Definitions

• Family - A group of people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption
• Arranged marriage - A marriage in which the couple are matched by their families
• Cohabitation - A couple living together without being married or in a civil partnership.
• Extended Family - A family that includes close relatives that live together or near by
• One child policy - Chinese government limited families to 1 child each in 1980 - 2015
• Polygamy - Legally having more than one wife or husband at the same time.
• Single sex family - Two partners are of the same sex
• Reconstituted family - A family that is formed after a divorce or separation.
• Beanpole Family - Vertically extended family that live together close by
• 2004 Civil Partnerships Act - Same sex couples to be joined legally
• 2013 Marriage Act - legalised same sex marriage in UK
• Family diversity - Variety of family types found in society
• Lone parent family - A family where one parent lives with dependant children
• Serial monogamy - One partner is legally allowed to marry more than one partner, but only one at the same time e.g divorce and re-marrying
• Dysfunctional family - a family where functions like emotional support are not being carried out.
• Sandwich generation - middle aged people (usually women) who cares for elderly parents and children at the same time
• Dual career family - A family where both partners have a paid job
• Nuclear family - A family consisting of a couple and dependent children
• Domestic abuse - behaviour that is threatening or controlling, physically, emotionally or psychologically towards people who are or have been family members
• Domestic Division of labour - The division of labour within the household, with men and women performing different tasks.
• Modified extended family - family that don't live together but keep regular contact through technology
• Secularisation - The decline of religion in society
• Crisis of masculinity - Idea that males see their traditional masculine identity under threat in society today
• New man - modern man who is more emotionally aware and involved with his family and childcare
• Segregated conjugal roles - domestic roles divided unequally between men and women
• Inter ethnic relationship - a couple where the partners are from different ethnicities
• 1969 Divorce reform act - allowed divorce for 'irretrievable breakdown' if a couple had been married for 3 years. Established principle of 'no blame'
• 1984 Matrimonial and family proceedings act - divorce could be grated after 1 year of marriage
• 1996 Family law act - Made marriage counselling compulsory to keep more married couples together
• Privatised nuclear family - the nuclear family has a lack of contact with wider family
• Boomerang children - Young adults who return to live with their parents due to financial problems
• Triple shift - idea that on top of paid work women have to do house work and emotional work in the household (concept by Duncombe and Marsden 1995)
• Symmetrical family - family where husband and wife perform separate tasks but make an equal contribution to the household (term by Willmott and Young)
• Dual burden - women are expected to do both paid and unpaid domestic work (concept by Ann Oakley 1974)
• Joint conjugal roles - domestic roles that are shared equally between married people or couples (aka integrated conjugal roles)
• 1970 Equal pay act - employers must pay both men and women same salary for same work
• 1975 Sex discrimination act - made it illegal to discriminate against people because of sex or marital status
• Dark side of family - negative aspects of family e.g domestic abuse
• Child centred family - parents focus on their children's interests and needs