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Extended Families

This entry will discuss definitions of extended family, the diversity and complexity of extended family membership in contemporary societies, the significance and meanings of extended families, and types of extended family relationships being studied. Definitions of extended family (also called kin or kinship group) generally include relatives beyond immediate family relationships. Thus, extended family is a concept that extends past the definition of immediate family. Ways of defining immediate family have undergone change in the past few decades because of increased diversity in family structures. Many now recognize that immediate families can include not just heterosexual married spouses and their children but also cohabiting partners, same-sex partners, stepparents and stepchildren, grandparents raising grandchildren, and other relationships as well. This entry will consider extended family the legally, biologically, and voluntarily related kinship group that extends past the immediate family of parenting adults, their spouses/partners, and minor children.

Diversity and Complexity

Several trends have contributed to the great diversity of extended family relationships today. Many countries have experienced declines in fertility, which has resulted over time in fewer siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews than in the past. At the same time, many countries are experiencing increases in life expectancy, resulting in a rise in the number of family generations alive at the same time (and the potential for more active relationships between grandparents and grandchildren). China, with its one-child policy, is an extreme example of how extended family relationships can change with reductions in fertility and increases in life expectancy. As the one-child policy continues, more of the younger generations will be without siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Chinese extended families fit with Vern Bengtson's idea of the “beanpole family,” which has several generations alive at once but few members of any one generation.

Other trends contributing to the diversity of extended family relationships include high rates of divorce, remarriage, and cohabitation, resulting in more half- and step-relatives. Along with the increased visibility of same-sex partnerships and the retention (in practice) of relationships with expartners or former partners and relatives, these trends create extended families that are complex, diverse, and influenced by personal choice. Thus, when scholars refer to extended families, the meaning may extend beyond grandparents, grandchildren, non-coresidential parents, adult children, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws to include cohabiting partners of family members, godparents, former step-relatives and in-laws, foster relatives, “fictive kin” (voluntary kin), and “chosen families” (voluntary kin chosen to be part of gay, lesbian, and bisexual networks). These relationships reflect the discretionary and fluid nature of extended family ties in contemporary societies.

Meaning and Significance

Extended families are often considered significant in the various types of support they offer. Different types of support are possible with geographic nearness, so proximity and coresidence are often considered along with support. Extended families also serve as a fall-back group when immediate families are unable to provide for their members, especially children. This safety net function is vital to the well-being of many families, and the literature on this topic spans numerous countries.

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