members are uncertain about who is in or out of the family To be sure, individuals also receive emotional support and material assistance from kin with whom they are not in a close emotional relationship. The word “family” is sometimes used in the larger sense of relationships with sisters, uncles, cousins, close friends, and so forth. These broader kinship ties are still an important part of the setting in which people embed their intimate relations to spouses, partners, and children. The usual definition of “kin” is the people who are related to you by descent (through your mother’s or
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