Family structure and characteristics

FAMILIES OF ORIENTATION AND PROCREATION

During our life-time, many of us will be members of two different types of families – a family of orientation and family of procreation. The family of orientation is the family into which a person is born and in which early socialization usually takes place. While most people are related to members of their family of orientation by blood ties, those who are adopted have a legal tie that is patterned after a blood relationship (Aulette, 1994). The family of procreation is the family a person forms by having or adopting children (Benokraitis, 1993). Both legal and blood ties are found in most families of procreation. The relationship between a husband and wife is based on legal ties; however, the relationship between a parent and child may be based on either blood ties or legal ties, depending on whether the child has been adopted.

EXTENDED AND NUCLEAR FAMILIES

Sociologists distinguish between extended and nuclear families based on the number of generations that live within a household. An extended family is a family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents and children who live in the same household. These families often include grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives who live in close proximity to the parents and children, making it possible for family members to share resources. In horticultural and agricultural societies, extended families are extremely important; having a large number of family members participate in food production may be essential for survival. Today, extended family patterns are found in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and some parts of Eastern and Southern Europe (Busch, 1990).

A nuclear family is a family composed of one or two parents and their dependent children, all of whom live apart from other relatives. A traditional definition specifies that a nuclear family is made up of a “couple” and their dependent children; however, this definition became outdated as a significant shift occurred in the family structure. In the US, for example, about 26 percent of all households in 1993 were composed of a married couple with children under age 18, compared with 40 percent in 1970. This 14 percent decline in two-parent households has been attributed to an increase in births among unmarried women, decisions to postpone of forgo childbearing, and separation and divorce (US Bureau of the Census, 1994). However, nuclear family patterns still are prevalent in the US, the countries of Northern Europe, and other industrialized nation where people are more likely to move from one city or region to another in pursuit of educational or occupational opportunities (Busch, 1990).

Marriage patterns

Across cultures, families are characterized by different forms of marriage. Marriage is a legally recognized and/or socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain rights and obligations and usually involves sexual activity. In most societies, marriage involves a mutual commitment by each partner, and linkages between two individuals and families are publicly demonstrated.

In the US, the only legally sanctioned form of marriage is monogamy – a marriage between two partners, usually a woman and a man. Through a pattern of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, some people practice serial monogamy – a succession of marriages in which a person has several spouses over a lifetime but is legally married to only one person at a time.

Polygamy is the concurrent marriage of a person of one sex with two or more members of the opposite sex (G. Marshall, 1994). The most prevalent from of polygamy is polygyny – the concurrent marriage of one man with two or more women. Polygyny has been practiced in a number of societies, including parts of Europe until the Middle Age. More recently, some marriages in Islamic societies in Africa and Asia have been polygynous; however, the cost of providing for multiple wives and numerous children makes the practice impossible for all but the wealthiest men. In addition, because roughly equal numbers of women and men live in these areas, this nearly balanced sex ratio tends to limit polygyny.

The second type of polygyny is polyandry – the concurrent marriage of one woman with two or more men. Polyandry is very rare; when it does occur, it usually takes place in societies in which men greatly outnumber women because of high rates of female infanticide. Polyandry often involves the marriage of a woman to two or more brothers.