family of orientation

Definition of Family of Orientation

(noun) The family an individual is born into or grows up in.

Examples of Family of Orientation

• Quinn grew up living in the United States with both biological (consanguineal) parents and a brother.
• Harley was raised by adoptive parents in Australia but was born in Taiwan and has no siblings.

Note: The biological parents and brother of Quinn and the adoptive parents of Harley, are their families of orientation.

Family of Orientation Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: fam·i·ly of o·ri·en·ta·tion

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈfæməli ʌv ˌɔriɛnˈteɪʃən/
• British English – /ˈfæmɪli ɒv ˌɔːriɛnˈteɪʃən/

Usage Notes

• Plural: families of orientation
• An individual’s family of orientation is one of the primary agents of socialization.
• In contrast to a family of orientation, a family of procreation is the family formed through marriage, consisting of spouses and children.
• Also called family of origin.

Related Quotation

• “Families of orientation, procreation, and cohabitation provide us with some of the most important roles we will assume in life. The nuclear family roles (such as parent, child, husband, wife, and sibling) combine with extended family roles (such as grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, and in-law) to form the kinship system” (Strong, Devault, and Cohen 2011:19).

Additional Information

• Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “family” and “orientation” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• extended family
• family
• family life cycle
• family of procreation
• fictive kin
• individual
• kinship
• marriage
• nuclear family

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Reference

Strong, Bryan, Christine DeVault, and Theodore F. Cohen. 2011. The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society. 11th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Works Consulted

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Family of Orientation

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “family of orientation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 24, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/family-of-orientation/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

family of orientation. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/family-of-orientation/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “family of orientation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/family-of-orientation/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“family of orientation.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/family-of-orientation/>.