HOME SCIENCE

BA PART III
FAMILY DYNAMICS

The Family

Dr Suniti BHAGAT
Family is a set of people related by blood,
marriage, or adoption who shares the
primary responsibility for reproduction
and caring for members of society
• The family is a universal institution
present in all cultures
Family: Meaning, Characteristics, Function and Types!
Meaning:
The family is an intimate domestic group made up of people related to
one another by bonds of blood, sexual mating or legal ties. It is the
smallest and most basic social unit, which is also the most important
primary group found in any society.
It is the simplest and most elementary group found in a society. It is a
social group consisting of a father, mother and one or more children. It
is the most immediate group a child is exposed to. In fact, it is the most
enduring group, which has tremendous influence on the life of an
individual, from birth until death. It also accounts for the most enduring
social relationship found in society. Family has been defined by different
social scientists.
Some of these definitions are given below:
‘Family is a group defined by sexual relationship, sufficiently precise and
enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.’
– Maclver
‘The family, almost without question, is the most important of any
groups that human experience offers … the family … is with us always,
or more precisely, we are with it.’
Family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife, with
or without child, or of a man or woman alone, with children.’
– M. F. Nimkoff
‘Family is the biological social unit composed of husband, wife and
children.’
– Eliot and Merrill
‘Family is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or
adoption constituting a single household interacting and inter-
communicating with each other in their respective social roles of
husband and wife, father and mother, son and daughter, brother and
sister, creating a common culture.’
– Burgess and Locke
‘Family is a group of persons, whose relations to one another are based
upon consanguinity and who are therefore kin to one another.’
– Kingsley Davis
Characteristics of Family:
1. Family is a Universal group. It is found in some form or the other, in all types of societies
whether primitive or modern.
2. A family is based on marriage, which results in a mating relationship between two adults
of opposite sex.
3. Every family provides an individual with a name, and hence, it is a source of
nomenclature.
4. Family is the group through which descent or ancestry can be traced.
5. Family is the most important group in any individual’s life.
6. Family is the most basic and important group in primary socialization of an individual.
7. A family is generally limited in size, even large, joint and extended families.
8. The family is the most important group in society; it is the nucleus of all institutions,
organizations and groups.
9. Family is based on emotions and sentiments. Mating, procreation, maternal and fraternal
devotion, love and affection are the basis of family ties.
10. The family is a unit of emotional and economic cooperation.
11. Each member of family shares duties and responsibilities.
12. Every family is made up of husband and wife, and/or one or more children, both
natural and adopted.
13. Each family is made up of different social roles, like those of husband, wife, mother,
father, children, brothers or sisters.
Functions of Family:
As a social group and as an important social institution, family
performs various functions that are as follows:
1. Family is a unit through which procreation takes place. Marriage
sanctions sexual relationships, and it also establishes a family, which is
further reinforced with the birth of children.
2. The process of reproduction is institutionalized, regulated and controlled
in a family. The family legitimizes the act of reproduction.
3. Family helps in propagation of human species and perpetuation of
human race.
4. Family provides an individual with an identity.
5. It is through the family that every family name is carried on from one
generation to another.
6. Family is responsible for the production and upbringing of children.
7. Family is an important agent of socialization. The primary socialization of
any individual takes place within the family. The immediate family
members teach all the basic rules and norms of social life to a child.
8. Family is also an important agent of cultural transmission. Culture is
transmitted from one generation to another through family. All the aspects
of culture are learnt within the family structure.
9. Family is a great source of strength, emotional and psychological,
for its members. All the members are aware that they can depend
upon their family in the times of need.
10. Family provides an individual with a home, and establishes
enduring social relationships.
11. The family is the basis of division of labour, where all members
have their duties and obligations towards each other.
12. A family fulfills the economic needs of its members. This function
has undergone transformation, with families moving from being
production and consumption units in earlier times, to becoming more
of consuming units rather than a producing one. Now-a-days, members
of a family no longer produce things themselves; rather, they go out
and work for some monetary remuneration or wages.
13. Family is traditionally responsible for the education of the children.
14. Family also has a recreational function. Earlier, most recreation was
family- based. Family gatherings during festivals, functions, family
reunions, marriages, brought entire families together. Now-a-days,
taking family members out on holidays or for movies, plays, dinners, or
parties, etc., perform the same function.
Types or Forms of Family:
We shall look at some of the types of family in this section (Figure 1).
 A description of the above classification of
types or forms of family is explained here:
1. Based on Birth:

Family of Orientation:
The family in which an individual is born is his family of orientation.

Family of Procreation:
The family where an individual sets up after his/her marriage is
his/her family of procreation.
The family of orientation and procreation may live together under the
same roof, but can still be distinguished. – Robert Bierstedt
2.Based on Marriage:
Monogamous Family:
This family consists of one husband and wife, including children and is
based on monogamous marriages.

Polygynous Family:
A family consisting of one husband, and more than one wife, and all the
children born to all the wives or adopted by each of them. This type of
family has its basis in the polygynous form of marriage.

