The Size and Structure of Families: A Comparative Analysis of Census Data

TLDR

The study examines Levy’s claim that family structures are universally similar using UN household data and detailed Latin American census records, noting data limitations that make findings tentative. The analysis shows that no society’s modal family is a very large residential unit, that average household size mainly reflects fertility rather than extended family structure, and that Levy’s arguments require further specification, especially regarding the link between urbanization and the decline of extended families.

Abstract

Recent hypotheses by Levy regarding the essential similarity of actual family structures in all societies are examined in the light of United Nations data on type and size of households, and in the light of more detailed census materials from selected nations, mostly in Latin America. Some support is found for his assertion that in no society has the very large residential family become the modal form. In passing, the measure average household size is shown to reflect mainly fertility, and to have little to do with extended family structure. Other parts of Levy's argument are seen to require further specification before they can be proven or disproven. Data are presented which suggest the need for qualifications in the common view linking urbanization with the breakdown of the extended residential family. Limitations of the data used underline the tentative character of the findings and point the way to needed future research.