Although early western cultural anthropologists and sociologists considered family and kinship to be universally associated with relations by "blood" (based on ideas common in their own cultures) later research has shown that many societies instead understand family through ideas of living together, the sharing of food (e.g. Sociologists have a special interest in the function and status of family forms in stratified (especially capitalist) societies.

According to the work of scholars Max Weber, Alan Macfarlane, Steven Ozment, Jack Goody and Peter Laslett, the huge transformation that led to modern marriage in Western democracies was "fueled by the religio-cultural value system provided by elements of Judaism, early Christianity, Roman Catholic canon law and the Protestant Reformation".

The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.

One of the primary functions of the family involves providing a framework for the production and reproduction of persons biologically and socially.

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As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists generally classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended (parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family).

However, producing children is not the only function of the family; in societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household.If you want to take things a step further, you can also meet members offline, as there are a wide range of groups devoted to various activities, from movie and book clubs to barbecuing and yoga.There are also larger social events — these provide a wonderful opportunity to network and socailize with a huge, diverse group of people, and are not to be missed!Inter Nations makes it easy for you to stay in touch with your expat friends, both online and offline, so you can grow your network of friends and contacts from all over the world.Whether they live in Singapore or Dubai, Inter Nations allows you to be close to them even if they are miles away.