Contemporary Family patterns in Sub Saharan Africa

With the advent of modernization traditional African family patterns are slowly but progressively being altered. Family patterns that were the norm in traditional African societies are gradually being substituted by modern values. The progressive transformation of sub Saharan African societies from rural to urban settings has precipitated the advent of changes in family patterns in the region. This paper attempts to examine the changes that are taking place in family structure in sub Saharan Africa. It discusses the new patterns that have emerged in relation to the trends that characterized traditional rural African societies with particular focus on marriage and family size. Contemporary family patterns in the region are increasingly characterized by the emergence of trends that did not prevail in rural sub Saharan African setting. This has been most evident in two areas; marriage and family size. The contraction of marriage is shifting from polygamy to monogamy. Family sizes in most societies in the region is gradually been reduced