FAMILY STRUCTURE, FUNCTION

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FAMILY STRUCTURE, FUNCTION PROCESS

• Week 3

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Family Types in Canada (1981-2001)
Ref Vanier Institute Profiling Canadas
Families III
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Nuclear Family

• traditional form is husband, wife children with
  clear gender roles father as breadwinner
• more modern form has dual earners
• nuclear family is considered norm, but actually
  only 41 of families in Canada are nuclear
  families with children

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Nuclear Dyad

• husband, wife, no children 29 of families in
  Canada (1996)
• Delayed childbearing
• Voluntarily childless
• Baby boomers elderly whose children have left
  home

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Extended Family/ Multigenerational Family

• three (or more) generations in same household
• sandwich generation - adult children and
  elderly parents living with them
• Increases family resources
• Intergenerational conflict may occur
• Extended network families live nearby

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Single-Parent Families

• 15 of families, most headed by women
• Creates unique parent-child relationship
• Problems
• More likely to be poor
• Lack of support
• Custodial conflicts

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Blended/Stepparent Family

• his, hers ours (sometimes)
• Increased security resources for family
• Potential for conflict
• Rivalry among children
• Parenting style differences
• Interference from non-custodial parent

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Binuclear Family

• Children remain part of two households after
  divorce
• Co-parenting or joint custody
• Allows shared decision-making
• Maintains childs contact with both parents
• May cause conflict between parents

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Cohabitation Family

• 13 of Canadian families
• More accepted than in past
• Much like nuclear family, except
• Relationship may be less stable
• Legal problems related to property

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Gay Lesbian Family

• Allowed to legally marry in Canada
• 0.5 of all couples (2001)
• Form a type of nuclear family
• Still face social stigma and legal barriers
• Children from previous relationships, adoption
  or artificial insemination

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Other Family Types

• Adoptive families
• Foster families
• Communal families
• Fictive kin (non-related but considered family)
• Single adult living alone (is this a family?)

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Structural-Functional Approach

• Examines the family
• Holistically (as a unit)
• In parts (subsystems/dimensions)
• Interactionally
• Comprehensive and holistic perspective for family
  assessment

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Structure

• How the family is organized
• Four structural dimensions
• Role structure
• Value structure
• Communication process
• Power decision-making
• to be discussed

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Function

• What the family does
• Five family functions
• Affective function
• Socialization social placement function
• Reproductive function
• Economic function
• Health care function
• to be discussed

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Family Role Structure

• Role set of behaviours expected of a person in a
  given social position
• Concepts
• Role behaviour
• Role sharing complementary roles
• Role stress/strain
• Role conflict

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Formal Family Roles

• Explicit roles within the family e.g. father,
  husband
• Occur in pairs e.g. father/child husband/wife
• Sets of behaviours associated with roles
• Role behaviours have become more variable and
  flexible

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Informal Family Roles

• Refer to established patterns of behaviour of
  individuals in family functioning
• Examples
• Compromiser
• Dominator
• Black sheep
• Family coordinator
• Go-between

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Variables Affecting Role Structure

• Social class income differences
• Family type
• Cultural and ethnic differences
• Family developmental stage
• Roles models

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Family Communication Patterns Processes

• Recall communication theory (Week 2)
• All behaviour is communication
• Members of the family may interpret the same
  communication differently
• Communication involves content and instruction
  (intent of the communication)
• Communication in families tends to be circular,
  with repeated patterns

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Functional Communication

• Communicating clearly and congruently
• Communicating and acknowledging feelings
  appropriately
• Non-verbal communication of caring
• Mutual respect for feelings, thoughts, concerns
• Ability to resolve conflict
  through
  communication

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Dysfunctional Communication

• Unclear transmission /or reception of messages
• Self-centeredness inability to see family needs
• Need for everyone to agree no room for
  individual opinion
• Lack of empathy for others feelings
• Closed areas of communication taboo subjects

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Variable Affecting Communication

• Cultural or ethnic background
• Family life cycle
• Gender differences
• Family type
• Context/situation
• Familys unique identity - mini-culture

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Family Values

• System of ideas, attitudes and beliefs that bind
  together members of family
• Learned from family of origin, based on social
  cultural values
• Stated ideal values may differ from actual
  behaviours
• Family norms rules are based on the familys
  value system

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Canadas Core Values

• Shared community
• Equality justice
• Respect for diversity
• Mutual responsibility
• Accountability
• Engaged democracy
• Source MacKinnon, M.P. (2004). Citizens Values
  and the Canadian Social Architecture Evidence
  from the Citizens Dialogue on Canadas Future.
  Canadian Policy Research Networks.

How do these values compare to Americas Core
Values ? (Friedman, p. 357)
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Variables Affecting Family Values

• Socioeconomic status
• Ethnicity and acculturation
• Geographical location (urban, rural)
• Generational differences

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Nursing Considerations

• A familys values will influence their health
  care behaviours and attitudes
• Nurse must be aware of own value system, which
  may be different from client familys values
• Nurses can use value clarification for themselves
  and with client families

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Family Socialization Function

• Lifelong process by which human beings learn to
  adopt the behaviour patterns of the community in
  which they live
• Children learn from their families, and from
  experiences outside the family
• Parenting functions have changed over time e.g.
  role of father, working mothers

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Socialization Processes

• Influenced by many variables culture,
  economics, family type size
• Socialization is a dynamic, interactive process
  - characteristics of child and of parents affect
  process
• Most effective parenting involves both support
  and control