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Option: Families and Households

Defining families and households

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1 Section B

Overview

Term nuclear family, term extended family and reconstituted family.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

How do sociologists distinguish a household from a family?

Numbers

Define the term nuclear family.

Key term

Define the term extended family.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How do sociologists distinguish a household from a family?

    Model answer

    A household is one person or a group of people who share an address and housekeeping. A family is a group connected by blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption.

  2. 2

    Define the term nuclear family.

    Model answer

    A nuclear family is two generations living together: a couple and their dependent children. Murdock (1949) treated this unit as the basic family form.

  3. 3

    Define the term extended family.

    Model answer

    An extended family is a nuclear family with other relatives living alongside it or in close daily contact. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins may all be included.

  4. 4

    Distinguish a vertically extended family from a horizontally extended one.

    Model answer

    A vertically extended family adds generations above or below the couple, such as grandparents. A horizontally extended family adds relatives of the same generation, such as siblings.

  5. 5

    What did Peter Willmott mean by the dispersed extended family?

    Model answer

    Peter Willmott (1988) argued that British kin now live apart but keep in frequent contact by telephone and visits. Emotional and financial support survives the loss of a shared address.

  6. 6

    Define a reconstituted family.

    Model answer

    A reconstituted family, or stepfamily, forms when at least one partner brings a child from an earlier relationship. Divorce and repartnering create most of them.

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Option: Families and Households

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ASecularisation has weakened religious pressure to marry.
BCohabitation is now widely accepted.
CThe cost of a wedding deters many couples.

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