key terms

• segregated roles:

  • a clear division of tasks divided into male and female tasks
• joint conjugal roles

  • there is not a rigid division in household tasks
• boomerang children

  • young people who leave home (e.g. for university or travelling) and return to living with their parents
• extended family

  • a family that includes both parents and their children, and other relatives, beyond the nuclear family
• nuclear family

  • a family with a father, mother and their biological children, living together in the same household (stereotypical)
• bean pole family

  • multiple generations of older people and their children all in one household
• reconstituted family

  • one adult is biological, and the other is a step-parent (step-family)
• Nuclear family

  • Two generational families containing a heterosexual married or cohabiting couple and their dependent children. 
• Extended family

  • Group of relatives extending beyond the nuclear family but have regular contact. 
• Reconstituted family 

  • A blended or stepfamily in which one or both partners have children from previous relationships living with them. 
• Social stigma 

  • Disapproval of a person based on perceived characteristics. 
• Patriarchy 

  • Male dominance over women. 
• Household

  • Made up of people who live in one unit. 
• Double shift

  • When a woman takes on a career and the housework. This then can lead to the triple shift, which also involves emotional support. 
• Primary socialisation

  • How a child is taught the norms and values of a society. 
• Monogamy 

  • Being married to just one person. This can be serial monogamy, which is when you may divorce and then get remarried. 
• Cohabiting 

  • Live together but are not married. 
• Dysfunctional families

  • Conflict, emotional distress and potential abuse. 
  • This is used to criticise the functionalist perspective as it ignores dysfunctional families in its findings