Extended Families Among Black Americans

Abstract

Black families in Chicago are described as bilateral extended in form and as representing an institution that has existed under widely varied conditions: in Southern and Northern, rural and urban environs. Two basic household types are characterized: conjugal and matrilocal, each including a potential second extended phase as sons and daughters remain at home with their own children for varying periods of time. These extended stages, together with the frequent temporary addition of other relatives to the household, both reflect and reinforce the extended family as a primary unit of reciprocity. Migration patterns show a strong tendency for mobile family members and households to join relatives in other areas; reunions, funeral ritual and other family ceremonies are influential in maintaining family ties over distances. Friendships outside the family frequently take on kinship characteristics as “playkin” relationships, further indicating the weight of kinship as a principle of social organization. Origins of family and kinship organization may be seen on Southern plantations, where extended families were more functional than nuclear; yet the Black family represents a tradition that has survived under many conditions, transmitting values of Black Americans.

Family contexts as cognitive networks: A structural approach of family relationships

“…Such "social families" (Scanzoni & Marsiglio, 1993) resemble networks in the sense that they could "cross household lines and were based on ties that radiated outward from individuals like spokes on a wheel" (Weston, 1997, p. 109). They also seem to be particularly important in African-American and Hispanic families (Aschenbrenner, 1973;Madsen, 1964;Stack, 1974), in which friends considered as family members are often seen as a weblike arrangement of individuals (Lewis, 1966).…”

Community satisfaction, life stress, social support, and mental health in rural and urban southern black communities

“…Surprisingly, our measure of extended family network size was not associated with distress among Black persons living in either rural or urban areas. This finding of no relationship was unexpected, given the studies that have documented the importance of extended kin in Black families for emotional support (Aschenbrenner, 1973;Dressler, 1979; Stack, 1974) and mental health (Dressler, 1985). Our inability to find an effect for the extended family is most likely a question of measurement.…”

African American family life: The dynamics of interactions, relationships, and roles

“…The African American extended family is characterized by a familial interaction network involving relatives, friends, and neighbors who provide emotional and economic support (Cazenave and Smith, 1990;Martin and Martin, 1978;McAdoo, 1978McAdoo, , 1982Slaughter and Dilworth-Anderson, 1988). Consistent findings in the research on social networks are frequent socializing among African American family members (Aoyagi, 1978;Hale, 1982;McLanahan, Wedemeyer, and Adelberg, 198l), a high degree of residential propensity among related households (Aschenbrenner, 1983;Martin and Martin, 1978;Stack, 1974;Wilson, 1984), and emphasis on participation in family occasions, especially funerals, holiday celebrations, and birthdays (Aschenbrenner, 1983;Martin and Martin, 1978;McAdoo, 1978;Stack, 1974). For example, African American women often list relatives as friendship contacts (Hale, 1982;Mclanahan, Wedemeyer, and Adelbery, 1981;Martin and Martin, 1978;Stack, 1974).…”

“…Grandmothers who reside with their adult daughters and grandchildren provide an especially important form of extended familial assistance in childrearing (Wilson, 1984). In addition, it is not uncommon to find the maternal grandmother serving as the primary caregiver of the children, as well as caring, for other relatives (Aschenbrenner, 1978(Aschenbrenner, , 1983. Research on grandparenting in general and grandmothering in particular is consistent with Apfel and Seitz's (1991) four models or styles of interaction with grandchildren.…”

“…For example, African American women often list relatives as friendship contacts (Hale, 1982;Mclanahan, Wedemeyer, and Adelbery, 1981;Martin and Martin, 1978;Stack, 1974). Moreover, the nature of familial interactional influence expands the extended family relationship into the greater African American community (Aschenbrenner, 1983).…”