family (society)

Group of people related to each other by blood or by marriage. Families are usually described as either extended (a large group of relations living together or in close contact with each other) or nuclear (a family consisting of two parents and their children).

In some societies an extended family consists of a large group of people of different generations closely or distantly related, depending on each other for economic support and security. In other societies the extended family is split into small units, with members living alone or in nuclear families. In such societies, the one-parent family results from the separation of parents or the death of one parent.