Social studies definitions

Family

A group of people related by blood marriage or adoption and who share a common household or residence and are dependent of one another

Household

A group of people sharing a home or living space who aggregate or share their income as evident by the fact that they regularly take meals together

Kinship

Family relationships

Siblings

A brother or sister

Family tree

A diagram used to show the relationships among family members

Matrilineal

Line of decent traced through the female line

Patrilineal

Line of decent traced through the male line

Billinel

Line of decent traced through both lines

Extended family

A family composed of more than 2 generations of a family or 2 generations but including aunts, uncles or cousins living together under the same roof

Nuclear family

A family including both parents and their child or children

Single parent family

A family unit including only one parent and their children

Reconstituted/ reconstructed family

A family unit made up of 2 adults and their children from previous relationships

Joint family household

A type of extended family in which married children bring their families to live together with their parents

Patriarchal family

Family arrangement in which authority lies with the father

Matriarchal family

Family arrangements in which authority lies on the mother

Egalitarian family

A family arrangement in which authority is shared between mother and father

Matrifocal family

A family unit which is headed by a mother and lacks a father permanently or for an extended period of time

Patrifocal family

A family unit which is headed by a father and lacks m mother permanently or for and extended period of time

Breadwinner

The members of the family who provides financial support for the family

Marriage

A legally recognized relationship between two people

Divorce

The legal dissolution of marriage

Legal separation

A procedure by which a married couple remains legally married while living apart

Annulment

The declaration by the law court that a marriage. Is null and void as if. It never happened in the first place

Inheritance

The money of property that passes upon the death of an individual to another this. May be done through a will

Procreation

The biological process of having children

Socialization

The process by which we learn to become members oft he society and also by learning to perform our social rules

Fertility

The capability to have or reproduce children

Courtship

The period before engagement of marriage when a couple gets to know each other better

Adoption

The formal legal procedure of taking someone else’s child or children as your own

Family planning

The act of deliberately choosing how many and at what intervals to have children and the use of birth control methods such as condoms to implement

Contraceptive

A device used to prevent fertilization of the egg in the female and therefore pregnancy

Abuse

To ill treat a person in some way verbally physically or sexually

Neglect

A form of abuse involving inadequate care and attention paid to someone for something

Incest

Sexual relations between close family members

Generation gap

The issues that occur between people of different generations because of their varying attitudes beliefs and behaviours. This is very common between parents and children

Social Isssue

Questions which are discussed within a society

Social problems

Undesirable conditions and behaviours in society these behaviours lead to social disorganization and therefore create a need for change by deliberate social action on the government of social group

Sexually transmitted infections (SIT’s)

Previously known as veneral diseases these infections are passed from one person