Extended Families

• Extended families refer to a family where there are three or more generations living in one household. The term extended family can also be used to describe a family where there are related to families of the same generation living together such as cousins aunts uncles .
• Communication technology

  • with an increase in this such as telephones email skype . It is far easier to maintain relationships with extended family members without having to live in the same house.
• Communication technology

  Wilmott 1988 argued that the extended family continues to exist but what he calls ‘dispersed extended family’ this is when extended kin live further away but close links are maintained through communication technology
• Immigration

  • 80% of immigrant household are nuclear rather than extended
  • Ballard 1982 found that extended ties provided an important source of support for asIan immigrants in 50s and 60s.
  • Similarly Caribbean families are likely to be geographically dispersed they continue to provide support with close frequent contact with siblings
• Increased Life Expectancy

  • with people living longer there has emerged a new type of extended family which us referred to as the beanpole family
  • This is a result of people living longer and an increased generations in one family but also due to smaller family sizes
  • Has been found there is increased support between mothers and daughters in particular but sharp decline in support /contact brothers and sisters
• Obligation to Relatives

  • People still feel a sense of obligation to help and support extended family members
  • Finch &Mason 1993 found over 90% of people had given or received financial help from wider kin and cared for a sick relative.
  • Feminists argue women are expected to take greater levels of responsibility when it comes to caring for older relatives. Thus has resulted in an increased burden on many women .
  • ‘Sandwich family’ typically where the woman is sandwiched between responsibilities of her own children and her elderly parents
• Evaluation

  • Eventhough evidence suggests that the extened family continues to play an important role for people providing practical and emotional support this is very different from the extended family parsons wrote about