A new study shows Australians are adopting non-traditional family definitions
Friends and pets have become more important than genetic ties as Australians redefine the traditional concept of family.
A recent survey of almost 6,000 Australians shows that traditional notions of family—a mother, a father, and two kids—are being redefined.
67 percent of Australians now consider “unconditional, non-judgmental support” as a key defining feature of family, according to the study.
Additionally, 41 percent of the respondents see “family” as a choice—a network that can include both blood relatives and close friends.
This change is particularly pronounced among LGBTQ+ individuals, with a lesser emphasis on genetics in defining family.
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LGBTQ+ individuals are almost twice as likely to rate blood or genetics as not important at all in defining a family compared to other study participants.
There are also generational differences in perceptions of family, with older Australians placing significantly higher emphasis on blood ties at 62 percent, whereas only 24 percent of Gen Z considered blood ties important.
Over half of the study participants consider their pets as family members, reflecting a growing recognition of pets within the family unit.
Embracing Individual Choice in Defining Family
Study co-author and Research Fellow at Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), Luke Gahan, said the findings have implications for law and policymakers as definitions of family change.
“This study shows relationships defined by love and individual choice are coming to the fore when it comes to notions of family—throwing up challenges for law and policymakers, as they try to meet the needs of a changing society.”
For example, that pets increasingly being considered family could impact the way couples separate.
“By law, pets are currently considered ‘property’—but perhaps, given how many of us feel about our pets, something closer to a custody arrangement is more appropriate,” Mr. Gahan said.
“Also, many people considering close friends as family could influence how employment law defines ‘immediate family’ in terms of leave provisions, when a family member requires care.”
Decline of the Traditional Family
These movements have led to confusion and contributed to the degradation of the family, with statistical evidence, especially regarding divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births, supporting this.
The authors suggest that the breakdown of the family marks a significant loss of stability.
“The destruction of the family, a basic unit of social stability, also means the destruction of traditional morality established by the divine and of the role the family plays in nurturing the next generation within a framework of traditional culture,” they said.
