as an institution, conceptually elaborated as linkage mechanisms. The possibility of developing social indicators for concrete descriptions of family and mechanisms is empirically illustrated by using statistical data from 24 European countries. The countries are divided into highly industralized and developing industrialized countries and categorized according to and levels qof 'familism, based on indices constructed from various empirical measures. Correspondingly, indices of 'family needs and 'family are developed and the congruency between family and family welfare is explored. The results suggest that most countries fall into two types of congruent groups of high family welfare-high family needs and low family welfare-low family needs.