Extended Family

The best definition or meaning of extended family is the nuclear family of parents and children along with other blood relatives. The people in the extended family could be closely related, but sometimes the extended family includes more distant relatives. Extended families can even include non-blood relatives such as step children and adopted children.

Although the nuclear family is the most important life giving unit, throughout history, the extended family has been necessary for survival too. Consequently, from the earliest times, facts show that cultures have recognized the value of the extended family. For example, the extended family was the norm in the Bible. The story of Abraham returning to his extended family to find a wife for his son Isaac demonstrates this, as does the Bible’s translation of the word “brother” as “relative.”

Many scholars think the prominence of  extended families was primarily economic. Owning land was difficult and the mass of people were very poor. The extended family allowed individuals to pool their resources and save money. For example, multiple people living in one house saves several families from buying houses.

Even among the rich, the extended family had value since it kept potential rivals nearby where they could be controlled by the family patriarch. The extended families also allowed the rich to groom their children to continue the family dynasty and assist the patriarch in his goals.

The extended family is an important part of many cultures today. In parts of the developing world, the extended family plays a role similar to cultures of the past. The extended family helps save money and resources. The extended family model with its patriarch and hierarchy of family members is a good fit with African and Asian tribal societies.

The extended family is also a large part of several European countries, such as Spain and Italy. The value of the extended family is an ingrained part of the culture. Part of this emphasis on extended families comes from the Catholic nature of these two countries, which values community and family. Italian-Americans and Hispanics in the United States show similar deference to the extended family although many of them have taken to heart the American focus on the nuclear family too.

In the United States, the nuclear family is seen as the norm. The decline of the extended family was largely due to economic factors in the 1950s when the extended family was no longer needed to survive economically. However, with the economic downturn of 2008, the extended family is playing more of a role as unemployment and foreclosures force people to move in with the extended family to save money(1).

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1. http://www.ktradionetwork.com/wealth/more-families-friends-moving-in-together-due-to-economy/