Family structures Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision
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In plain words
Ask ten classmates who lives in their home and you will get nearly ten different answers. Sociology has a name for each arrangement, and Paper 2 expects you to use the right one.
8 things to know
- A family is a group of people related by blood, marriage or adoption. A household is a person living alone, or a group of people living at the same address. The people in a household need not be related.
- A nuclear family is two generations living together: parents and their dependent children.
- An extended family includes relatives beyond the nuclear family. A vertically extended family has three or more generations, such as grandparents, parents and children. A horizontally extended family includes relatives of the same generation, such as aunts, uncles and cousins.
- A beanpole family is long and thin: several generations are alive at once, with few people in each. A modified extended family lives apart but stays in close contact, by visits, phone and the internet.
- A reconstituted family, also called a step-family or blended family, is formed when one or both partners bring children from an earlier relationship.
- A lone parent family is one parent with a dependent child or children. An empty nest family is a couple whose children have grown up and left home. A childless family is a couple without children.
- Depending on the country you study in, your course may also cover polygamous families and same-sex families, which are found in some societies.
- Strengths and limitations. A nuclear family is small and can move easily for work, but it can be cut off from the help of relatives. An extended family shares childcare, costs and the care of the old, but offers less privacy and independence. A lone parent family may be free of conflict, but often has less money and time.
Worked example
Asha lives with her mother, her stepfather, his son from his first marriage, and her grandmother. Name the family structure.
- Her mother's new partner and his son make it a reconstituted family.
- Her grandmother adds a third generation, so it is also vertically extended.
- A family can fit more than one term, and a good answer gives both with the reason.
Tips and tricks
- Family is about relationships. Household is about living under one roof. Students sharing a flat are a household but not a family.
- Vertical means up and down the generations. Horizontal means across the same generation. Beanpole is vertical with few people at each level.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Family structures: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What is a household?
The people in it need not be related.
What is a reconstituted family?
It is also called a step-family.
What is a beanpole family?
Long and thin, like a beanpole.
Which family is described as an "empty nest"?
The young have flown.
Relatives live in different cities but talk every day and help each other with money. What type of family is this?Stretch
They are apart, but the ties of the extended family are kept up.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Family structures
Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What is meant by the term "nuclear family"?[2]
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A family of two generations, parents and their dependent children, living together.
Describe two types of extended family.[4]
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Any two, each described: vertically extended, with three or more generations; horizontally extended, with relatives of the same generation such as aunts, uncles and cousins; beanpole, with several generations but few members in each; modified extended, where relatives live apart but keep in regular contact.
Explain one strength and one limitation of the extended family.[4]
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Strength: relatives share childcare, money and the care of older members, so there is more support. Limitation: there is less privacy and independence, and there may be conflict between generations.
Answers: Family structures
- 1. A family of two generations, parents and their dependent children, living together.
- 2. Any two, each described: vertically extended, with three or more generations; horizontally extended, with relatives of the same generation such as aunts, uncles and cousins; beanpole, with several generations but few members in each; modified extended, where relatives live apart but keep in regular contact.
- 3. Strength: relatives share childcare, money and the care of older members, so there is more support. Limitation: there is less privacy and independence, and there may be conflict between generations.