Category: Family History

After analyzing the pedigree, it is evident that people in this family have a high chance of developing metabolic syndrome, because obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and systemic hypertension are all prevalent in the family. Also, many people in the family have presbyopia, which is normal, as it is a progressive, age-related condition; However, 3.2 is the only person in the family with myopia, which is unusual since both the parents do not have myopia. Moreover, both offspring of 2.3 developed childhood asthma, which is strange as asthma does not run in the family, and there are no allergies in the family. Lastly, 1.1 and 3.2 both developed cholelithiasis, which is not unusual as hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and being Mexican American are all risk factors for the condition. With that said, individual 1.2 has been chosen as the proband because he is susceptible to many conditions.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of maladies that increase the risk of heart disease. The maladies include obesity, hypercholesterolemia, systemic hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Several factors can act together to cause metabolic syndrome. Some factors include consuming too many calories and saturated fat, insufficient physical activity, insulin resistance, and a family history of the risk factors for metabolic syndrome (Staff, 2017). Given that individual 1.2 has a family history of the risk factors for metabolic syndrome and is obese, there is a high probability that 3.2 will develop metabolic syndrome, if not already if he does not change his ways of living. Some prevention tools for this individual would be a better diet, increased physical activity, and maintaining a better weight.

Given that 3.2 is the only person in the family with myopia, it is essential to know how this happened. To begin myopia is a type of refractive error; There are three types of refractive errors, myopia (nearsightedness), presbyopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. Refractive errors and presbyopia are the two primary causes of blurred vision. The cause of myopia is unknown; however, there are two main risk factors that researchers who study nearsightedness have identified. The first is a genetic predisposition; if one or both parents are nearsighted, there is an increased chance their children will be nearsighted. The second is driven by nurture, principally lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near work activities such as reading or staring at the screens of computers, tablets, and smartphones (Holden et al., 2016).

Since the parents of 3.2 do not have myopia, there is a high probability that 3.2 developed myopia from an extended amount of near work activities. Myopia can be treated in many different ways; Including eyeglasses, contact lenses, CRT, and laser procedures. An interesting fact about myopia is that it is projected that by 2050 50% of the world’s population will be myopic (Holden et al., 2016)

In childhood asthma, the lungs plus airways turn easily inflamed when presented to particular triggers, such as breathing pollen or getting a cold or other respiratory viruses. Childhood asthma is not a different disease from asthma in adults, but children face unique challenges. Childhood asthma cannot be cured, and symptoms continue until adulthood, but with the right treatment, the child can hold symptoms under power and stop harm to growing lungs. Some factors that are thought to be involved with childhood asthma include: inherited tendency to develop allergies, parents with asthma, airway infections, and exposure to environmental factors, such as cigarette smoke or air pollution. Given that three of the four supposed causes do not apply to 3.2 or 3.1, environmental factors are the most probable cause of asthma in the offspring of 2.3.

Cholelithiasis means the occupation of one or more gallstones in the gallbladder. Two types of gallstones can form in the gallbladder, cholesterol gallstones, which are the more common type and pigment gallstones. The suspected causes of cholelithiasis are excess cholesterol in bile (cholesterol gallstones), excess bilirubin in bile (pigment gallstones), and excess bile in the gallbladder, due to the gallbladder not emptying correctly.

Since 1.1 had hypercholesterolemia, there is a high chance that the excess cholesterol is what caused the formation of gallstones; However, 3.2 did not have hypercholesterolemia, the suspected cause for 3.2 would be being obese and Mexican American. These are the suspected causes because the risk factors for gallstone formation include: being obese, Mexican American, having a high-fat diet, high-cholesterol diet, and a low-fiber diet. Apart from these risk factors, research has proven a marked increase in the incidence of gallstone and cholecystectomy in children and adolescents worldwide. The main reason for the increased incidence appears to be early-onset overweight and obesity (Donnelly, 2019). Treatments for this condition include surgery to remove the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) and medications to dissolve gallstones. Prevention tools for cholelithiasis include not skipping meals, skipping meals or fasting can increase the risk of gallstones; lose weight slowly, rapid weight loss can increase the risk of gallstones; eat more high-fiber foods, such as fruits vegetables, and whole grains, and maintaining a healthy weight.

A person needs to know about the different learning resources that the internet provides. These resources will help in their understanding of different conditions. One resource is https://www.mayoclinic.org. Mayo Clinic is a public-service organization bound to clinical practice, teaching, and research. It will provide information on symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatments for a condition. Mayo clinic is a perfect resource for someone that is looking for an overview of a condition. For example, if 3.2 wanted to get a generalization of metabolic syndrome, this would be the website. Another resource is https://medlineplus.gov. MedlinePlus is an online wellness knowledge source for patients and their relatives. This resource is a little more in-depth on conditions, it not only gives the basics of a condition, but it provides the person with information on treatments, therapies, statistics, journal articles, and videos on the condition in question. The last resource is https://familydoctor.org. This website has a lot in common with the two other websites, but what separates it from the other two is that it has a symptom checker. This feature would be useful for discovering what condition a person may have based on symptoms. The checker gives a list of symptoms and asks questions using their physician-reviewed symptom checker to find a possible diagnosis for the health issue.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) performs an essential part in maintaining the nation healthy. They achieve this by establishing national wellness aims, objectives, supporting programs, services, and education activities that enhance the well-being of all Americans. They manage three independent websites: https://health.gov, home of the ODPHP, and provides health information; https://healthfinder.gov, provides evidence-based health guidance; https://www.healthypeople.gov, provides tools and resources for professionals about Healthy People 2020 health objectives. The goals of Healthy People 2020 genomics is to improve health and prevent harm through valid and useful genomic tools in clinical and public health practices.

