Expand on the Various Patterns Which Dominate the Family in the Modern Age.

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When one hears the word family, a nuclear family comes in mind. While this may be one of the most common families, it is not the only one. Others such as extended families, Single-parent households, Polygamy, Cohabitation and same-sex couples are also a part of modern society. According to Murdock, the family is universal ; some sort of family exists in every society. He defined the family as follows : “The family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It contains adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.” In his definition, Murdock is excluding homosexual couples ,single parents, those who don’t want or can’t have children, polygamous. A nuclear family is a family unit that includes two married parents of opposite genders and their biological or adopted children living in the same residence. When we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the nuclear family, then financial stability is one of the strongest points in the nuclear family. One can be financially strong because of limited expenses. There is less number of people in the nuclear family and hence less expenses. A disadvantage of the nuclear family is lack of support ; If there is an argument between the couple then there is no one to support any one of them. They have to deal with their problem alone without any support. Sometimes the fight results in divorce or separation because there was no one to make them understand the basics of a relationship. An extended nuclear family is made up of the parents and their children; own or adopted, living with their relatives. This may be due to a variety of reasons such as : not enough income for the high standards of living we have today. Sometimes

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