Introduction Family is the most influential group for the consumer.

The family members can strongly

influence buyer behavior. It can be distinguished between two families in the buyer’s life. One is the buyer’s
parents who make up the family of orientation. From parents a person acquires an orientation toward
religion, politics, and economics and a sense of personal ambition, self-worth, and love. The other is the
family of procreation-the buyer’s spouse and children-exert a more direct influence on everyday buying
behavior. Marketers are interested in the roles and relative influence of the husband, wife, and children on
the purchase of a large variety of products and services.
The purpose of this report is to discuss the role of the family in consumer behavior. There are three main
elements directly effect the family consumption. They are family life cycle, the structure of the family and
family decisions making process. Family Life Cycles Families change over time, passing through a series of
stages called the family life cycle (FLC).
The diagram below shows the eleven primary stages in the traditional FLC. In the stage of “Young Singles”,
people have relatively l

What is a family life cycle?

The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of
a family are called the family life cycle. In each stage, you face challenges in your family life that cause you to
develop or gain new skills. Developing these skills helps you work through the changes that nearly every family
goes through.

Not everyone passes through these stages smoothly. Situations such as severe illness, financial problems, or the
death of a loved one can have an effect on how well you pass through the stages. Fortunately, if you miss skills
in one stage, you can learn them in later stages.
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The stages of the family life cycle are:

 Independence.
 Coupling or marriage.
 Parenting: Babies through adolescents.
 Launching adult children.
 Retirement or senior years.

Why is it important to understand the family life cycle?

Mastering the skills and milestones of each stage allows you to successfully move from one stage of
development to the next. If you don't master the skills, you may still move on to the next phase of the cycle, but
you are more likely to have difficulty with relationshipsand future transitions. Family life cycle theory suggests that
successful transitioning may also help to prevent disease and emotional or stress-related disorders.

Whether you are a parent or child, brother or sister, bonded by blood or love, your experiences through the family
life cycle will affect who you are and who you become. The more you understand about the challenges of each
stage of the cycle, the more likely you are to successfully move on.

http://www.blurtit.com/q268964.html

http://www.childhoodaffirmations.com/general/family/stages.html

http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/family/stages.htm

PLEASE NOTE: The following is based on my graduate school notes and a variety of

resources, such as Family Therapy: An Overview by Goldenberg and Goldenberg
Stage One: Single young adults leave home
Here the emotional change is from the reliance on the family to acceptance of emotional and
financial responsibility for ourselves. Second-order changes include differentiation of self in
relation to family of origin. This means we neither blindly accept what our parents believe or
want us to do, nor do we automatically respond negatively to their requests. Our beliefs and
behaviors are now part of our own identity, though we will change and refine what we
believe throughout our lives. Also, during this period we develop intimate peer relationships
on a deeper level than we had previously and become finacially independent.
Stage Two: The new couple joins their families through marriage or living together
The major emotional transition during this phase is through commitment to the new system.
Second-order change involves the formation of a marital system and realignment of
relationships with extended families and friends that includes our spouses.
Stage Three: Families with young children
Emotionally we must now accept new members into the system. This isn't hard initially
because babies come to us in sweet innocent packages that open our hearts. Unfortunately, in
the middle of the night we may wonder what we've gotten ourselves into. Nevertheless, we
adjust the marital system to make space for our children, juggling childrearing, financial and
household tasks. Second-order change also ocurs with the realignment of relationships with
extended family as it opens to include the parenting and grandparenting roles.
Stage Four: Families with adolescents
Emotional transitions are hard here for the whole family because we need to increase the
flexibility of families boundaries to include children's independence and grandparents'
frailities. As noted above, second-order change is required in order for the shifting of the
parent-child relationship to permit adolescents to move in and out of the system. Now there is
a new focus on midlife marital and career issues and the beginning shift toward joint caring
for the older generation when both children and aging parents demand our attention, creating
what is now called the sandwich generation.
Stage Five: Launching children and moving on
This is one of the transitions that can be most emotionally difficult for parents as they now
need to accept a multitude of exits from and entries into the family system. If the choices of
the children leaving the nest are compatible with the values and expectations of the parents,
the transition can be relatively easy and enjoyable, especially if the parents successfully
navigate their second-order changes, such as renegotiation of the marital system as a couple
rather than as simply parents. Other developmental changes include development of adult-to-
adult relationships between us and our grown children, inclusion of in-laws and
grandchildren, and dealing with the disabilities and death of our own parents. (See Letting Go
of Our Adult Children: When What We Do is Never Enough for what can happen when
transitions in this stage become particularly bumpy.)
Stage Six: Families in later life
When Erikson discusses this stage, he focuses on how we as individuals either review our
lives with acceptance and a sense of accomplishment or with bitterness and regret. A family
systems approach, however, is interested in how the family as a unit responds and sees the
key emotional principle as accepting the shifting of generational roles. Second-order changes
require us to maintain our own interests and functioning as a couple in face of physiological
decline. We shift our focus onto the middle generation (the children who are still in stage
five) and support them as they launch their own children. In this process the younger
generation needs to make room for the wisdom and experience of the elderly, supporting the
older generation without overfunctioning for them. Other second-order change includes
dealing with the loss of our spouse, siblings, and others peers and the preparation for our own
death and the end of our generation.