Family
The concept of family encompasses a diverse range of structures and meanings that vary significantly across cultures and historical contexts. Traditionally, family has been understood as a group of people related by blood, marriage, or legal ties, but this definition has evolved over time. In many societies, families may include extended relatives living together, or even non-relatives who share strong bonds. The dynamics of family life have shifted dramatically over the decades, influenced by factors such as economic conditions, societal norms, and legal changes regarding marriage and parenting.
Historically, the notion of family has transformed from tribal groups focused on survival to modern configurations that can include single-parent households, same-sex couples, and cohabiting unmarried partners. In the United States, for instance, while the nuclear family was once considered the ideal, the landscape has diversified, with a significant rise in single-parent families and multi-generational living arrangements. Additionally, global trends indicate variations in family structures, with some regions experiencing high rates of nonmarital childbearing and others prioritizing extended family networks. As societies continue to change, the understanding of what constitutes a family is becoming increasingly complex, reflecting a broader acceptance of various familial arrangements and roles.
On this Page
Family
Some dictionaries define family as simply a group of two or more people who live together and are somehow related by blood or marriage. Since family differs significantly from one culture to another, one of the best definitions comes from sociologists, who define family as a close group of people related by blood, mating, or legalities. Family is a term that is in constant evolution across countries and cultures. Pinpointing its core elements is challenging, and just when a true definition seems to be found, culture proves it lacking in some way.
Background
During the Stone Age, family was synonymous with tribes. These were people who stayed together and were united by a common desire to protect the group and ensure its survival.
During the early Middle Ages in Europe, most people married to improve the economic status and/or political needs of their extended families. In many parts of Europe, multiple generations shared the same household (a tradition that continues to be followed in some cultures centuries later), and some even counted servants as part of the family, as they contributed to the home's overall financial well-being.
Toward the mid to late eighteenth century, the idea of marrying for love and not for financial gain spread across Europe and into North America. By the start of the nineteenth century, husbands commonly worked outside the home and the wife worked inside the home. Between 1860 and 1910, the divorce rate in America tripled. More families were headed by single parents and often included stepparents.
During the Great Depression, unemployment and reduced wages soared, and many American couples postponed marriage and parenthood. Divorce rates dipped, as no one had the spare money to pay for the process. As World War II began, families experienced a huge shift in dynamics. With men at war, women were raising children alone and often getting their first full-time jobs.
The end of the war and the start of 1950s heralded a period of significant economic growth and prosperity for the United States, and this, in turn, influenced the country's family makeup. Birthrates doubled as incomes rose, millions of new homes were built, and a growing number of families moved into the suburbs. A family's primary focus became security and stability, and the nuclear family (two opposite-sex parents and their children) was the ideal, with 73 percent of all children living in this type of family unit.
This image of domestic bliss only lasted a little more than a decade, however. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was clear that families were changing. Divorce rates were on the rise again, and the average age for marriage increased, as did the number of children born to unmarried women. Single-parent homes, as well as second and third marriages, were on the rise. More than one-third of women in the United States were working part- or full-time jobs.
Family Today
Families continue to evolve and change based on their surrounding culture, sometimes more quickly than experts expect. Defining family becomes increasingly complex as more and more types of families are developing. Worldwide, the majority of children were living with both parents by 2018. In the United States, nuclear families were found in only 67 percent of homes by 1970, and, by 2021, that number had fallen to 37 percent.
Single-parent families composed of one parent and one or more children have become relatively standard. This is, in part, due to the rate of divorce (between 40 and 50 percent for first marriages), and to the fact that four in ten births occur to women who are either single or living with a nonmarital partner. The highest rates of nonmarital childbearing are found in Central/South America.
In addition to single-parent families, there are also extended families, or a return to multigenerational family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) sharing a home. Sometimes families are joined by close friends who may not be blood related, but are nonetheless closely bonded to qualify as family and share the same household. This is especially prevalent in some Hispanic families where godparents have a critical role. In some Native American tribes, other respected individuals, such as elders, tribal leaders, or medicine men/women, are included in making important family decisions. Extended family arrangements, with at least three generations, are commonly found in Asia, the Middle East, South America, and sub-Saharan Africa. In parts of Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, between 52 and 70 percent of children live with adults other than their parents, including grandparents, uncles, and cousins. This is also true in parts of Asia and South America.
Interracial and interethnic families are growing in number in the United States, as are families headed by same-sex couples. Also on the rise is the number of unmarried couples raising a family together. Where, in the past, families were traditionally made up of married couples, by the twenty-first century, a number of couples choose to cohabit without getting married. Fewer than half a million unmarried couples were living together in the United States in 1960. By 2020, 8.8 million US households comprised cohabiting couples, compared to 58.7 million married couples, 35.5 million single female householders, and 23.9 million single male householders.
In the past, families in the United States tended to be much larger than they have been since the 1990s. While American families from a century ago often had four or more children, by the 1970s, that number had dwindled to three, and by 2020, the average was two. About 20 percent of women of childbearing age actively choose not to have any children at all. This decline in childbearing rates is true worldwide, though fertility rates vary greatly from region to region. By 2022, the global fertility rate was 2.3 births per woman.
Since the 1950s, the idea of a dual-income family has become increasingly acceptable—and necessary. The number of mothers employed either part- or full-time has quadrupled since the 1950s. In 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, both partners worked in 54.2 percent of married opposite-sex couples with children and in 62.1 percent of cohabiting opposite-sex couples with children.
Bibliography
Aragão, Carolina, et al. "The Modern American Family." Pew Research Center, 14 Sept. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/14/the-modern-american-family/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Angier, Natalie. "The Changing American Family." The New York Times, 25 Nov. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Ellwood, David T., and Christopher Jencks. "The Growing Differences in Family Structure: What Do We Know? Where Do We Look for Answers?" Russell Sage Foundation, Aug. 2001, www.russellsage.org/sites/all/files/u4/Ellwood%26Jencks.pdf. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Etuck, Lena. "How Family Structure Has Changed." Oregon Explorer, oregonexplorer.info/content/how-family-structure-has-changed. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
"The Evolution of American Family Structure." Concordia University Saint Paul, 10 July 2020, online.csp.edu/blog/family-science/the-evolution-of-american-family-structure. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
"Family Structure." World Family Map 2019, Institute for Family Studies, 2019, ifstudies.org/reports/world-family-map/2019/family-structure. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
"Fertility Rate, Total (Births per Woman)." World Bank Group, 2024, data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Gryn, Thomas, et al. "Family Households Still the Majority." United States Census Bureau, 25 May 2023, ww.census.gov/library/stories/2023/05/family-households-still-the-majority.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Gurrentz, Benjamin. "Cohabiting Partners Older, More Racially Diverse, More Educated, Higher Earners." 23 Sept. 2019, www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/unmarried-partners-more-diverse-than-20-years-ago.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Halliwell, Rachel. "The Evolution of Family Life." Telegraph, 1 Oct. 2014, www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/finance/personal-economy/11121353/evolution-family-life.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Rosegrant, Susan. "The New American Family: How and Why We've Changed." Michigan News, 20 Oct. 2014, www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/22456-the-new-american-family-how-and-why-we-ve-changed. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Washington, Chanell. "Unmarried Opposite-Sex Couples Living Together More Likely Than Married Couples to Both Work." United States Census Bureau, 9 June 2021, www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/06/unmarried-opposite-sex-couples-living-together-more-likely-than-married-couples-to-both-work.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.