What is a Family?
Sociology: AQA GCSE, topic 2.2.1
What is a Family?
A family is two or more people linked by birth, marriage, cohabitation or adoption.
Types of family structure
- Nuclear/cereal packet family
- Extended family (horizontally or vertically)
- Reconstituted/blended/stepfamily
- Beanpole family
- Lone parent family
- Same-sex family
What is a household?
- A household is a group of people who are living together under the same roof.
What is cohabitation?
- Cohabitation refers to partners who live together but they are not married.
Different Family Structures
There are six different family structures.
Nuclear family
- A nuclear family is a family made up of two parents and their dependent child or children.
- A nuclear family is also known as a cereal packet family.
Extended family
- An extended family is a family involving at least three generations of family living under the same roof.
- Vertically extended families include grandparents.
- Horizontally extended families include aunts and uncles.
Reconstituted family
- A reconstituted family describes the joining of two families after one or both of the partners separated from their previous partners.
- Other names include blended family or stepfamily.
Beanpole family
- A beanpole family describes a family made up of many generations, but with few extended members (aunts, uncles, grandparents).
- Like a beanpole, the family tree is long and thin.
Lone parent family
- A lone parent family describes a family in which there is just one parent bringing up one or more children.
Same-sex family
- A same-sex family describes a family made up of a same-sex couple with children.
Test yourself on What is a Family?
What is cohabitation?
A family is defined as two or more people linked by any of which 4 factors?
Which term best describes a family made up of many generations, but with few extended members (aunts, uncles, grandparents)?
What are the six different types of family structure?
The extended family type can be grouped into which two types?