Types of Families and Relationships

Family Types

• Nuclear Family: Consists of two parents and their children; often referred to as a traditional family.
• Single Parent Family: Comprised of one parent raising one or more children.
• Blended Family: Involves step-parents and step-children, resulting from remarriages.
• Extended Family: Includes multiple generations living together, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Family Structures and Relationships

• Marriage: A legal contract between a man and a woman, entailing mutual support and care for children.
• Spouse: Refers to either a husband or a wife within a marriage.
• Divorce: The legal dissolution of a marriage.
• Common Law Marriage: Recognized after seven years of cohabitation, despite the absence of a formal ceremony.

Living Arrangements

• Domestic Partners: Couples in a committed relationship who live together without formal marriage, often due to personal choice or legal constraints.

Relationship Practices

• Monogamy: The practice of being married to one person at a time.
• Polygamy: Legal practice allowing marriage to more than one person simultaneously.
• Serial Monogamy: Engaging in multiple marriages or partnerships sequentially, but only one at a time.

Marital Choices

• Exogamy: The practice of marrying outside one’s social or cultural group.
• Endogamy: The practice of marrying within one’s own group or community.

Family Authority Structures

• Patriarchy: Family system where the father holds primary authority and family members follow his decisions.
• Matriarchy: Family structure led by the mother, with others adhering to her authority.
• Egalitarian: Both parents share authority equally, making joint decisions.
• Avuncular: An uncle (mother's brother) holds more authority than the biological father.

Cultural Aspects

• Culture: Encompasses the customs, values, beliefs, and language that differentiate one group from another.
• Gender Roles: The societal expectations dictating behaviors based on an individual's gender at birth.
• Stereotype: Generalized beliefs about a group that may not apply universally to its members.

Family Development

• Family Life Cycle: Describes the phases of growth and transition families experience as members age or increase in number.
• Family Crisis: Any significant event that disrupts the normal functioning of family life or an individual’s well-being.