A matrifocal family is a family structure headed by mothers, in which fathers, when present, play a role centered on the household and on child-rearing rather than on formal headship. The concept describes households organized around the mother-child bond as the durable structural core, whether or not a father or male partner is continuously present.
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Matrifocal families, centered on a mother and her children with a marginal or absent male partner role, occur with particular frequency in societies that also practice matrilineal descent.
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