Leave your contact details and we will contact you
A nuclear family, elementary family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more). It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple which may have any number of children. There are differences in definition among observers. Some definitions allow only biological children that are full-blood siblings and consider adopted or half and step siblings a part of the immediate family, but others allow for a stepparent and any mix of dependent children including stepchildren and adopted children. Some sociologists and anthropologists consider the nuclear family as the most basic form of social organization,[citation needed] while others consider the extended family structure to be the most common family structure in most cultures and at most times.[citation needed]
Although the term nuclear family was popularized in the 20th century, it has been the dominant form of family structure for centuries in Europe.[citation needed] In the United States, the nuclear family became the most common form of family structure in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Since that time, the number of North American nuclear families is gradually decreasing, while the number of alternative family formations has increased; this phenomenon is generally opposed by members of such philosophies as social conservatism or familialism, which consider the nuclear family structure important.
Enter your e-mail address to keep abreast of the latest publications
en
