Variation in Family Form

The minimal family has one parent (or parent substitute). Single-parent families, usually headed by the mother, are common in some societies, but most societies typically have larger families. These larger family units usually include at least one nuclear family (a married couple and their children), but there is often polygamy, so there may be more than one spouse with more than one set of children. If a single-parent family, nuclear family, polygynous, or polyandrous family lives alone, each is an independent family. However, the extended family is the prevailing form of family in more than half the societies known to anthropology.¹¹³ It may consist of two or more single-parent, monogamous, polygynous, or polyandrous families linked by a blood tie. Most commonly, the extended family consists of a married couple and one or more of the married children, all living in the same house or household. The constituent nuclear families are normally linked through the parent-child tie. An extended family, however, is sometimes composed of families linked through a sibling tie. Such a family might consist of two married brothers, their wives, and their children. Extended families may be very large, containing many relatives and including three or four generations. For a diagram of these different types of family, see Figure 19.2 .

At the top are four types of independent family assuming only two children (one male, one female) and only two spouses where multiple spouses are allowed. At the bottom are two types of extended family. These diagrams show only small extended families, but extended families can have many constituent family units if there are many children as well as plural marriages.

Current Research and Issues

One-Parent Families: Why the Recent Increase?

In most societies known to anthropology one-parent families are relatively uncommon. However, although some parents are clearly choosing to stay single, many might prefer to marry if they could find an appropriate spouse. In some countries, and among some ethnic groups within some countries, there are many fewer males than females, and sometimes a high proportion of the males have poor economic prospects. In the former Soviet Union, males are more likely to have died from war, alcoholism, and accidents. The United States does not have such a skewed sex ratio, but in some neighborhoods, particularly poor neighborhoods, there are very high mortality rates for young males, and many males in such neighborhoods do not have work. In a study by Daniel Lichter and his colleagues, an estimated 80 African American men were available for every 100 African American women between the ages of 21 and 28. Counting only the men who are employed full- or part-time, the number of available men per 100 women dropped below 50. A recent comparison of 85 countries finds that single parenthood is much more likely when there is higher male unemployment and there are also fewer men than women of a comparable age. There may be considerable merit to the argument that one-parent families, usually headed by women, will be likely when a spouse (particularly an employed one) is hard to find.

Another popular explanation for the rise in number of one-parent families is that, in contrast to the past, women can manage without husbands because of support from the state. This scenario seems to fit Sweden, where unmarried and divorced mothers receive many social supports and allowances for maternity and educational leave. But Iceland has few social supports from the government and yet has the highest rate of out-of-wedlock births of all the Scandinavian countries. In the United States, the welfare argument fails to predict changes over time. The program called Aid to Families with Dependent Children provided aid largely to single mothers. If the theory about government help was correct, increases in such aid would generally predict increases in the percentage of mother-headed households. Yet the percentage of families receiving aid and the value of aid decreased during the 1970s, whereas the percentage of mother-headed households increased. In the 1980s, it was more difficult to go “on welfare,” but the percentage of mother-headed households increased anyway.

Women might be more able to manage alone if they have high-paying employment, and therefore we might expect more one-parent families by choice as more women enter the job market. Work equity may explain the choices of some women, but recent research finds that employed women generally are more rather than less likely to marry.

There is, nevertheless, a general association between commercial economies and the possibility of one-parent families. Is there something about subsistence economies that promotes marriage and something about commercial economies that detracts from it? Although marriage is not universally based on love or companionship, it entails a great deal of economic and other kinds of interdependence, particularly in not-so-commercial economies. Market economies allow individuals other possibilities; goods and services can be bought and sold, and governments may take over functions that kin and family normally handle. Either by choice or necessity, the one-parent family is likely to remain an option for some people.

Sources: Burns and Scott 1994; Lichter et al. 1992; Whitehead and Popenoe 2005; Barber 2003.

Watch

Child rearing