• The family is the most important primary group in society.
• It is the simplest and most elementary form of society.
• The family is the first and most immediate social environment a child is exposed to.
• The family is an outstanding primary group because it is where a child develops basic attitudes.
• The family is the most intimate and continuous influence on an individual’s life, from birth to death.
• It provides the most enduring relationship in one form or another.
• Everyone grows up in a family and will be a member of one throughout life.
• Robert Bierstedt argues that the family is the most important of any group in human experience.
• Unlike other groups that are joined temporarily for specific interests, the family is always present.
• The family is universal across all societies, whether large or small, primitive or civilized.
• The origins of the family are unknown, but it is assumed that the family will always exist.
• The family will continue to be a nuclear component of society in the future.
• The study focuses on acquiring sociological knowledge regarding the family as a social phenomenon.
• The family is usually composed of a father, mother, children, and sometimes other relatives.
• The aim is not to offer advice on personal matters such as marriage, children, or divorce.
• The sociological approach is centered on understanding the family both as an association and as an institution.

MEANING AND CHARACTERISTICS

• The word family is derived from the Latin word ‘Famulus’, meaning a servant.
• In Roman Law, the word referred to a group of producers, slaves, and servants, as well as members connected by common descent or marriage.
• Originally, the family consisted of a man, woman, children, and servants.

Definitions of Family

1. 1. M.F. Nimkoff: “Family is a more or less durable association of husband and wife with or without children, or of a man or woman alone, with children.”
   2. Burgess and Locke: “Family is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household, interacting in their social roles (husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister), creating a common culture.”
   3. Eliot and Merrill: “Family is the biological social unit composed of husband, wife, and children.”
   4. Maclver: “Family is a group defined by sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.”

General Characteristics of the Family

1. 1. Mating Relationship: A family comes into existence when a man and woman establish a mating relationship.
   2. Selection of Mates: Mates may be selected by parents or elders, or the choice may be left to the individuals. There are various rules governing this selection.
   3. Form of Marriage: The mating relationship is established through the institution of marriage, which may take the forms of monogamy, polygamy, polyandry, or group marriage.
   4. System of Nomenclature: Every family is known by a distinctive name.
   5. Tracing the Descent: Each family has its mode of tracing descent (biological relationship). It can be:
      • Patrilineal Descent (through the male line),
      • Matrilineal Descent (through the female line),
      • Bilateral Descent (through both lines).
   6. Common Residence: Families require a home. After marriage, the wife may reside in:
      • Patrilocal or Virilocal Residence (husband’s home),
      • Matrilocal or Uxorilocal Residence (wife’s home),
      • Neolocal Residence (separate home).
   7. Economic Provision: The family provides for the economic needs of its members.