This article is about the group of related people. For the taxonomic rank, see Family (biology). For other uses, see Family (disambiguation).
"Family life" and "Family member" redirect here. For other uses, see Family Life (disambiguation). For the song, see Family Member (song).
Part of a series on the
Anthropology of kinship
Basic concepts
Family
Lineage
Affinity
Consanguinity
Marriage
Incest taboo
Endogamy
Exogamy
Moiety
Monogamy
Polygyny
Polygamy
Concubinage
Polyandry
Bride price
Bride service
Dowry
Parallel / cross cousins
Cousin marriage
Levirate
Sororate
Posthumous marriage
Joking relationship
Clan
Cohabitation
Fictive / Milk / Nurture kinship
Descent
Cognatic / Bilateral
Matrilateral
Lineal
Collateral
House society
Avunculate
Linealities
Ambilineality
Unilineality
Matrilineality
Patrilineality
Household forms and residence
Extended
Matrifocal
Matrilocal
Neolocal
Nuclear
Patrilocal
Terminology
Kinship terminology
Classificatory terminologies
By group
Iroquois
Crow
Omaha
Eskimo (Inuit)
Hawaiian
Sudanese
Dravidian (debated)
Case studies
Australian Aboriginal
Burmese
Chinese
Philippine
Polyandry in Tibet / in India
Feminist
Chambri
Mosuo
Sexuality
Coming of Age in Samoa
Major theorists
Diane Bell
Tom Boellstorff
Jack Goody
Gilbert Herdt
Don Kulick
Roger Lancaster
Louise Lamphere
Eleanor Leacock
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Bronisław Malinowski
Margaret Mead
Henrietta Moore
Lewis H. Morgan
Stephen O. Murray
Michelle Rosaldo
Gayle Rubin
David M. Schneider
Marilyn Strathern
Related articles
Alliance theory
Matrilineal / matrilocal societies
Feminist anthropology
Sex and Repression in Savage Society
Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship
"The Traffic in Women"
Social anthropology Cultural anthropology
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Family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order.[1] The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society.[according to whom?] Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community.[2] Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment, nurturance, and socialization.[3][4][5][6]
Anthropologists classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children), patrifocal (a father and his children), conjugal (a married couple with children, also called the nuclear family), avuncular (a man, his sister, and her children), or extended (in addition to parents, spouse and children, may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins).
The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics. The word "families" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, and global village.
^Brown, Roy I.; Brown, Ivan (2014). "Family Quality of Life". Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 2194–2201. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1006. ISBN 978-94-007-0752-8. family is recognized in cultures around the world and across history as a fundamental unit of social order.
^Donald Collins; Catheleen Jordan; Heather Coleman (2010). An Introduction to Family Social Work. Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-495-80872-5. Archived from the original on 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
^Alhussain, Khalid, Shah, Drishti, Thornton, James, Kelly, Kimberly. Familial Opioid Misuse and Family Cohesion: Impact on Family Communication and Well-being. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment 2019;18(4):194–204. doi:10.1097/ADT.0000000000000165.
^Lander L, Howsare J, Byrne M. The impact of substance use disorders on families and children: from theory to practice. Soc Work Public Health. 2013;28:194–205.
^Manzi, Claudia; Brambilla, Maria (2014). "Family Connectedness". Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 2167–2168. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_998. ISBN 978-94-007-0752-8. Family connectedness is defined as a particular characteristic of the family bond, also referred as family or parental closeness, support, warmth, or responsiveness. This characteristic of the family can be observed when families maintain emotional connections with each other through encouragement of shared family celebrations, family rituals, and family traditions.
^de Jong, D.C.; Reis, H.T. (2016). "Love and Intimacy". Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Elsevier. pp. 25–32. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397045-9.00107-5. ISBN 9780123977533. Central to intimacy is responsiveness, the process by which relationship partners attend to and respond supportively to each other's wishes, needs, and concerns. Responsive interactions begin when one person discloses a core aspect of his or her self.
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