Final answer:
An extended family includes parents, children, and other relatives like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living together in a single household, and is often a complex unit serving both social and economic roles. The correct option is C.
Step-by-step explanation:
A extended family is a family unit composed of relatives in addition to parents and children who live in the same household. This includes at least one parent and child, as well as other relatives like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Nuclear families, on the other hand, consist traditionally of a married husband and wife and their children living in the same household.
Extended families might include multiple generations within one household and could be considered as two or more family units functioning as a single integrated family. They are often associated with agricultural societies and can act as both social and economic units.
Marriage creates affinal ties, forming a group of individuals known as a household, which may consist of one or more family units. In many cultures, the extended family is the most common type of family. It offers a flexible arrangement to adapt to changing social and economic needs and may come together for reasons such as eldercare, illness, or economic hardship.
The composition of a family can be quite diverse and includes not only those related by blood or marriage but also fictive kin, such as godparents in certain cultures.