Ralph Linton

• The consanguinal family is universal, that the nuclear family as such does not exist by itself and that it is only a part of a larger family namely, the consanguinal family. He stressed that the cosanguinal bond is more important than the conjugal bond.

G.P.Murdock

• Some societies had only nuclear families, each consisting of married couple and their offspring; in others, there were also polygamous families containing two or more nuclear units affiliated by plural marriage; and still others contained extended families in which two or more nuclear families are affiliated through an extension of sibling relationship.

Malinowski

• A bounded set of people (a mother, a father, and children) who recognize each other h other and are distinguishable from other groups, with a definite physical space, a hearth and a home who have a particular set of emotions, family love

Popenoe

• “Domestic group consisting of at least one adult and one dependent”

Stacey:

• Family is an ideological, symbolic construct – family is changes over time and time and is subject to political processes

U.S. Census Bureau

• “A family A family consists of two or more people, one of whom is the householder, related by birth, marriage, , or adoption and residing in the same housing unit. A
  household consists of all people who occupy a housing unit regardless of relationship. A household may consist of a person living alone or multiple unrelated individuals or  families living together”

Functional Definition

• Functions of the Family:
  • Work and production, economic cooperation
    Government
    Sexual regulation
    Regulation of  procreation
    Childrearing and socialization of children – instilling values
    Education of f children
    Source of emotional security – care, affection, companionship

Structural Definition

• Joint, nuclear, extended etc