Family and Change

Introduction The concept of family is defined differently in different parts of the world and across different cultures. In some, a family consists of a father and mother and children, commonly referred to as the nuclear family. In others, family includes other individuals related by blood and operating as a unit, such as those which have grandparents, siblings of either husband or wife, even including their spouses and children. Still in others, a family may include non-relatives such as house helpers or servants. Over the past fifty years, these different concepts of family have also undergone changes not only in structures, but also in family member roles. These changes were brought about by changes in the societies in which these families function in. This paper takes a look at how families have and are changing in different parts of the world, and how the change in families has affected children. It also takes a look at different responses of society to these changes.
How Families are Changing The American Heritage Dictionary presents a number of definitions of the term “family”. One is that a family is a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children; or two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place; or all the members of a household under one roof (AHD, 2000a). Related to the term “family”, “household” is defined as a domestic unit consisting of the members of a family who live together along with non-relatives such as servants (AHD, 2000b). According to Jiang & O’Neill (2006), the average U.S. household size decreased by more than half since 1790, when there were 5.8 persons per household compared to only 2.67 in 2000. This decline was caused by several factors. Two-parent family households declined from 44% to 24% for the period 1960 to 2000. Single parent households increased from 1.5 million in 1950 to 9.5

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