The Family In Society - Intro To The Family Flashcards
What is meant by the term family?
- A married couple with more than 1 child
- A group of people who are related to each other by kinship ties such as blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption.
What is meant by the term household?
A person living alone or a group of people living together who share living arrangements (may or may not be related)
What is a nuclear family?
Consists of two generations (parents and children). The children are either their own or adopted and the parents are married
What is a traditional extended family (vertical/horizontal)
Contains kin beyond the nuclear family. This could be vertical (grandparents) or horizontal (aunts, uncles and cousins)
What is a modified/dispersed extended family?
When the family members are geographically separated but stay in though through phone and technologies
What is a beanpole family?
A vertically extended family which is tall and thin (e.g. includes grandparents but only 1 or 2 children). These have become more common
What is meant by lone parent family?
Consists of one parent and their child/children. May come about through death, divorce or not being in a relationship in the first place
What is a cohabiting couple?
A couple who live together without being married
What is meant by the term reconstituted family / blended family / step family
This is where a couple bring children from previous relationships and come together to form a new family
What is a same sex family?
A lesbian or gay couple with children through surrogacy or adoption. They may be married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership
What is an empty nest family?
A family where the children have grown up and moved out
What is an empty shell family?
A family where the couple are together but they are not in love anymore
What is a commune?
A group of people who live as a collective rather than in individual family units. The children are seen as the responsibility of everyone. These were popular in the 1960s in the UK and USA
Different types of families
- Beanpole
- Nuclear
- Blended
- Cohabiting couple
- Single parent / lone parent
- Same sex
- Modified/dispersed extended family
Which types of family are new or growing in number?
- Same sex families
- Households containing two or more families
- Cohabiting couples
- Single parent families
- Blended families
What is happening to marriage?
- Less people are getting married
- Same sex marriage rates are increasing
- Less religious ceremonies
Is the family becoming more or less important?
The definition of family is changing and family is different to everyone (people see their closest friends as family)
What is happening to divorce?
- Divorce rates were steadily increasing but are now starting to level off and slowly decline —> less people are getting married
What is meant by monogamy?
Two individuals who are committed and faithful to each other
What is meant by serial monogamy?
A series of committed and faithful relationships e.g. marriage followed by re-marriage
What is an arranged marriage?
Marriage arranged by parents to ensure their children marry those from similar background and status
What is forced marriage?
Marriage which is arranged and takes places without a partners consent who may be underage
What is meant by the term polygamy?
Marriage to more than one partner at the same time
What is meant by the term polygyny?
One husband and two or more wives
What is meant by the term polyandry?
One wife and two or more husbands
Patriarchal vs matriarchal
Patriarchal - authority and control held by males
Matriarchal - authority and control held by females
