Defining Family in HDFS 341: Family Studies

These flashcards cover key concepts and definitions from the lecture on family studies, focusing on the definition and understanding of family dynamics.

Nuclear Family

A core household unit typically comprising two married heterosexual parents and their biological or adopted children.

Family as a Social Institution

A social place with relations between people governed by accepted rules, considered one of the five major social institutions.

Legal Family

Defined by U.S. Federal Government as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing together.

Personal Family

A group of people who mutually define themselves as family, often referred to as chosen or found family.

Fictive Kin

Individuals who are not related by blood, marriage, or adoption but have emotionally significant relationships with family members.

Family Privilege

Benefits received due to belonging to family systems that are legally recognized, which may be denied to non-conforming families.

Biases in Defining Family

Influences from personal backgrounds and experiences that may affect how families are defined and understood.

Cultural Relativism

The belief that values, practices, and beliefs differ by cultural groups, and that no system is superior to another.

Ethnocentrism

Evaluating other cultures according to the customs and standards of one's own culture.

The Nostalgia Trap

The concept that the ideal family structure of the past may not reflect the diversity and reality of modern family dynamics.