References

1. Donnelly, S. (2019). Gallstone Disease and Cholecystectomy in Children and Adolescents With Obesity. Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing, 8(3), 55–57. doi: 10.1097/jps.0000000000000212
2. Holden, B. A., Fricke, T. R., Wilson, D. A., Jong, M., Naidoo, K. S., Sankaridurg, P., … Resnikoff, S. (2016). Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology, 123(5), 1036–1042. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006
3. Staff, F. E. (2017, December 12). Metabolic Syndrome. Retrieved from https://familydoctor.org/condition/metabolic-syndrome/?adfree=true.

The term family of origin influences refers to how current relational experiences and interaction patterns reflect. (Galvin). Looking at my own family of origin, I really wanted to create my adult family the same way as mine when I was growing up. My parents had a great relationship never arguing or unhappy, it seems like the perfect family. Even though I wanted to create mine the same way or at least close to it. My own personal family origin took a different path and the path that it took I really do not like the way it turned out. I am going to say that I have lots of good images, themes, boundaries, and biosocial beliefs about my childhood experiences.

If I had to create a single mental image of my family when I was a child, I would like to put it as having a nest. That fact my mom was always there for us when we needed her all of the time. She would always have everything ready when we came home from school. In well-functioning family members, images have the ability to take the perspectives of others to reflect health and well-being. (Galvin). The image that I can see between my brother and me, would be like twins because people really say that we look alike but we are not really twins. As I was growing up if he got sick, I could not go to school because he did not go. Even up to this day if I get sick, he gets the same things and we are in our own home, we do not live together he is with his family and I have my own family. We really create a good bond between both of us which is unbelievable. He was the one that knew that I was pregnant before telling anyone else and he has had many things that really make you think as if we are twins.

A family theme represents a pattern of feelings, motives, fantasies, and conventionalized understanding grouped around a particular focus of concern. (Galvin). I really thought that most families would be like the one I had as I was a child or growing up, but as I created my own family, I soon realize that it was very different. I really thought that most men were like my dad, but I realize that it was not true, because my husband was not like my dad at all. My husband had a very different aspect of life and his attitude was very different. My husband was coming from a different custom of life and I had a different one. As he was used to different things, such as food and many other things that I was not used to. In my family we also had a different custom of doing things even in the way that my dad also treated my mom, he always loved her and there was always lots of love around them and also for ourselves.

Family boundaries exist between family members and between the family unit and the outside world. (Galvin). As most families establish external and internal boundaries. (Galvin). The family boundaries that I had during my childhood my parents would always tell me to follow the family beliefs and family traditions that we have back when we were growing up. I have always tried to maintain those kinds of traditions as my family says. As sometimes it’s hard because we are in a different country that is not our native country and sometimes it is hard to follow. Up to this day, my parents have always tried to maintain partial or complete control of their children and always try to guide us the right way or the way that we really need to follow.

The biosocial beliefs families operate within a larger culture that provides models and socializes members into biosocial roles based on such factors as gender, age, and position in the family, all of these biosocial roles are tied to power. (Galvin). Even though it depends on the gender that would be how you are treated, my parents always treat my brother and me the same way they did not really differentiate if we were a boy or a girl. As I can remember from my childhood, they were always very fair when it comes to the matter of giving us things. As I can remember they were always trying to give us everything the same on Christmas, birthdays, or anything else.

Even though family origins can be different we all can make our own for better or worse, but most of the time we try to have better than bad ones.

Researching my family’s history has helped me gain newfound knowledge and a sense of unityб which has had a strong impact on my identity. For my family heritage project, I will be focusing on the Mexican side of my family. My ethnic background on my mother’s side of my family is Latino, which are people of Mexican descent. In this paper, I will be tracing back my family tree by identifying the population, migration, language, religion, and ethnicity of my family heritage.

My family is from Mexico, a small town called Loreto in the state of Zacatecas, located in the north-central part of Mexico. While Mexico’s Human Development Index results do not indicate that it is a more developed country, some people claim it is. Mexico has an HDI score of 0.767. (Developed Countries List, n.d.) Despite poverty, a lack of medical coverage, and restricted access to clean water, the country is considered one of the most progressed developing countries in the world.

Unfortunately, Zacatecas is considered a pretty poor area. It is said to be the 9th poorest state in Mexico. As of 2020, approximately 54.2% of the population in Zacatecas is living in poverty. Fortunately for my family in Zacatecas, they have a pretty sustainable life, and with the help of my mom, my older sister, and me, we are able to provide them with extra help in whatever they might need.

The immigration locations of my family are within Zacatecas and Mexico in general. My family has lived in Loreto, Zacatecas, for many generations, besides my mom who migrated to the United States in 1996. Marin County is the emigration location in which my mom moved from Loreto. The type of migration that my mom was involved in was voluntary migration. It was her own decision to take place in international migration.

