An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins or other relatives, living nearby or in the same household. It is the basic family unit across most of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and among Indigenous peoples such as Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Latin American and Caribbean societies. In Britain and the United States, more people lived in extended families during the Industrial Revolution, roughly 1750 to 1900, than at any time before or since.
Facts
Descent RuleSourced to the subject's own accountParents, children and additional kin, most often grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins, sharing one household or living nearby in close, regular cooperation and pooling resources, contrasted with the two-generation nuclear family. 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountThe basic family unit across most of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and among Indigenous peoples such as Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Latin American and Caribbean societies; historically dominant over the nuclear family in Britain and the United States during the Industrial Revolution (approximately 1750 to 1900). 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Held Differently
Why this is disputed. Contrasting household-composition patterns; which one is the more common or foundational human family form is a live scholarly dispute, not a settled classification (see the Nuclear Family typical-region fact and the wave's open question).
Associated With
One of the two household-composition patterns the family institution can take; see also Nuclear Family.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Extended Family
WikipediaIntroduction and cultural-distribution sectionsQuote, Introduction and cultural-distribution sections
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household.
1. Wikipedia: Extended Family
WikipediaCultural distribution sectionQuote, Cultural distribution section
In many cultures, such as in those of Asians, Middle Easterners, Africans, Indigenous peoples like Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Latin Americans and Caribbeans...extended families are the basic family unit.
1. Wikipedia: Extended Family
WikipediaBodyQuote, Body
The joint family system is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same home, all bound by the common relationship.
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