The changing patterns of social relations in modern times have weakened the bonds of family life and the capacity of this institution to perform its functions essential to human development. Conventional analyses of the impact of family policies tend to focus on the extent to which these measures help to reconcile work and family life, advance gender equality, boost fertility rates and provide financial supports for families. This paper makes a case for broadening the analytic perspective to include the impact of policies on family functioning. This family-sensitive analytic lens focuses on outcomes that strengthen the bonds of family life and the capacity to perform the basic functions of procreation, socialization of the young, care for dependent members, emotional companionship and mutual support over the life course. The family- sensitive lens encourages policymakers to consider alternative consequences of social programs and normative issues regarding their impact on family life.

现代社会关系格局的变化削弱了家庭生活的纽带，削弱了该机构履行其对人类发展至关重要的职能的能力。对家庭政策影响的常规分析往往侧重于这些措施在多大程度上有助于调和工作和家庭生活，促进性别平等，提高生育率并为家庭提供财政支持。本文为拓宽分析视角以纳入政策对家庭功能的影响提供了理由。这种对家庭问题敏感的分析镜头着眼于加强家庭生活纽带和执行生育，年轻人的社会化，抚养受抚养者，情感陪伴以及在生活过程中相互支持等基本功能的结果。