The pull factors that led my mom to migrate were financial, career, and overall living circumstances, which were big motivators for her to migrate. For many Mexicans, being in the United States means more opportunities and a better life overall. Since my mom always had a goal of becoming a house cleaner, she packed up her life and migrated to the United States in search of the so-called ‘American Dream’. The latest data on people moving from Mexico to the US describes apprehensions of unauthorized Mexican immigrants, a statistic that is often used as a proxy for measuring illegal immigration, which increased considerably after the pandemic started in 2020, even as apprehensions of non-Mexicans dropped sharply. In addition, the number of encounters or apprehensions of Mexican adults at the U.S.-Mexican border reached levels not seen since 2013. There were 253,118 such encounters, up 52% from 166,458 the year before.

In the case of my ancestor Maria Bugarin, she had to leave Spain because of the push factor that was involved in the migration. My ancestor left Spain in 1850, and during the period spanning from 1850 to 1950, there were 3.5 million Spaniards that left for the Americas. Mexico was one of the chief destinations, especially its northern region where President Porfirio Diaz encouraged European immigration in order to supply labor. Thus, Maria Bugarin must have been relatively forced by the president and had no other choice. Upon her arrival, she may have been received with a certain degree of Hispanophobia. Hispanophobia was prevalent during the 19th century. This anti-Spanish sentiment consisted of fear, distrust, hatred, or discrimination against the Spanish language, people, or culture.

The language from Spain to Mexico didn’t change drastically. Although there are differences between Spain Spanish and Mexican Spanish. My ancestor was Spaniard and she spoke Spanish from Spain, which is called ‘Castellano’, then she moved to Mexico a place that also speaks Spanish, but it is called ‘Espanol Mexicano’. The main differences between the two types of Spanish are the pronunciation, vocabulary, and other nuances of the two languages. That being said, the official language that is Spanish in Mexico is practically the same as in Spain and the rest of the world. Additionally, since the Spaniards left and my ancestor stayed in Mexico, she got married to a Mexican, and that is when Mexican Spanish became the language that my family in Mexico speak, as well as my mom, my siblings, and me. Now that my mom moved to the United States, she now speaks a bit of English, which is a direct correlation to how her language has changed from location to location.

The language families that were involved were the Ibero-Romance language group of the Indo-European language family, as my ancestors spoke Spanish and I currently speak Spanish as well. The language branch of Spanish is Romance, Italo-Western, Gallo-Iberian, West Iberian, and Spanish. I went as far back as I could in my family tree by calling my grandmother in Mexico, but unfortunately, I have no other relatives that speak another language besides Spanish. Currently, I also speak English. English is an Indo-European language and belongs to the West Germanic group of Germanic languages (the branch is Germanic, West Germanic, Ingvaeonic, Anglo-Frisian, and Anglic.

In terms of religion in my family, it was very influential and was the social glue that held a colony together, and it played a significant role in my ancestors’ migration and customs. My ancestor’s religion was Roman Catholic, which was a huge contributor to the migration and customs of the Spaniards when they were governing and spreading their language. Currently, my family in Mexico and here in the U.S. still adhere to the Catholic religion today, which has not changed for many generations.

Religion remained unchanged from Spain to Mexico. Since its introduction during Spanish colonization in the 16th century, Catholicism has survived and grown to become the dominant religion in Mexico. Mexicans have been technically Catholic with native traditions since before the Spanish conquest. Here in California, it is also a popular religion, since a lot of the immigration occurs from Mexico to the U.S. Catholicism is popular in Mexico, and it has remained and is practiced very often here in California. The vast majority of new immigrants in the United States are predominantly Catholics from Latin America, which has helped the Catholic religion to remain unchanged in the immigrant’s religion.

The Roman Catholic religion is a universalizing religion that welcomes new members and those who seek to accept its belief system. Members of this faith come from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Roman Catholicism is predominant in Southwest Europe and Latin America. However, the Roman Catholic religion is one of the three main branches of Christianity. The other two branches of Christianity are the Protestants in Northwest Europe and North America, and Orthodox in Eastern Europe. This depiction of the many locations where this religion is practiced demonstrates how widely accepted and practiced it is.

Moreover, my ethnicity is Latino. However, my ancestors would have said that they are European because they are from Spain. For instance, Maria Bugarin must have acculturated and assimilated into the Mexican culture well because she ended up marrying a Mexican man. As a result, she had Mexican children that grew up in Mexico. This assimilation and acculturation must have occurred throughout her life and until her death.

Currently, my mother is still in the process of assimilating into American culture as she doesn’t speak much English. She has the privilege of living in San Rafael, a city that has a large Spanish-speaking population, which has allowed her to continue communicating with others in her native tongue. However, what is interesting to note is that my sisters and I are completely assimilated into American culture since we grew up and went to school here. Since my girlfriend is white American, my future children will perhaps not identify much with their Mexican side. This illustrates the bittersweet aspect of family heritage and migration. Once a family moves from their home country, they lose part of their deep-rooted cultures, and their descendants become more identified with the country they are born in. This is why it is important to keep track of our family trees in order to stay connected to those roots that we may have forgotten otherwise.

The health history is one of the most crucial assessment to know about our patients. The main purpose of the health history is to gather data what the person says and what we observe through assessment such as inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. The health history format represents many sequences that the primary care settings may use but since we need to know the partial health history I would go with present, past and family history (Jarvis, 2016).

