Dictionary Definition of Stem Family
No official entry
Academic Definitions of Stem Family
A stem family consists of two or more conjugal units united by filial ties
(Steiner, 2016: 50)
The stem family consists of a married couple, one of the couple’s children, selected to carry on the family lineage, the child’s spouse, and their children. Thus, this family type continues family lineage across generations.
(Gu, 2021: 4760)
The stem family is always there to return to for those who need its security, but the system encourages personal autonomy and the development of new households, new enterprises, and new forms of property.
(Nisbet, 2017: 64)
is characterised by the domination of a patriarch who makes his eldest son his successor and sole heir. The latter may marry but must remain in the parental home, which implies that three generations cohabit. For Todd, this type of family structure is based on both authoritarian attitudes (family members must obey the patriarch) and unequal relationships (only one child benefits from the entire inheritance).
(Cayla, 2021: 65)
The stem family consists of the grandparents and the eldest married son and heir and their children, who live together under the authority of the grandfather/ household head. The eldest son inherits the family plot and the stem continues through the first son. The other sons and daughters leave the household upon marriage.
(Spielberger, 2004: 14)
The stem family includes a couple, their unmarried children and one married child with spouse and offspring.
(Barnard & Spencer, 1996: 340)
A family consisting of a nuclear family plus one married son (who would usually inherit).
(Barnard & Spencer, 1996: 930)
References
Barnard, A. & Spencer, J. (1996). Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology. Taylor & Francis.
Cayla, D. (2021). Populism and Neoliberalism. Routledge.
Gu, D. (2021). Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Cham: Springer International Publishing Ag.
Nisbet, R. A. (2017). The Sociological Tradition. Routledge.
Spielberger, C. D. (2004). Encyclopedia of applied psychology. San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
Steiner, F. (2016). Human Ecology : How Nature and Culture Shape Our World. Washington, Dc: Island Press/Center For Resource Economics.