Types of Families

• Nuclear Family - A family unit consisting of at most father, mother, and dependent children.
• Extended Family - A family consisting of parents and children, along with either grandparents, grandchildren, aunts or uncles, cousins, etc. In some circumstances, this family comes to live either with or in place of a member of the nuclear family.
• Stepfamilies - Two families were brought together due to divorce, separation, and remarriage.
• Single Parent Family - This can be either a father or a mother who is singly responsible for the raising of a child. The child can be by birth or adoption. They may be a single parent by choice or by life circumstances
• Adoptive Family - A family where one or more of the children has been adopted. Any structure of the family may also be an adoptive family.
• Bi-racial or multiracial family - A family where the parents are members of different racial identity groups
• Trans-racial adoptive family - A family where the adopted child is of a different racial identity group than the parents.
• Blended family - A family that consists of members from two (or more) previous families.
• Conditionally separated families - A family member is separated from the rest of the family. This may be due to employment far away; military service; incarceration; hospitalization. They remain significant members of the family.
• Foster family - A family where one or more of the children is legally a temporary member of the household. This “temporary” period may be as short as a few days or as long as the child’s entire childhood.
• Gay or Lesbian family - A structure where one or both parents’ sexual orientation is gay or lesbian. This may be a two-parent family, an adoptive family, a single-parent family, or an extended family.
• Immigrant family - A family where the parents have immigrated to another country as adults. Their children may or may not be immigrants. Some family members may continue to live in the country of origin, but still, be significant figures in the life of the child.
• Migrant family - A family that moves regularly to places where they have employment. Children may have a relatively stable community of people who move at the same time - or the family may know no one in each new setting. Military families may also lead a migrant life, with frequent relocation, often on short notice.