I chose to write this health history on my husband Mr.P.R, 32 years old male, with his permission for this assignment. I started with my hand hygiene and introduced myself and my role and the purpose of taking a health history. I started asking his current health information on how he was feeling. He said he was feeling good and healthy now but the last week he felt very tired and he had a migraine occasionally. He said he has been diagnosed with minor depression and had pain and weakness in his left side of the body. I asked him to describe more deeply about his pain. I asked him to point to the location where he felt pain.

He pointed to head pain and left upper extremities pain. I asked him how he would describe the pain in his left upper arm, he replied dull aching pain. I asked him to describe the quality of pain in his head, and he described it as a sharp pain. I then asked what his migraine pain was like and he replied a sharp pain behind his eye. Then I asked him to describe the severity of overall pain from pain scale 0-10, 0 is no pain, 10 is worst pain, 4-6 is moderate pain, and 1-3 is mild pain. He replied to me 7 was overall pain. I asked him how long the pain lasts, and how often and he said his head pain is always there every day, his migraines appear approximately 2-3 times per week and vary in duration from a few hours to eight hours and up, and the pain in the upper left extremities start when he lift more weight or push weights. I asked him what do you do anything if you are suffering from pain such as any relieving remedies pain pills, cold or heat pack or distraction or aromatherapy. He said he always takes some Tylenol for his headache. He said the headaches tend to go away without any treatment as well.

The migraines, on the other hand, are more difficult; he takes migraine medication sumatriptan when the signs are there that a migraine is coming on, and goes into the bedroom where it is dark, and there is no light, puts an ice pack on his head and lights a lavender candle. This helps a little with calming himself down he says, and the ice pack helps with the pain a little, the sumatriptan works sometimes, and other times it doesn’t seem to. I asked him if he has any known allergies to any medicines, any substances or environmental factors and he said he does not have any allergy as he knows. I asked him that any alcohol or smoking history. He said he occasionally drinks like once in a month, he does not smoke, and never use any substance drugs. The current medications that he is taking are Bupropion, Gabapentin, Lamotrigine, Melatonin, Sertraline, and Sumatriptan. The sumatriptan is for aiding in the relief of migraine pain, fish oil is for cholesterol, gabapentin is for nerve pain relating to his palm, lamotrigine is for mood, bupropion is for mood, and sertraline is for energy according to his prescription labels. He doesn’t have any major serious conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.

After collecting the present health history, I turned my attention to ask him about his past health pieces of information. He said he had the chickenpox, flu couple times, and had low platelets in his blood problem. During his childhood, he had not any minor surgeries, accidents, hospitalizations. A few years ago, he had slipped onto the ice and he had minor bleeding from the head. He was stitched up at the Saint Cloud Hospital. He was also diagnosed with migraine in 2012, and major depression in 2009. He had been treated for both at the Centracare Clinic. He is very regularly to follow up with his vaccination throughout his like.

Mr. P.R.’s family history was a little tough to find because he doesn’t talk much about anyone other than immediate family. His mom has hypertension and diabetes. His father has knee and hip issues as well as degenerative bone disease in his lower back. His father had a stroke a couple of years ago. His brother he said is pretty much healthy. His younger sister had gestational diabetes with her first-born baby, other than that he doesn’t know if she has any others. His older sister has depression. His grandmother on his mother’s side has heart disease, his grandfather died when he was a kid but was an alcoholic and died of a heart attack in his sleep. Mr.P.R and I have been in a marital relationship for about eight years so now he is pretty much comfortable sharing about his family history. Since I am his wife, as a family history I would like to tell a little bit about myself. I do not have any health problem. I would say I am pretty healthy and active. I do not have any illness or any past health problems.

1. Was the person willing to share the information? If they were not, what did you do to encourage them?

Yes, the person I did the health history on was willing to share the information. I was comfortable taking the health history of Mr. P.R. because we are married since 2010 and I know pretty much all the health issues that he and his family have. P.R had no issue in sharing health information with me. He was very supportive and respectful while sharing this information. The problem I had to struggle was talking about his family health history because he does not know too much about any health issues his family has, they tend to keep those things to themselves. He definitely asked his parents before sharing their information.

2. Was there any part of the interview that was more challenging? If so, what part and how did you deal with it?

I do not feel any challenging part while taking his health Information except taking his family and past information. He did not know much about his family history. He asked a couple of times to his parents while I was gathering all the information. He was diagnosed with major depression so he did not want to recall that information. He told me that not to ask more detail about his past health but he kind of gave me the important information related to his health.

3. How comfortable were you taking a health history?

Well, that was my first time taking partial health history so I was kind of nervous and overwhelmed. I was trying to remember that what should I asked him before I started but as I go through the present, past and family health data, I kind of know all the important information I need to know.

4. What interviewing techniques did you use? Were there any that were difficult and if so, how did you overcome the difficulty?

I chose to use open-ended questions to be able to get more information to work with instead of just using questions with just a yes or a no answer. A yes or no question I didn’t think would be able to provide enough information. I also use an active listening technique to carefully listen to what he wanted to tell me. I clarified a couple of data to make sure that I got the correct information. I did not judge his thoughts and respected all the information that he shared with me. I rotated between the questions types depending on what I thought would get the best result for an answer.

5. Now that you have taken a health history to discuss how this information can assist the nurse in determining the health status of a client.

