Comparison of Family Concept between Young and Middle-Aged Adults

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association 2002;40(10):217-230.

청년과 중년의 가족 개념 비교분석

이영숙, 박경란

군산대학교 생활과학부,인제대학교 가족·소비자학과

ABSTRACT

This article explored the perceptions of ‘family’and the factors related to respondents' definitions of a family. The data were collected from two types of people: one was 472 university students and high school students' parents who were asked whether or not each of 22 scenarios represented a‘family’, and the other was 40 young and middle-aged adults who were asked,“what is a family member?”. Results showed that (1) the overwhelming majority of respondents considered a married couple without a child(scenario #5) as a family and the least respondents agreed a divorced couple(scenario #18) as a family, (2) the majority perceived consanguinity, co-residence, parental status, and marital status to be important in the definition of a family, (3) middle-aged adults were more likely than young generation to agree that consanguinity and paternal relations were important in determining what a family member is.