Notes on the different types of Family on the basis of size and structure

Family is universal organisaion. Its structure or forms vary from society to society. A variation is culture, social system, social value, condition of life brings variation in the forms of family. Further, it is not an easy to classify the family on any one basis. That probably the reason why sociologists and anthropologists have used different basis to classify the family.

On the basis of size and structure family may be classified into the following types. They are:

(i) Nuclear family:

Nuclear family consists of a husband, wife and their unmarried children. This type of family is also known as elementary or primary or single or individualistic family. The size of nuclear family is small. It is an autonomous unit and is the most ideal form of family in the modern industrial urban civilized society.

Murdock divides the nuclear family into two types.

(a) The Family of Orientation.

(b) The Family of Procreation.

The family of orientations is family in which the individual is born and reared. It consists of father, mother, brothers and sisters. The family of procreation is the result of marriage. In other words, after marriage the individual forms the family of procreation. It consists of husband, wife and children.

(ii) Conjugal Family:

When some relations are added to the nuclear family they said nuclear family is known as conjugal family. Sometimes this family is also called as mixed family. This type of family basically exhibits the characteristics of nuclear family.

(iii) Extended Family:

An extended family is the collection of number of nuclear families. This family is organized on blood relationship. It is therefore known as consanguineous family. The members of the extended family belong to several generations. Thus, the extended family is composed of father, mother, their sons, the son’s wife, grand children, uncles, aunts, their children, grand children, grand father, and grandmother and so on. So the size of an extended family is very large. This extended families are found is agrarian economy and in rural community.

Most of the sociologists treat extended family as synonymous to joint family. To them, joint family in addition to the above characteristics; possess the features like common ancestors, common residence, common property, common kitchen, rule of the head etc.