Until the time of World War I Bulgarian society was frequently characterized as familistic, that is, personal interests and prerogatives of an individual were subordinated to the values and demands of the family. The family was the focal unit in society; it was the chief training ground for the young and played the leading part in molding the individual into the accepted pattern. The family was the center of economic life also, particularly for the peasants, who lived relatively self-sufficient lives. Relations with other social units and institutions were carried out through the family rather than by the individual. An individual had no standing in society apart from that of his family, and individual behavior and prestige reflected on the family as a whole. Individualism, therefore, was discouraged by constant pressure from the family to conform to custom and tradition.
The traditional family was patriarchal and strongly authoritarian. It reflected many features characteristic of the _zadruga_, the extended family that formed the basis of social organization of the South Slavs, including the Bulgarians, until its gradual decline in the late nineteenth century. A _zadruga_ consisted of the male offspring of the same parents and perhaps grandparents, with their wives and children, living together and jointly owning and working the ancestral lands. The group was ruled by the elected head, usually the oldest and most capable male, who was responsible for directing the work, for settling disputes, and generally for providing for the well-being of the _zadruga_ as a whole and for each of its members.
By law and by custom, even after the passing of the _zadruga_ as a social institution, authority over all matters concerning the family rested with the father. In the village married sons with their wives and children and unmarried children all tended to live under the father's roof until his death, at which time the oldest son took over the family homestead, and the others built their own houses nearby. The authority of the patriarch rested, in no small measure, on his ownership and control of the means of livelihood of the family. Sons submitted to their father's will in order to inherit their fair shares of the patrimony.