A study on the Power Distribution Structure in Family (The Case Study: Lar City)

Family is the most important social institution in any society. As societies become increasingly complex, development of human social institutions can be characterized by the phrase “increasing specialization of functional activity”. Historically, family like other social institutions has changed. Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of family in the twentieth century is the increasing rate of family structural change, which directly influences the relationship between the members of a family particularly husband and wife. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate factors that affect power structure in family. In this survey, women’s employment status, women's job, men's job, the age of marriage, duration of marriage, women's education, women's income, men's income, men's education, and family size are regarded as factors which affect power structure in the family. The followings are the research hypothesis: 1) There is a relationship between employment status of women, and power structure in family. 2) There is a relationship between women's job and power structure in family. 3) There is a relationship between men's job and power structure in family. 4) There is a relationship between the age of marriage and power structure in family. 5) There is a relationship between duration of marriage and power structure in family. 6) There is a relationship between women's education and power structure in family. 7) There is a relationship between women's income and power structure in family. 8) There is a relationship between men's education and power structure in family. 9) There is a relationship between men's income and power structure in family. 10) There is a relationship between family size and power structure in family. The theoretical framework of this study is based on “Exchange theory”. The research method utilized is a survey through which a sample of 307 married women residing in “Lar” city is selected. Interview is used to collect data and the content of the interview is prepared in the light of the objectives of this study. Face Validity and choronbach Alpha are employed to determine the Validity and reliability of the measurement. The Power distribution structure is measured in two ways: area of power and couple strategy. The statistical methods include Regression analysis, t-test and ANOVA. The findings demonstrate that the great majority of the families (88.6 percents) have some degree of democratic structure, 2 percents of families have democratic structure and in 9.4 percent of families non-democratic structure exists. There is a significant relationship between the independent variables including age of marriage, women's education, men's education, women's income, duration of marriage, dimension of household, occupational status of women, and the dependent variable. In addition, in the multivariable analysis, independent variables predicted 6.9 percent of changes of dependent variable. Discussion about the sociology of family has always been a matter of debate. It emphasizes on family structures, and traditions. It focuses on the way "self emerged" from interaction with significant others. Social change occurs at many levels of society, in social institutions, culture, in roles and relationships among people. Families, as the primary unit of every society have undergone change as a result of social change. Social change occurs at different levels. And can take time to occur. Findings of this research show that, however, social change has occurred in family in Iran but structural condition remains in place.