ABSTRACT

The family is a social unit that faces a series of developmental tasks. These differ along the parameters of cultural differences, but they have universal roots. A number of tasks face a young couple at the beginning of marriage. A marriage must replace certain social arrangements that have been given up for the formation of the new unit. The spouses must develop a mutual accommodation in a large number of small routines. The couple also faces the task of separating from each family of origin and negotiating a different relationship with parents, siblings, and in-laws. A new set of subsystems appears in the family organization, with children and parents having different functions. This period also requires a renegotiation of boundaries with the extended family and the extrafamilial. The family must meet the challenge of both internal and external change while maintaining its continuity, and must support and encourage all its members’ growth while adapting to a society in transition.