Family Structure: A Literature Review

challenges the parents’ ability show affection and support to their children, which affects the latter’s behavior negatively (Banovcinova et al., 2014).

Family Structure A family is generally defined as a unit of two or more people who (1) live together; (2) are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or consensual unions; and (3) bear and provide care for children (Bahadur & Dhawan, 2008; Benokraitis, 2008). However, families still differ according to their family structure that is whether they belong to a nuclear or extended family.

Family structure determines how roles, authority, and relationships are arranged in a family (Bahadur & Dhawan, 2008). As families spend their daily lives together, it is interesting to determine the relationships

Nuclear families were found to affect various dimensions of family functioning. In Bahadur and Dhawan’s (2008) work, values of a nuclear family were linked to cohesion, communication, and behavior control. First, the authors introduced the concept of “family jointness” (p. 75) which explains that a family must reside in the same residence where family routines must be done like eating together – a sign of homogeneity. They also indicated that in nuclear families in which both parents are employed and breadwinners, time that is supposedly spent at home for their children is often compromised. To make up for that, the parents have a tendency to spend time and money outdoors instead, thinking that doing such satisfies the needs of the children. Additionally, they emphasized “value system” (p. 77) as a tradition in nuclear families; children follow their parents’ ways of practicing values (e.g., achievement appreciation, cultural acknowledgement). The said value system promotes a sense of harmony, understanding, and closeness. Lastly, the authors said that parents in nuclear families are more likely to give freedom to their children, which gives the former no control over the

Aside from that, Fahey et al., (2012) point out that the size of the family, which is measured by the number of children a couple has, must be regarded as an aspect that is related to the dimensions of family functioning. According to Fallon & Bowles (1997), the number of children in a family has an indirect relationship with the family’s togetherness. For example, the mentioned group of authors specified that the less number of children, the greater the likelihood that all children will be given enough attention for a closer relationship within the family. Likewise, the larger the size of the family, the less probability of all children in the family will permanently live in the family household (Fahey et al.,