Nuclear families are small and geographicallyisolated. Extended families are more crowded, include many members of the kin group and have geographic proximity.

For nuclear families, marital bonds aremore important than blood ties, thus they are named “conjugal families”. On the other side, blood ties are more important than marital bonds for the extended families, thus they are called “consanguine families”.

Nuclear families are temporary units because they decompose with the death of the parents or the marriage of children, but extended families live much longer. Because of their shorter life, it is hard for nuclear families to transmit a family culture to the children. This process is easier in extended families.

In nuclear families, there is minimalcontact with the kin group. However, kin group contact on a daily basis in extended families. Therefore, extended families can provide more support and assistance to its members, and can more easily overcome crisis arising from deaths or divorces.