ABSTRACT
There does not exist, unfortunately, a well-developed theory of family change within which the issue of family decline could be considered, nor does such a theory seem within the present capabilities of the social sciences. Some high-level generalizations about the directionality of historical family change do fit the available empirical evidence, however. The global family trend is relatively recent in world history. It is closely associated with historical developments that fit under such labels as modernization, industrialization, or urbanization. About the middle of the present century, however, interest in human evolution arose again, and in recent years, particularly with the advent of sociobiology, family evolution has become once more an important focus of intellectual endeavor. Over time separate social institutions developed for activities that were originally performed by these primal, multipurpose family and kin groups.
