kinship

kinship

refers to a shared characteristic of a group of people.

consanguineous

refers to the type of kinship that is possible by blood relatedness. therefore, your biological parents and siblings are your kin as you share the same blood.

matrilineal

type of descent that is done by tracing your blood line from your mother.

patrilineal

type of descent done by tracing the relatives blood-related to your father.

affinal

refers to the kinship that is possible by the virtue of marriage.

marriage

a legally recognized social contract between two people, traditionally based on a sexual relationship and implying a permanence of the union. (where legal union is used to refer to anything considered part of the common law of a specific culture).

monogamy

type of marriage where one individual is committed to another individual.

serial monogamy

a form of monogamy in which a person is in constant state of getting remarried to another person once a previous monogamous relationship has ended.

polygamy

type of marriage where an individual has multiple spouses.

polyandry

a woman has sexual relations (either recognized by marriage or not) with more than one man.

polygyny

a man has sexual relations (either recognized by marriage or not) with more than one woman.

neolocal residence

this is where the couple finds their own house, independent from all family members.

patrilocal residence

is most commonly used with herding and farming societies. it’s where the married couple lives with the husband’s father’s family. by living with the husband’s family, it lets all the men, (the father, brothers, and sons) continue to work together on the land.

matrilocal residence

is most familiar among horticultural groups. it’s where the couple moves to live where the wife grew up; usually found with matrilineal kinship systems.

avunculocal residence

is also related in matrilineal societies however in this case the couple moves to live with the husband’s mother’s brother. they live with the most significant man, his uncle, because it’s who they will later inherit everything from.

ambilocal residence

where the couple lives with one family for awhile and then moves to live with the other spouse’s family. eventually they have to decide who to live with permanently.

duolocal residence

where lineage membership is so important to both the husband and wife that even though the couple is married they still live apart from one another and reside with their families.

kinship by ritual

refers to type of kinship that is made official by a form of a ritual.

nuclear

a family composed of a married couple and their children, also called a conjugal family.

extended

a family where a nuclear family is joined by immediate relatives in the same household. in some cases, multiple families of multiple generations live in the same household.

single-parent

a family where a single parent raises his/her own child sans the presence of a spouse.

grandparent family

family that is headed by the grandparents instead of the parents of the youngest members.

same sex

a family whose parents are in a homosexual relationship and take the responsibility in running the household.

transnational

family whose members are separated and resides in different countries.

step families

families where one or both members who have children from previous relationships. interchangeably, the term blended family is used if the condition is when both of the spouses from previous relationships get married and let their children become legal siblings.