Extended family
Extended family includes relatives beyond parents and children.
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem and joint families. In some circumstances, the extended family comes to live either with or in place of a member of the immediate family, such as an elderly parent who moves in with their children due to old age.
- definition
- Family extending beyond nuclear family to include relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins
- forms
- Stem family and joint family
- prevalence
- Basic family unit in many cultures including Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Indigenous, Latin American, Caribbean, Eastern European, and Southern European
- US_multigenerational_households_2000
- 42 million
- US_multigenerational_households_later
- 49 million (16.1% of total population)
- US_adult_children_living_nearby
- 34% live within a kilometer of their children
Lore & Background
The extended family concept includes the stem family, first discussed by Frédéric Le Play, where parents live with one child and that child's spouse and children, while other children leave or remain unmarried. The stem family is sometimes associated with inegalitarian inheritance practices, as in Japan and Korea, but also appears in contexts with more egalitarian property transfer, such as traditional Romania, northeastern Thailand, or Mesoamerican indigenous peoples. The joint family system, prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, consists of multiple generations living together, headed by a patriarch who makes economic and social decisions, with family income flowing into a common pool.
Reader's Guide
Extended families have been presumed to offer advantages such as greater security and belonging during crises, and more role models for perpetuating cultural values. Even in cultures where nuclear households are the norm, extended families often form important support networks, especially in working-class communities where grown children tend to live near parents and relatives. In contemporary times, technological aids like the Internet and social networking sites help maintain these ties. However, sharing a household can present disadvantages when only a few members bear most of the financial responsibility. In the United States, the number of multigenerational households has increased, driven by factors such as unemployment, slumped housing prices, and immigration. This trend has created complex legal issues, such as who has authority to consent to police searches.
Did You Know?
- An estimated 49 million Americans (16.1% of the total population) live in homes comprising three or more generations.
- The stem family was first discussed by Frédéric Le Play.
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