2.2: Introduction

This chapter explores the diversity of family life by focusing on two broad areas. The first part examines marriage and relationship/partnership forms—including monogamy, consensual non-monogamy (CNM), cohabitation, same-sex couples, and Living Apart Together (LAT)—as well as alternatives such as the growing share of adults who identify as single or un-partnered. Attention is then turned to less common, but equally important, household structures, focusing on single-parent families, blended families, and foster families. By studying these forms, we gain a clearer picture of the diversity of family and question assumptions about what counts as ‘normal’ family life.

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