Once a health history has been taken a nurse should be able to determine any nursing diagnosis based on the information. The nurse should also able to determine any potential illnesses by the symptoms they are showing that day, they can also see any potential hereditary diseases they may be at risk for as well as risk factors associated with those diseases. The past health history is important to know because it can have a left over effect or effects on an individual throughout their lifetime, so it may help to determine problems arising from prior health issues. I believe that health history interviews are a very important part of health promotion, and it helps the nurse to gather subjective data about the client to help treat them in the present and the future. After that, the nurse should able to develop a plan of care and provide interventions in the plan of care. At last, the nurse should evaluate the outcome based on the re-assessment of interventions (Jarvis, 2016).

Reference

1. Jarvis, C. (2016). Physical examination and health assessment (7th Ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier. Retrieved from https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781455728107/

Ecological theory, in precise the revolutionary work of Urie Bronfenbrenner, has been prominent in the field of Child and Youth Care. The theory not only has deep and far-reaching roots in the field but also has the potential to impact new orders and growth in Child and Youth Care. In relation to the Askin family issue of Justin, son of Gill Askin and Fred Askin has been taken into consideration in this hypothetical case study. Justin eldest of three children of Gill and Fred has been in problem. He is arrogance and violent and has been difficult for Askin family especially to Gill to handle him. Justin spends most of his time in the child care centre and his grandparents’ house after his birth. Due to this he never became close to his parents, especially to his mother. He has been violent and has been suspended from the class two times. This has hampered the life of Gill because she has suffered from postnatal depression and is heartbroken because during this harsh time her husband Fred leaves her to marry Susie. This has broken Gill and has been difficult for her to raise three children alone. As Justin is close to his father Fred he wants to live with him than with his mother. Though Fred is planning kids with Susie he felt difficult to raise him. Also, other extended families have other problems from medical, financial and social issues to deal with it. One of the things that the stories of the Askin family are that they unfolded over time. A useful way to understand this relationship between time and human behaviour is the life course perspective, which looks at how consecutive age, relationships, common life evolutions and social change shape people’s lives from birth to death. Jean Piaget (1952) one of the prominent theorists believe that children understanding the world is the result of their interactions and involvement (Piaget 1952). Askin family case study mainly focuses on development theories which link with attachment theory and consider in the development stages of Justin and Gill and children. The case study also provides us with a summary and notion that replicates on considerate the reader about the social work with kids, the young and families in the society.

Every family and individual got the problem in the family and society. The main problem is that how the individual or family cope with such a situation. In terms of the Askin family, there is also a lot of problem going on. Askin family not only have a problem but also the strength that makes life going on their family. Once we identified strength and weaknesses it would be easier for a social worker to solve the problem in an effective way. In the words of Gitterman and Germain ‘While examining the acceptable among person and environment, the social worker must take into account the physical and social aspects the environment and how culture impacts the relationship between them (Gitterman and Germain, 2008). The reason behind Justin behaviour is he couldn’t spend his childhood with his parents which have impacted him deeply. So the importance of the environment and nurturing in the growth of child plays an important role in the early stage of life. This happens in the life of Justin life as well. He never became close to the parents especially to his mother which affected his behaviour and his relations with his mother. Seeing Justin behaviour and finding him difficult to handle, the kids Hannah and Philip got more attention and more care because they don’t want their other children to be like Justin. Gill after the birth of Justin started teaching but seeing the behaviour of Justin she spend her time with her other children until they are able to school. The good thing about is she gets to spend most of the time with her children and can understand the behaviour and needs of her children. Involvement with the individual can work to increase the confidence, pride, managing skills, independence and competence, or attempt to decrease emotional discomfort. It also helps in families and groups that can work to enable the members to identify and change their relations and forms of communication. But in the Askin family, it doesn’t go well because how much time they try to connect with Justin the behaviour of him never changes. The involvement should decrease pressure within the individual, family, group and/or communities, and promote positive growth and development. In the words of Gitterman “Stress is defined as the ‘consequence of an apparent disparity among environmental demands and capability to manage them with existing inner and exterior resources’ (Gitterman, 1996, pp. 390–1). One of the most important factors of Askin family is they are supportive to her daughter Gill. They have helped her in her hard situation. Although Fred as a husband who should support Gill left her in the middle to marry Susie. There is a lot of problem going in Gill life as Justin is uncontrollable but other children Hannah and Philip are quiet and easy to handle. Hannah is an easy child and understanding as well she understands the problem that is going in the house. Whereas Philip is the youngest of three children is quite shy and closed to his mother. He is still young and felt difficult to understand between anger and worry. But both Hannah and Philip are quiet and supportive to his mother. Bronfenbrenner explains that Child development takes place through developments of gradually further difficult communication between an active child and the persons, objects, and signs in the instant setting. To be active, the interface must occur on an honestly systematic basis over a comprehensive period of time (Bronfenbrenner, 1998. P. 996). One of the biggest strength of the Askin family is they are close to their family members. Gill is closed to her family and they are supportive of her. Also, Fred was close to his family. After the death of his father, he broke hard. Both families of Gill and Fred were close to each other. Also, every member of the Fred family was proud of him. Both Gill and Fred attended the same university and did well in the respective field. According to Gill parents, Fred would never have left Gill because his father was a family man and always support them in every hard situation. Family is the first school for every child. It is the contiguous, most strong, most long-lasting, an important part of the human system. The inspirations of the family spread to all facets of the child’s growth; verbal, nourishment, safety, fitness, and principles are all developed over the idea and performance associated reactions inside the family.

