Family - Concept

FAMILY

Meaning of Family

Famous Greek Philosopher Aristotle opines that Man is a social animal. He never lives alone. An utterly isolated individual is unthinkable. He begins his day as a member of a group, i.e., family. Hence, of all human groups, the family is the primary group with the most importance. No known society, ancient or modern, is free from the family system. The family has undergone several changes over time, as Burgess and Locke put it, ‘from a hard and fast social structure or institution and becoming a flexible relationship.’

However, family is a unique social institution that has no substitute. It is the basic unit of social organization. Family is the nucleus of all social structures and continues to be the most stable association and institution of human society. Society is a conglomeration of families. No society or civilization ever existed without a family. It plays a significant role in the development of an individual's personality and also in the process of socialization.

The term ‘family’ is derived from the Roman word ‘Famulus,’ which means a servant. In Roman law, the word refers to the group of producers, slaves, servants and members of common descent. A family is a small group consisting of a father, mother, and children who are related to each other by kinship ties based on marriage, blood, or adoption. A family is a biological unit consisting of parents and children.

Family refers to the group comprising parents and children. It may also refer, in some cases, to a group of relatives and their dependents forming one household. All these refer to the compositional aspect of this institution. Another aspect is that of residence of its members.

They usually share common residences, at least for some part of their lives. Thirdly, there is the relational aspect of the family. Members have reciprocal rights and duties towards each other. Finally, the family is also an agent of socialization. All these aspects make this institution different from all other units of social structure.

Definition of Family

1. As Mack and Young say, “The family is the basic primary group and the natural matrix of personality.”

2. According to Maclverand Page, “Family is a group defined by a sex relationship, sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.”

3. According to Burgess and Locke, “Family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood or adoption; consisting a single household, interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their social roles of husband and wife, mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister creating a common culture.”

4. As K. Davis defines, “Family is a group of persons whose relations to one another are based upon consanguinity and who are, therefore, kin to one another.”

5. According to Elliot and Meril, “Family is the biological social unit composed of husband, wife and children.”

6. Ogburn and Nimkoff said, “Family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife, with or without child, or of a man or woman alone, with children.”

7. Biesanz writes, “The family may be described as a woman with a child and a man to look after them.”

Family can also be defined strictly: it consists of parents and children. Its members are more closely related to one another through reproduction. It is a universal institution found in every age and society.