What is the family? o a definition of the family that avoids Western ethnocentrism see it as a group composed of a woman and her dependent children, with at least one adult man joined through marriage or blood relationship. 6. The family may take many forms ranging from a married couple with their children(conjugal family) as in North American society to a large group of several brothers and sisters with the sisters'children(consanguineal family) as in sw India among the Nayar(the Mosu people of sw China). The particular form taken by the family is related to particular social, historical, and ecological circumstances.What is the Family?  A definition of the family that avoids Western ethnocentrism see it as a group composed of a woman and her dependent children, with at least one adult man joined through marriage or blood relationship.  The family may take many forms ranging from a married couple with their children (conjugal family) as in North American society to a large group of several brothers and sisters with the sisters’ children (consanguineal family) as in sw India among the Nayar (the Mosu people of SW China).  The particular form taken by the family is related to particular social, historical, and ecological circumstances