Families: the Basic Unit of Societies

What is meant by the term family varies across the world, and a range of family types can be identified in various cultures and societies. Definitions of the family emphasize a common identity, coresidence, economic cooperation, reproduction, emotional connectedness, care work, and domestic labor. For some commentators the core of a family is a heterosexual couple who have children that they raise to adulthood—the so-called nuclear family. Other types of families provide a context in which children grow up, and these include single-parent, same-sex, and stepparent families. Solo living and the choice to remain childless do not exclude people from family membership. Families offer more than procreation of the next generation, the nurturing of the young, sick, and old. Familial relationships and networks provide intimacy and support. They can also be the source of tensions and conflict that can, on occasion, lead to abuse, violence, and death. Regardless of the type of family, families offer ways in which we learn about hygiene and health, and physical and emotional care and support.

Worldwide, health and social service policies and providers often assume that families can offer physical care, psychological support, financial and practical resources. Lively debates have taken place on what is the “normal” or “proper” family and how families should operate and, where necessary, engage with service providers. Individual, familial, and policy responses illustrate continuities and change in political, social, and religious ideas on relationships and families. Although images of heterosexual couples at the core of the nuclear family have dominated representations of families and policy provision, changes in attitudes and practices about employment, gender, childhood, and sexuality have resulted in notable changes in how health and social services view families. Welfare policies and services have broadened the scope of provision to accommodate many more types of families, although heated debates have ensued about, for example, same-sex families.

The terms household and family are distinct but may be used interchangeably. A household consists of a person or group of people living together in a specific dwelling who may or may not consider themselves a family. A household of two generations, generally parents and children, is commonly referred to as the nuclear family. An extended family incorporates three or more generations vertically—children, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents—and may also incorporate members who occupy horizontal positions such as aunts and uncles. Because families can be viewed as units through which societies care for and socialize their members and provide psychological and physical support, this entry discusses family membership and kinship, approaches for explaining families, and the roles families play in health care and health issues.