AG

Families and Households

Family

It is a group of people consisting of adults

and children who share a blood, marriage

or adoption relationship.

Household

It is a group of people who live under the

same roof but are not necessarily related by

blood, marriage or adoption relationship

but who share a common meal and

common responsibilities (for example, a

group of students).

Kinship

It pertains to relatives living under the

same roof.

Forms of Marriage

[Marriage Legal union between

partners]

1) Monogamy

One husband and one wife. Found in

Europe, the USA and most Christian

cultures.

2) Serial Monogamy

A series of monogamous marriages.

Found in Europe and the USA,

where there are high rates of divorce

and remarriage.

3) Arranged Marriage

Marriages arranged by parents.

Found in the India sub-continent and

the Asian Community in Britain.

4) Polygamy

Marriage to more than one partner

at the same time. Includes Polygyny

and Polyandry.

i) Polygyny

One husband and two or

more wives. Found in Islamic

countries like Egypt and

Saudi Arabia and (illegally)

among some Mormons in the

state of Utah, USA.

ii) Polyandry

One wife and two or more

husbands. Found in Tibet,

among the Todas of Southern

India, and among the

Marquesan Islanders.

Q| Describe 2 reasons why polygamy is the

main form of marriage in some societies?

[4]

It is culturally accepted;

religions/traditions accept it.

Disproportion of males to

females/females to males; one sex

outnumbers the other sex.

AG

Amount of partners is proportionate

to the status of the person.

Pattern of Inheritance

1) Patrilineal descent

Property and title passes through

the male side of the family.

2) Matrilineal descent

Property and title passes through

the female side of the family.

Pattern of Authority

1) Patriarchal Family Authority held

by males.

2) Matriarchal Family Authority

held by females.

3) Symmetrical Family Authority

shared between male and female

partners.

Pattern of Residence

1) Patrilocal Couple lives with or

near the males family.

2) Matrilocal Couple lives with or

near the females family.

3) Neo-local Couple sets up a home

apart from either the males or the

females family.

Family Structures

1) Nuclear Family

Consists of parents and

children.

Two-generational family.

They live under the same

roof.

In Britain, around 40% of

persons live in nuclear

family.

2) Extended Family

[Three-generational family]

This is a grouping of all kin. There

are 2 main types of extended

families:

i) The Classic Extended

Family

The classic extended family is

made up of several nuclear

families joined by kinship. They

may live in the same house,

street, area and see each other

regularly.

ii) The Modified Extended

Family

The modified extended family

consists of nuclear families

living far apart geographically

and maintaining contact

through regular visits, phone

calls, e-mails and letters.

3) Lone-Parent Family

AG

It is also known as the single-parent

family whereby there is only one

parent with the children. In 2003 in

Britain, 11% of the people were

living in this structure. 9 out of 10

single-parent families are female-

headed.

4) Reconstituted Families

This is a family where one or both

partners have been married

previously and they bring with them

children of a previous marriage. In

Britain, 40% of all marriages

involve remarriages.

5) Symmetrical Family

This is a family where the roles of

husband and wife or cohabiting

partners have become equal. There

are more shared tasks within

relationships.

Q| Why were extended families more

common in the past? [6]

One of the reasons for why extended

families were more common in the past is

that the family, back then, was a unit of

production and the greater amount of

members they had, the greater amount of

hands could be used for production.

Another reason is that the status of an

individual was ascribed, which means that is

was already determined at birth. If the

familys specialty was blacksmithing, the

individual was bound to become a

blacksmith later. If he went away, he would

probably lack the needed skills so as to

survive properly.

Another reason for the prevalence of

extended families in the past is that the

family was the sole source of revenue and

the individuals had a heavy reliance upon

their family for survival.