Definition of Family - Research Paper Example

Definition of Family Definition of Family There are several ways of defining the term ‘family’ as exhibited bymy three respondents. They had varying definitions of family and what the definition meant to them. From their responses, it is evident that families differ in terms of social and cultural facets. They, however, identified some factors such as love, shared interests, and children as core to the family. The first respondent, A, was an elderly man aged approximately between 70 and 75 years.

He defined family as people living together in the same home, usually father, mother, and children. He elaborated his definition to include grandparents, uncles, aunties, and cousins among other relatives. With the inclusion of relatives, he specified that the family becomes extended and does not necessary have to live in the same house or home. He also clarified that a family can refer to a group of people with common interests. The members of the group do not necessary have to be blood-related but can be work colleagues or friends.

The second respondent, B, was a woman aged between 40 and 45. She defined a family as the basic unit of the society that comprises of parents and their children. She clarified that a family can consist of a single parent and children. What binds them together is love and happiness as they live in the same home. Additionally, she expounded to include parents who come together along with their kids from previous marriages. To her, a family deserves that name if the members show support, love, and friendship for each other.

The last person, C, to ask for the definition of a family was a college student aged between 20 and 25 years. He had several definitions of a family. One was that it is a social group that comprises of children and their parents. Also, a family is a group of people who maintain close contact and have shared interests. Lastly, he acknowledged adoptive parents and homosexual partners with or without children as a family. The definitions given have a lot in common. All the respondents recognize that a family must have parents and their children.

Respondent A, for example, identified a father, mother, and children as the core members of the family. Similar sentiments were given by respondents B and C who viewed the union of parents and children as the family. Another similarity in their definitions was the concept of people with shared interests coming together to form a family. It is common to hear religious groups refer themselves as families because the members aim to worship and do things that please their creator. Apart from respondent A, the other two did not echo the idea of relatives as part of the family.

Although the extended family comprises of relatives, the two respondents chose to omit them in their definitions. Respondent C said homosexual partners also qualify to be a family. The other respondents had no idea of gay and lesbian families. I define family as the basic social group that comprises of parents and their children or people with shared values and dwell in the same place. According to Eggenberger et al. (2006), a family is a significant social unit that acts as the foundation of society and its cultures.

The journal supports my definition because a family is the basis of a community. Family networks help connect different people to form a society with shared values. Reference Eggenberger, S., Grassley, J., & Restrepo, E. (2006, September 1). Culturally Competent Nursing Care for Families: Listening to the Voices of Mexican-American Women. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume112006/No3Sept06/ArticlePreviousTopics/CulturallyCompetentNursingCare.html