Both Gill and Fred and moving in their life. As Fred had already moved with Susie, Gill still not sure with her life. She still sees Justin as the big hurdle. The social worker has played an important role in the Askin family. A worker tries to understand over the 4 weeks period what the Askin family are suffering and how can the problem be solved. So, worker discusses with every member individually and try to sort out all the issues in a smooth way. Both Gill and Fred grow in the family where the relationship among the member was valued. They were close and supportive of each other. Understanding the Askin family we try to understand social system theory where every individual of the society matters. Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2002, p. 10) more basically define a system as ‘a set of basics that are arranged and unified to make a practical whole’. The diverse parts or fundamentals of an arrangement do not function in quarantine but function by depending on and cooperating with separately to complete the structure as a whole. The complete cannot be complete without the attendance and involvement of each of the elements. Justin whole family has been affected by his behaviour. After Fred left, Gill was heartbroken and barred Fred from seeing his children. This affected Justin life as he was close to his father. Fred moving with Susie too has affected the Justin as well other life in the Askin family. Although Fred is quite positive for Justin as he wants Justin to stay with him and Susie. But Susie doesn’t want this to happen because she is planning kids with Fred and it may affect their family and newborn baby. In terms of Akin family separation of Gill and Fred have affected the lives of their children. All of their children see Susie as the cause of separation and their behaviour also shows when social worker talk them separately. Understanding Justin is one of the most important tasks for the Social worker because the core issues and the problem is Justin life. So to manage and change in the behaviour of Justin life social worker should play an important role. As Justin is close to his father and likes to play footy and also loves to watch movies. Also, Justin hates his school because he is big and most of his friends think he is dumb. He wants his family back and lives together. The issues of Justin is simple. He wants his family to live together and be happy. He wants to enjoy his life with his father as his father only see him in two weeks period. His father Fred can play an important role in his life. When he is playing footy and is with his father he is calm and quiet. In the words of Germain and Gittermain “Interferences with the singular can work to raise self-confidence, self-respect, managing services, independence and capability, or effort to cut cognitive distress. Intermediations in families and groups can work to allow the fellows to identify and change their communications and designs of the message. Instead, mediations into the surroundings can work to raise the adaptive fit for people, such as trying to lessen and abolish perception, domination and partialities, and increase chances for persons and groups to energetically involve with the atmosphere to see their specific needs (Germain, 1979; Gitterman and Germain, 2008). In my understanding what I have found after the Social Worker discussion with Justin is he is most comfortable with footy. As he believes that his coach trusts him 100 per cent and comfortable with him as well. After footy coach, Justin is comfortable and trust his father. Other than father and coach he doesn’t trust anyone. So, it would be better if Justin is allowed to focus on footy so it may help in changing his behaviour.

Social worker and the client could recognize that a family system needs interference, yet unlike members of the family are not keen to join in the interference. Social workers and client should work together in endeavouring to infuse the periphery of the organization that is unwilling to participate and, if ineffective, the social worker and client should discover other intrusions that will move the client towards the end goal. This not only helps the client and social workers to understand the situation in the proper way and solve the problem clients are suffering.

References

1. Bronfenbrenner, U. & Morris, P. A. (1998). The ecology of a developmental process. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 1: Theoretical Models of Human Development (5th edition, pp, 992-1028). New York: Wiley.
2. Germain, C.B. (ed.) (1979) Social Work Practice: People and Environments. New York: Columbia University Press.
3. Gitterman, A. and Germain, C.B. (2008).The Life Model of Social Work Practice: Advances in Theory and Practice, 3rd ed. New York: Columbia University Press.
4. Gitterman, A. (1996) Advances in the life model of social work practice, in F.J. Turner (ed.) Social Work Treatment Interlocking Theoretical Approaches, 4th ed New York: Free Press.
5. Kirst-Ashman, K.K. and Hull, G.H. (2002) Understanding Generalist Practice, 3rd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
6. Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International University Press. (Original work published 1936.)

Extended household structure has gotten constrained by creating nations for quite a long time. As we realize that, family is one of the most vital things we need in life since they are the main ones who truly care, love us, and can be trusted despite the fact that there are issues once in a while still such is reality. Extended family comprises the guardians like mother, father, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins living under a same roof. This article will concentrate on the fundamental contentions associated with customs, societies, and religions. It will finish up by explaining how this family system helps the children.

Global

In Nigeria, they accept that a solid household can make a network ground-breaking. A large portion of those individuals are poor though the wealthier acknowledge that in the event that you remain in a more distant household there will be a ton of issues, and they won’t have the option to deal with that since they feel that work has enough pressure but some rich individuals who have faith in conventions and societies pay attention to family very on the grounds that they need their kids to find out about societies and customs and their grandparents are the main ones who can instruct them that. In many pieces of Nigeria, family association and proclivity are significant. Along these lines, the birth rate was assessed at 6.31 kids per lady in 1995. The youths experience an enthusiastic bond insofar as they’re living in indistinguishable spots with their families from which they learn quicker to help at home, share and be progressively cautious about their things; they additionally get a ton of help with their schoolwork from the family. The youths have more simplicity of identifying with others and playing more with their mates and more individuals to collaborate with and this encourages them to become increasingly social.

