| The purpose of this study is to develop a model that could answer general questions about why social welfare develops in complex industrial societies, and to relate socio-economic conditions to types of family organization and the demand for types of social welfare.;The findings indicate that it is possible to develop a model based on the analytical tool of systems theory. This tool allowed the writer to sift through the data, organizing it according to the units of a social system, which is defined in terms of different levels of structure and function. Thus person, family, neighbourhood and community relationships were set out in relation to each other. Over time community relationships reflect the growing complexity of society. In early simple societies the family embraced most of the functions of the tribal society. The "social security of the family" is not sufficient in the complex industrial society. Thus the family function of social security as transferred to the state. In modern complex societies the family has come to rely on various social institutions, in addition to the market place, to meet its needs.;The two-way exchanges of the market place have been replaced by one-way transfers to the family from the larger social institutions of government, Federal, Provincial and Municipal. Three types of unilateral transfer were highlighted, occupational, fiscal and direct assistance (in kind and money). Four types of demand for welfare result and are related to four types of family organization. These four family types, ordered according to the degree of integration in their conjugal role patterns, and the extent of connectedness in their surrounding social networks (contacts with kin, friends and neighbours), were related to the level of societal complexity. The resultant relationships are organized into a table of hypotheses. This table and its interpretation constitute the major findings of the study.;The implications of the findings for social work practice indicate that the model could provide a framework for a systems approach to "Social Diagnosis.";Since it was not clear how the development of social welfare was related to industrial society, exploratory research was undertaken. A survey of the literature of the family, sociological models of society, writings on the different types of welfare, and relevant DBS statistics were examined. This material was studied with sensitivity to the hypotheses that may be derived from it. |
