"The family is universal." Evaluate this claim.

A family is defined in the dictionary as "a social unit consisting of people who are related by blood or law." There are many different definitions of family, some more specific then others; sociologists tend to use a more specific definition, which can vary according to the sociologist. There are different types of family; there are the more commonly-known ones, such as nuclear and extended, but there are also names for a mother-and-child family (matrifocal) …

…accurate as he studied over 250 societies all over the world, doesn't cover every aspect of family life; culture and society defines what a family is, and defining family by studying only a small amount of cultures all over the world isn't going to be as accurate as it could be. "Family" may be a universal aspect of all cultures, but the definition of a family can suggest otherwise; it depends on how family is defined.