Families and Households

Question 1

What is meant by the term families?

Answer 1

Groups of people who are related by blood, birth, marriage or adoption.

Question 2

What is meant by the term households?

Answer 2

Groups of people who live together under the same roof, but are not necessarily related in any way.

Question 3

Why didn’t the government break ‘couples’ down into married or cohabiting in 1961?

Answer 3

In 1961 cohabitation didn’t happen or if it did people did not admit it as it was frowned upon.

Question 4

Household

Answer 4

Either one person alone or a group of people who live at the same address and share living arrangements - bills, meals, chores etc.

Question 5

Family

Answer 5

A group of people related by kingship ties - relations of blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption.
Most families will live in a household - but not all households are families.

Question 6

Nuclear families

Answer 6

A two generation family with two heterosexual adult and their dependent children - own or adopted. 
A traditional (or conventional) nuclear family is one in which the parents are married and the gender roles are segregated e.g. female housewife and male breadwinner.

Question 7

Extended families

Answer 7

3 or more generations of family members with additions beyond the nuclear family: horizontal means of the same generation (aunties and uncles/cousins) or vertical meaning grandparents are included. The classic extended family are kin who live in the same household or close proximity; the modified extended family is kin who are geographically dispersed but maintain regular contact via technology.

Question 8

Beanpole family

Answer 8

Multi-generational family (3+ generations) but few people in each generation - due to increased life expectancy; grandparents play an important role in the care of grandchildren/great grandchildren.

Question 9

Matrifocal family

Answer 9

Female headed families, no adult male. E.g. African Caribbean families have a high proportion of matrifocal families (50%).

Question 10

Patriarchal family

Answer 10

A male headed, male dominated family.

Question 11

Same sex family

Answer 11

Families headed by lesbian or guy couples, with or without children.

Question 12

Single:line parent families

Answer 12

Families headed by one adult, over 90% are of these are headed by woman.

Question 13

LAT family

Answer 13

Living apart together - families or couples who do not live together but usually for work reasons, live separately.

Question 14

Cohabiting couples

Answer 14

Couples who live together but are not married.

Question 15

Empty shell family

Answer 15

A couple living together but not emotionally committed to one another.

Question 16

Empty nest family

Answer 16

A family where the children have left home and it’s just the parent/s at home.

Question 17

Single/lone person household

Answer 17

A person living alone through choice, divorce or bereavement.

Question 18

Reconstituted families

Answer 18

A family where one or more of the partners brings children from another relationship. Commonly referred to as a step-family.

Question 19

Symmetrical family

Answer 19

A nuclear family with joint conjugal roles; husband/wife or cohabiting couples share domestic labour, childcare and leisure activities; the relationship is egalitarian ( more equal).

Question 20

New conventional family

Answer 20

A contemporary version of the nuclear family where both parents work and share the domestic work. Parents may be cohabiting or married, and the children are their biological or adopted offspring. Chester believes this is what most families are like.