Family

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Family denotes a group of people or animals (many species form the equivalent of a human family wherein the adults care for the young) affiliated by a consanguinity, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," anthropologists[who?] have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts rather than through genetic distance.

One of the primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and socially. Thus, one's experience of one's family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the family is a family of orientation: the family serves to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a family of procreation the goal of which is to produce and enculturate and socialize children. However, producing children is not the only function of the family; in societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between two people, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household.

A conjugal family includes only the husband, the wife, and unmarried children who are not of age. The most common form of this family is regularly referred to as a nuclear family.

A consanguineal family consists of a parent and his or her children, and other people.

A matrifocal family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children is a practice in nearly every society. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women.

For more information about Family, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with family

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Higher health insurance costs force doctors to talk about money with patients

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

As health insurers require people to base more treatment decisions on out-of-pocket costs, physicians should learn to talk to patients about money, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.


Study: Internet use leads to more diverse networks

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- A new study confirms what your 130 Facebook friends and scores of Twitter followers may have already told you: The Internet and mobile phones are not linked to social isolation.


Study spotlights efficacy of questionnaire to identify patients at high risk for lung cancer

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A study featured in the November issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology confirms the success of a simple questionnaire designed to identify patients at high risk of lung cancer. Initiated in 2001, the current study confir ...


Families suffer from problem gambling

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Many people perceive gambling to be a harmless recreational activity. However, it is estimated that six to eight million people in the United States personally suffer from a gambling related problem. This problem seems to ...


Partners in weight loss success may help African-Americans shed more pounds

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Enrolling in a weight loss program with a family member or friend appears to enhance weight loss among African Americans, but only if the involved partner attends sessions frequently or also loses weight, according to a report ...


Attending community college does make you richer, study says

Other Sciences / Economics

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

A recent study by Dave Marcotte, Ph.D., from the University of Maryland Baltimore County found women graduating from community college with a 2-year degree earn 45.8% more annually than high school educated women. Men who ...


Ancient bison genetic treasure trove for farmers

Ancient bison genetic treasure trove for farmers

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Genetic information from an extinct species of bison preserved in permafrost for thousands of years could help improve modern agricultural livestock and breeding programs, according to University ...


Invisible immigrants: Research sheds light on foreign-born seniors in the U.S

Invisible immigrants: Research sheds light on foreign-born seniors in the U.S

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The nearly 80,000 immigrants older than 65 who arrive in the U.S. each year are often overlooked by society because they don't hold paid jobs or speak fluent English, says UC Irvine sociology ...


Non-nuclear families function, too

Non-nuclear families function, too

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

The conventional family has changed over the past decade. According to a new study by the Working Group on Adolescence of the Andalusian Society of Family and Community Medicine, which has been published in ...


Forget dieting over the holidays

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Changing your focus from dieting to living healthy during the holidays boosts the chances of maintaining your perfect weight.


Illuminating 'The Fredo Effect'

Illuminating 'The Fredo Effect'

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Kimberly Eddleston wants to know how the “family” in family-run businesses either serves to constrict or promote a firm’s success.


Minn. city's get-healthy effort called a success

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Hardware store owner and heart attack survivor Leo Aeikens spent most of his life with a hankering for meat, cheese and ice cream. But an ambitious effort aimed at making his entire southern Minnesota city healthier ...


ACPM recommends primary care have systems in place for screening and treating depression

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) supports the recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that primary care providers should screen all adults for depression, and further recommends ...


GPs' gut feelings defined

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

'Gut feelings' experienced by GPs play a substantial role in their diagnostic reasoning process, but always in combination with analytical reasoning. Gut feelings can be separated into the sense of alarm and the sense of ...


Scientist: Public policy should promote family mealtimes

Medicine & Health / Health

created Sep 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

In a new report, University of Illinois professor Barbara H. Fiese urges local, state, and federal governments, businesses, and community leaders to promote family mealtimes as a matter of public policy.