The Changes Occurring at Society at Large Which Have Affected the Structure of the Family Might Be Seen at Steps Down the Slippery Slope of the Disintegration of the Family as a Social Institution. Critically Discuss

While the majority of young couples seem to be following a linear progression in their relationship along traditional lines, others are starting families away from the established structures of society and even outside legality (Galea 2007, Fenech 2011). In Malta, the situation has its unique characteristics. What we have been witnessing in recent years is a combination of factors with important repercussions. According to family scholar Abela (2009a), the unity of the institutionalised family and the need to sustain marriage as a permanent relationship continue to be important values that are entrenched in our culture. Moreover, the vast majority of Maltese university students still want to marry for life (Abela 2009a). Conversely, the rapid rise in teenage pregnancies, single parenthood, widows, middle-aged divorcees, unmarried teen-aged mums and the fact that about one third of the children born in Malta each year are outside wedlock (NSO 2011), might indicate this rapid transformation. All the above elements surely cannot be taken as one spectrum in social analysis. Bugeja (2012) states that the disintegration of the traditional Maltese nuclear family in an increasing number of local communities is the principal source of so much social unrest and misery. According to Galea (2007), being committed to one`s partner and to the relationship remains a challenge for all married persons. Then again the challenges for younger couples are becoming more complex as the crisis in commitment is manifested as early as in the courtship (Tufigno as cited in Galea 2007). The serious nature of the problem we are facing in Malta, mainly in the privatisation of relationships and the institutionalised family life, should not be underestimated (Galea 2007). People today seem to have a different way of understanding a traditional family commitment than from the past. The transition is from a commitment to an institution to a more personal bond. Nevertheless, in a society where the