blended family

Blended family

A family formed by the remarriage of a divorced or widowed parent. It includes the new husband and wife, plus some or all of their children from previous marriages.

Mentioned in: Family Therapy

---

blended family

Etymology: ME, blenden, to mix

a family formed when parents bring together children from previous marriages.

---

family [fam´ĭ-le]

1. a group of people related by blood or marriage or a strong common bond, such as those descended from a common ancestor, or a husband, wife, and their children.

2. a taxonomic category below an order and above a genus.

blended family a family unit composed of a married couple and their offspring including some from previous marriages.

dysfunctional family one in which adult caregivers are unable to consistently fulfill their family responsibilities.

extended family a nuclear family and their close relatives, such as the children's grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

nuclear family a family consisting of a two-generation relationship of parents and children, living together and more or less isolated from their extended family.

nuclear dyad family a husband and wife with no children.

family of origin the family in which a person grew up.

family processes the psychosocial, physiological, and spiritual functions and relationships within the family unit; for nursing diagnoses, see under process.

single-parent family a lone parent and offspring living together as a family unit.

skewed family a family in which one spouse is severely dysfunctional and the other spouse assumes an acquiescent, peacemaking stance to maintain equilibrium.

family (omaha) in the omaha system, a problem modifier defined as a social unit or related group of individuals who live together and who experience a health-related problem.