Polyandrous Family:
A family made up of one wife and more than one husband, and the
children, either born or adopted with each one of them. This family is
based on polyandrous marriage.
3. Based on Residence:

Family of Matrilocal Residence:

When a couple stays in the wife’s house, the family is known as
family of matrilocal residence.
Family of Patrilocal Residence:
When a family stays in the house of husband, the family is known as
family of patrilocal residence.
Family of Changing Residence:
When a family stays in the husband’s house for some time, and
moves to wife’s house, stays there for a period of time, and then
moves back to husband’s parents, or starts living in another place,
the family is called a family of changing residence.
4. Based on Ancestry or Descent:
Matrilineal Family:
When ancestry or descent is traced through the female line, or
through the mother’s side, the family is called matrilineal family.
Patrilineal Family:
A family in which the authority is carried down the male line,
and descent is traced through the male line or the father’s side,
is called a patrilineal family.
5. Based on Authority:

Matriarchal Family:
Matriarchal families are generally found in matrilineal societies. In
these families, a woman is the head of the family, and authority is
vested in her. Succession of property is through the female line,
i.e., only daughters inherit the property.
After marriage, the husband resides in the wife’s house and descent
is traced through the mother’s side. Here, children are brought up
in mother’s house. Thus, in matriarchal societies, the matrilocal
system exists. Matriarchal families are found only in matrilineal
societies, which are very limited in number all over the world. They
are found in parts of Latin America, Ceylon, parts of Africa and
India (the Khasis and the Garos).
Patriarchal Family:

Patriarchal families are commonly found in all parts of the world,

since most societies in the world are patrilineal societies. In
patriarchal families, the head of the family is a male, and authority
is vested in him. Descent and property is passed through the male
line and children are brought up in father’s house. Such families are
patrilocal in nature.
6. Based on the Nature of Relations:

Conjugal Family:
The conjugal family is made up of adults among whom there is a sexual
relationship. It refers to a family system of spouses and their dependent
children. The emphasis is placed on the marital relationship that exists
between spouses. In modern times, the term ‘conjugal family’ is being
used for partners, who have a long- term sexual relationship, but are not
actually married.

Consanguine Family:
A consanguine family is made up of members among whom a blood
relation exists, or those who are consanguineal kin, i.e., a family
consisting of parent(s) and children, or siblings (brothers, sisters, or
brothers and sisters).
7. Based on state or structure:

Nuclear Family:
A nuclear family is a small group consisting of a husband, a wife and
children, natural or adopted. It is more or less an autonomous unit that
is not under the control of adults or elders of the family. It consists of
two generations only. In all modern societies, nuclear family is the most
common type of family. In fact, nuclear family is both the consequence
as well as the cause of the disintegration of joint family.

Joint Family:
A joint family consists of three generation, living together under the
same roof, sharing the same kitchen and purse or economic expenses. It
is a family consisting of three nuclear families living together. According
to Iravati Karve, a joint family is ‘a group of people, who generally live
under the same roof, who eat food cooked at one hearth, who hold
property in common, and who participate in common family worship and
are related to each other as some particular type of kindered.’
In Figure 2, Ego (the shaded figure) is a part of a joint family
consisting of four generations—the children, parents, grandparents
and great-grandparents, all from the fathers side. These types of joint
families are also known as patriarchal (father- centred) or patrilineal
(lineage traced through the father s or male side) joint families.
In such families, only unmarried daughters, or at times widowed
daughters are a part of the family. Married daughters no longer
belong to the family as they become a part of their husbands family.
However, in the case of matriarchal joint families (mother-centered)
or matrilineal (lineage or descent traced through the mothers side or
the female side), daughters are a part of the joint family, whereas
sons become a part of their wives’ families.
Composition: What Is
the Family?
Nuclear Family
• The nuclear family
consists of a married
couple and their
unmarried children living
together
Extended Family
• An extended family is
a family in which
relatives such as
grandparents, aunts,
or uncles live in the
same home as parents
and their children.
• Extended families
provide greater
emotional and
financial support.
 Types of Marriage

Monogamy is a form of marriage where one

woman and one man are married only to
each other
 Serial Monogamy
A form of marriage where a person may have
several spouses in his/her lifetime but only one
spouse at a time.
Polygamy is a situation where you are allowed to
have more than one husband or wife.
Polygamy takes two forms:
1. Polygyny is when a man marries more than
one woman at the same time
2. Polyandry is when a woman marries more
than one man at the same time.
 Authority Patterns: Who
Rules?
Patriarchy
• When males are expected to dominate in all
family decision making, that society is a
patriarchy
Matriarchy
• When women have greater authority than men,
that society is a matriarchy.
Egalitarian family
• A family in which spouses are regarded as
equals
 Studying the Family
• Functionalist View
– The family serves six functions for
society:
• Reproduction
• Protection
• Socialization
• Regulation of sexual behavior
• Affection
• Providing of social status
 Studying the Family
• Conflict View
– The conflict view believes that family
reflects the inequality in wealth and
power found within society.
– The conflict view recognizes that
historically, husbands exercised power
and authority within the family.
– The conflict view sees the family as an
economic unit contributing to social
injustice.
 Studying the Family
• Interactionist View
– The interactionist view focuses on the micro
level of family and other intimate
relationships.
– The interactionist view is interested in how
individuals interact with each other,
1. cohabiting partners or
2. long-term married couples.
Social-exchange analysis depicts courtship and
marriage as forms of negotiation.
 Courtship and Mate
Selection
Aspects of Mate Selection
Endogamy: Endogamy specifies the groups
within which a spouse must be found and
prohibits marriage with members of other
groups.
Exogamy: Exogamy requires mate selection
outside certain groups, usually one’s own
family or certain kin
Factors Associated with Divorce
1. Greater social acceptance
2. Relaxing of negative attitudes by religious
denominations
3. States adopting more liberal divorce laws (no
fault).
4. Marriage at an early age.
5. A short acquaintanceship before marriage
6. Disapproval of marriage by relatives and
friends
7. Limited economic resources and low wages.
8. A high school education or less.
9. Living in a big city as opposed to rural settings.