Before the 1960s, one third of Taiwan families were classified as "patriarchal families." These were "extended families" consisting of both direct and co-lateral family members living together. After the 1980s the proportion of "blended families" (a "stem" family composed of three directly related generations) increased. Today it is the "nuclear family" of husband, wife and children that has become the norm.
從家庭的類型上來看，一九六○年代以前，台灣有三分之一的家庭屬於大家庭型態，也就是由直系、旁系親族共居的「擴展式家庭」；一九八○年代以後，「折衷家庭」（直系血親三代同堂的主幹家庭）比例上升；如今則以夫妻和子女兩代構成的「核心家庭」為主流。