ABSTRACT
Family decline is one of the oldest ideas in the social sciences, having been promulgated in one form or another by many of the prominent sociologists of the past. A central problem in discussing family decline is confusion over the meaning of the idea. Few in the current debate ever take the trouble to define exactly what they mean by either family or decline. "Family" and "decline' have multiple meanings, and trying to define "the family" has long posed a difficult task; scholars have never been able to agree on a single definition. The term "family", simple and straightforward though it may seem, refers to a complex social reality. The prototype family most commonly used today is "a married couple who live together with their children. The family as a domestic group must also be differentiated from the broader kinship group that is typically concerned not with domestic activities, but with the structuring of kinship relations.
