Final answer:
A family constitutes a social institution, which is a socially recognized group usually connected by relationships such as blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption. It plays a critical role in forming an emotional bond and an economic unit within society.
Step-by-step explanation:
A family, as a group of people with different social positions connected by relationships, makes up a social institution. The concept of family is a prime area of debate in family sociology, as well as in politics and religion. Sociologists tend to define family more in terms of the manner in which members relate to one another than on a strict configuration of status roles. A family is a socially recognized group (usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society.
Sociologists are interested in the relationship between the institution of marriage and the institution of family because, historically, marriages are what create a family, and families are the most basic social unit upon which society is built. Both marriage and family create status roles that are sanctioned by society. This inclusive definition acknowledges the variety of ways that families can be formed and recognizes the significance of families as fundamental components of social structure.