Important Questions for IGNOU PGDCFT MSCCFT MCFT001 Exam with Main Points for Answer - Unit 6 Diversity in Family Forms

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Unit 6 Diversity in Family Forms

1. Define the terms 'family' and 'household' and explain the difference between the two in your own words.

A family, as a reproductive or biological unit, is composed of a man and a woman in a socially approved sexual relationship and their offspring.
As a social unit, a family is defined as a group of persons of both sexes, related by marriage, blood, or adoption, performing roles based on age, sex and relationship, and socially distinguished as making up a single household or sub-household.
A household is a residential unit, distinct from a family, including all persons who occupy a housing unit. These members may not necessarily be related by kinship, such as servants or temporary guests. While the term family is often used as a synonym for a household, they have very different meanings.

2. List three different types of dual-earner families.

The three types of dual earner families are:

1) Main-secondary earners,

2) Co-earners, and

3) Ambivalent co-earners.

3. What are the possible reasons for migration?

The reasons for migration may include: poor job, few opportunities, lack of medical care, natural disasters, political fear, not being able to practice one's religion, poor housing facilities, enjoyment, education, better job opportunities, security and family links.

4. Which three factors result in childlessness?

Childlessness may be a result of three factors:

1) Deliberate choice,

2) Circumstances like career building, financial unstability etc., and

3) Infertility or other health complications

5. Discuss the various traditional forms of family in India and give relevant examples for each of the forms.

Traditional family forms in India include:

Nuclear family: This consists of a husband, wife, and their children.
Family of orientation: The family into which a person is born and raised.
Family of procreation: The family a person forms through marriage and having children.
System family: Refers to the broader family system with its various interacting parts.
Lineal family: A family with a direct line of descent.

Joint family: A family in which multiple generations live together in a single household.
Extended family: Includes members beyond the nuclear family, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, also living in the same house.

6. List all the alternate forms of family which you read in this Unit and discuss any two in detail.

Alternate forms of family include:

Single parent family
Woman-headed household
Childless family
Adoptive family
Dual-earner family
Stepfamily
Migrant family
Single-Parent Family: This type of family consists of one parent (either mother or father) and their children, which may result from divorce, death of a spouse or choice.
Dual-Earner Family: In this type of family both parents work and contribute to the family income, creating a different dynamic from traditional families.

7. Do you think that the joint family in India is disintegrating? Give reasons to support your answer.

It is difficult to sustain joint households in the present circumstances. While the traditional joint family structure might be changing, the family unit continues to exist as a sociological reality, even if members don't share a common household. The concept of family, as a unit of kinship, remains even when members live separately. It is more accurate to say that it is the joint household that is disintegrating rather than the joint family.

Important Points

Monogamy refers to the marriage of one man with one woman at one time.
Neolocal residence is a place where the husband and wife reside, which is not determined by the kin ties of either.
Matriarchy is a term, which is applied to a form of society, in which the leading role is played by the woman and especially by the mother.
Patrilineal descent implies that the descent is reckoned exclusively through male links.
Hypergamy is the practice in which the woman is married to a man of higher social status, whereas the practice of hypogamy is one where the woman is married to a man of lower social status
Due to the various definitions of joint family in India, all the families appear joint in one way or the other.
In the present circumstances it is difficult for joint households to sustain.
The modified extended family can also be considered as an alternate form of family.

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