ABSTRACT
The word ‘‘family’’ conjures up different thoughts for different people. For some of us it
means love and support, the people we can always depend on. For others it means strained
relationships and obligations. Some of us may think specifically about the people in the
household we grew up in or the one we live in now, while others may think of an extended
group of relatives and even ancestors. Still others may not think of kin related by blood or
marriage, but instead focus their thoughts on their closest friends and loved ones. And
regardless of the particular images we have of family, many of us probably think of the family
as involving a private part of our lives. However, in reality it is anything but.
