A Study Of Family Disintegration And Deviant Behabiour
[ILORIN METROPOLIS]

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
2.0    Introduction
Family disintegration is the legal, cultural or lawful dissolution of the life of a marriage. It  involves a series of events, such as separation, family relatives’ mediation and the taking of custody of children. It has been conceived to mean the termination of a marriage by a couple, often facilitated by a court, family relatives or by persons perceived to have rights over the couple, and which is binding on the couple. There are several forms of disintegration which include divorce, separation ,single parenting, desertion etc. deviant behavior on the other hand can be define as any behavior that is contrary to the dominant norms of society.
This chapter will be reviewed under the following headings:
2.1     Concept of family
2.2    Family disintegration
2.3    Deviant behaviour
2.4    Family disintegration and deviant behaviour
2.5    Factors that affect engagement in deviant behaviour.
2.6    Causes of family disintegration
2.7.    Effect of family disintegration on children
2.8     Empirical justification
2.9    Appraisal of the
2.1    Concept of Family
Robertson (1987) viewed family as a relatively permanent group a people related by ancestry marriage, or adoption who live together, from an economic unit and take care of their young. In a relatively impersonal mass society such as our, the family performs an “affectionate”  function, serving as sources of emotional support, providing a sense of belonging and  giving a certain from amount of emotional security from dangers and threats of the outside world. Also Saxton (1993) sees the family as people who are bound together emotionally by a sense of shared experience and understanding. Because practically all of us are born and raised within some form of family, our initial experience which form the basis for our view of ourselves and the world around us are chiefly derived from a family setting. In pre-modern and modern society alike, the family has been seen as the most basic unit of social organization and one which carries, out vital task such as socialization. To some people, family has are the most important part of their lives, more important than work, money, recreation, friendship, religion etc. (Haralambos, 2000 and Glenn, 1991).
In spite of the numerous role of the family in the society, its instabilities have various negative effects and consequences particularly on the socialization process of the youths and on the society at large. According to Doolittle et al (1999) there is enormous interest and serious concern about the family in our society. It is seen as a vital socialinstitution which is in great danger of disintegration a prospect loaded with dire social consequences. Furthermore instability has come to characterize the family system especially within the African societies. Many of the African societies are undergoing a process of modernization, the effect of which is noticeable in the family and in the institution of marriage generally. Marriage is no longer lasting until death. This phenomenon described as family instability appears to be on the increase.
It is beyond mere assertion that families do not always remain together as units. Writing under the caption, “family disorganization” Goode (1971) defines family instability as the breakup of a family unit, the dissolution or fracture of a structure of social roles, when : or more members fail to perform adequately the role obligations. He sees the family as both “fragile and tough” the family is seen to be fragile because it is constantly breaking down, and tough because despite the problem associated with it, it has continued to survive
as an institution. He reiterated that “disorganization” is endemic to the family system by he meant that problem associated with family represents the more normal patterns daily family life, that is recurring sets of dissolving pressures with a repeated and often stumbling reassertion of old pattern. There are several types of families which include nuclear family, extended family, divorced family, polygamous family etc.