IFS Statement About Families

Families are dynamic and interdependent units of society which take forms and functions according to society’s changing needs and the expressive and instrumental needs of the families’ members. They are intimate associations whose variety of forms may be viewed from three different perspectives. 

First, the family can be seen as a biological unit whose members are linked by blood or marital ties or by formal or informal adoption. This generally involves relations among mothers, fathers, children, and other close relatives who may or may not share a common residence for sustained periods of time. 

Second, the family may be seen as a social unit, composed of persons related to each other in any of the ways above, as well as others, who live together in the same household and share different developmental tasks and social functions. 

Third, the family may be seen as a psychological unit, defined by the emotional bonds and personal feelings that hold parties together. In this conception and in some cultures, non-relatives and absent, or even deceased, relatives may be experienced as members.

Whatever their structure, we believe that the primary function of families is to provide for the perpetuation and enhancement of culture and society by the nurturance, care, protection, and socialization of their members throughout life. Conversely, whatever the structure of the families within it, a primary responsibility of society is to provide the necessary supports to sustain them in fulfilling those functions.