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.