The Indian family has been a ground-breaking foundation in the life of an individual and the life of the locale. The family underpins the old, deals with the widows, never-wedded grown-ups, and the handicapped. they help them during times of joblessness, give security, feeling of help, and fellowship. India is a pronatalist society, in this manner, the craving to have a youngster is incredibly pushed and is considered by some to take care of business most obligation, a profound need and a wellspring of passionate and familial delight. In the Philippines a more distant family is imperative to them, that is the reason all the kin lives respectively regardless of whether their youngsters have their own relatives. The children can find out about their traditional customs and their societies, they will likewise have a great deal of help from their blood relative members, they won’t be exhausted in the house, and they will have the option to find out additional.

National

Family esteems are a significant part of life in Costa Rica, on account of the significance of solid and close relative’s associations. when you go out to eat or to an event, it isn’t unexpected to see a few ages together, from youngsters to incredible grandparents since they as a rule spend exceptional occasions and excursions with one another. In the event that you have Costa Rican companions, and they welcome you over to their home, be set up to meet the whole member of the household since a few of them either live with or spend most of their recreation time with them. In the event that you have a youngster and you choose to move into this nation, you can anticipate a great deal from your community. They will be keen on your children since they are viewed as a significant individual from the general public, in this manner they ensure that children get a decent amount of information, education and instruction are exceptionally huge to them.

Local

The extended family is the basic social unit in Panama City. Individuals work trouble to require care of their family members and are rapid to let you know around the achievements of those they are identified with. Youngsters are raised by their extended family, and really respect their seniors. As a rule, particular occasions can live underneath a consistent rooftop, with a ton of youthful ones dealing with their elders. There are especially hardly any retirement homes in Panama City. Family-arranged occasions like Mother’s Day, commemoration, and purification, are significant, and families frequently venture out along to praise those events. Bloodlines are excessively basic in Panama City; whom one is identified with can choose your status inside the network. The children in this family learn around the shows, and social orders like warmly greeting elders and in regards to one another. They additionally travel a great deal that has any kind of effect on the children to understand each other and social orders, with the goal that they can treasure or value it.

Problems

One of the issues of the more distant family framework is that a few children will show languid mentalities towards life. This mainly happen in the household of the poor. This framework is with the end goal that occasionally youngsters need to live respectively in the families. In that family structure, there is constantly an unwritten code that the wealthy must deal with the less fortunate. It is about a bad behavior for a well off individual from the family members to deny to help one another. This puts a ton of cash related load on the well off people of the family. At long last, in a family framework, youngsters can here and there be dictated by how profound an individual’s pocket is. A few youngsters are impacted by the biggest they get from a well-off part and accordingly they are nearer to that rich individual and give more regard than the regular heads of the family. While our family members are thought to be our wellspring of help they, despite everything, utilize negative words to put you down and this word can hurt the center of family associations. Subsequently, picking sides causes a division in the relations. One of the most well-known expanded individuals clashes that emerge at which somebody has grandparents, aunties, and uncles, so forth scrutinising how their grandchildren is being raised

Solution

In the event that you have family works, you should welcome all the family members, regardless of whether they won’t come, it’s a method to give them that you care about them. when you Decide to have any kind of effect and to stop family issues it will be exceptionally hard however the most ideal route is to understand one another. Correspondence is additionally another ability that helps in taking care of issues. Now and then when you want to be separated from everyone else because of the issues at home, It’s normal. just try not to push your relative away, when they are attempting to help. they care for you and they don’t need you to get injured or be pitiful. When there is a contention in the family unit, don’t favor one side. it will destroy your family, consistently tune in to the two sides of the story and afterward judge reasonably. Walfish says ” cause it visits enough to feel great and not to feel covered”. This may sound clear but it is the most unobtrusive thing you can accomplish, is to be an incredible child in-law. That is by being a given spouse and father. Along these lines, when you’re around them, make certain to show how solid your relationship is. Your parents in law and family are not just your life partner’s family; they’re additionally your youngsters. It’s important to understand that and figure out how to keep them up to be a piece of your lives while figuring out how to clutch yours with the goal that it won’t influence them.

Opinion

In my viewpoint, extended family contains a mind boggling impact on a children’s life; it tends to be negative or positive. All through the down and out they go up against a piece of issues simply like the course of action of sustenance, ensure, guidance for the children, so forth since they can’t oversee it but they can also gain proficiency with a package nearly morals, sense of pride, social orders, show and how to fight for themselves while in a couple of well off more distant family the adolescents discovers everything basic eg guidance, sustenance, and they don’t work since they acknowledge that there are adequate people to do that, inside the house, consequently, they become languid, they don’t have the foggiest idea how to fight for themselves and they constantly face a ton of squabbling and battling but inside the opposite side of the rich colossal family, they instruct their youngsters around life simply like the destitute.

Conclusion

In conclusion, more extended families accept a central activity in various models of financial directness, particularly in making countries. There is an absence of accurate evidence on the degree and nature of benefit sharing non-co occupant family members. This is in sharp differentiation to bounteous evidence that the scattering of advantages inside families predicts nuclear family spending and save subsidizes plans. To fill this opening, the total model of a family unique is connected with the family. They show the kids the essentialness of having a family by helping each other, getting the opportunity to participate, sharing, being careful, and seeing each other. This sort of family helps culture and shows regards to be made sure about considering the way that they needn’t bother with their adolescents to tumble off kilter. They also set them up for the future, with the objective that they can vanquish difficulties that drop by their way.

In Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet”, the theme, conflicts can hurt or put a family together, happens in the play at the home of Juliet, in the town, etc. To Romeo and Juliet, it does not matter what their family thinks, as long as they are together. Family is a large part of Romeo and Juliet. It is important to take in consideration of what family thinks because it might save your life later on.

In the prologue, it immediately goes to how the family will have some form of conflict. The prologue states, “Two households, both alike in dignity/From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” (Prologue. 1-4). This quote is stating that both the Montagues and Capulets will have some form of conflict in the play. Lady Capulet insists her daughter, Juliet, must be married at a young age, just like her. She then, in Act 1, puts pressure on Juliet to marry Paris and have her consider him as a husband before anyone else. Juliet states, “‘But no more deep will I endart mine eye/Than your consent gives strength to make it fly’” (1.3.100-101). Juliet will pretend to follow her mother’s advice and consider Paris as a husband to avoid her father disassociating her later on. Foreshadowing and marriage is going to be a big factor coming up and later on in the play.

Juliet will have to be a Montague to be with Romeo and to be safe. In Act 2, she’s conflicted between her feelings and how she knows that Romeo is a Montague (her family’s enemy). Juliet says, “‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or, if thou wilt not, be sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet’” (2.2.30-36). She tries to separate Romeo from his identity, and if he won’t, she won’t be a Capulet anymore so they can

In Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet”, the theme, conflicts can hurt or put a family together, happens in the play at the home of Juliet, in the town, etc. To Romeo and Juliet, it does not matter what their family thinks, as long as they are together. Family is a large part of Romeo and Juliet. It is important to take in consideration of what family thinks because it might save your life later on.

In the prologue, it immediately goes to how the family will have some form of conflict. The prologue states, “Two households, both alike in dignity/From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” (Prologue. 1-4). This quote is stating that both the Montagues and Capulets will have some form of conflict in the play. Lady Capulet insists her daughter, Juliet, must be married at a young age, just like her. She then, in Act 1, puts pressure on Juliet to marry Paris and have her consider him as a husband before anyone else. Juliet states, “‘But no more deep will I endart mine eye/Than your consent gives strength to make it fly’” (1.3.100-101). Juliet will pretend to follow her mother’s advice and consider Paris as a husband to avoid her father disassociating her later on. Foreshadowing and marriage is going to be a big factor coming up and later on in the play.

Juliet will have to be a Montague to be with Romeo and to be safe. In Act 2, she’s conflicted between her feelings and how she knows that Romeo is a Montague (her family’s enemy). Juliet says, “‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or, if thou wilt not, be sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet’” (2.2.30-36). She tries to separate Romeo from his identity, and if he won’t, she won’t be a Capulet anymore so they can be together. Now, she has found out Romeo has climbed the orchid walls to see her. Juliet is now worried that her cousin, Tybalt, will have kinsman break Romeo’s legs for climbing the wall to see her. Juliet says worriedly, “‘How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?/And the place death considering who thou art, if any kinsmen find thee here’” (2.2.60-65). Tybalt has already threatened Romeo once before, which makes the situation more intense. Romeo is in a lot of conflict but, he will soon be with Juliet.

Romeo then goes and tells Juliet that she has softened his bravery. This is because of Mercutio defending him against Tybalt and because of her beauty. Romeo says, “‘This gentleman, the Princes near ally,//My reputation stained with Tybalt’s slander — Tybalt, that an hour. Hath been my kinsmen! O sweet Juliet’” (3.1. 70-80). Romeo is saddened by the fact that Mercutio was killed protecting him from Tybalt, which resulted in Romeos bravery being weaker. Capulet now figures out Juliet doesn’t want to marry Paris, which is a problem. If Juliet does not agree with Capulet (her dad), she will be disowned from the family. Capulet states, “‘But an you will not wed, I’ll pardon you!’” (3.5.100-101). Capulet is the head of the his family and whatever he says, goes. So, if Juliet doesn’t want to marry Paris and instead marries Romeo, that’s not good.

In the end, Romeo’s love for Juliet is so strong he will do anything to be with her. Juliet never married Paris, but she did end up with Romeo, in a way you wouldn’t expect. Romeo dies because he sees that Juliet has “died”. Then Juliet kills herself seeing Romeo is dead. In the end, both the Montagues and Capulets are calm and they can move on from all the conflicts that Romeo and Juliet made.

WHAT IS FAMILY?

Family in human society is a group of people related either by consanguity( by blood) or affinity( by marriage or other relationships).The purpose of families is to maintain the well being of it’s members and of society. Ideally, family would offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and participate in the community. In most societies, it is within the families that children acquire socialisation for life outside the family and acts as the primary source of attachment, nurturing and socialization for humans. Additionally, as the basic unit for meeting the basic needs of it’s members, it provides a sense of boundaries for performing tasks in a safe environment, ideally builds a person into a functional adult, transmits culture, and ensures continuity of humankind with precedents of knowledge.

Significance OF FAMILY

Assists with addressing BASIC NEEDS :The essential social unit called the family is entrusted with meeting the fundamental necessities of those relatives who can’t accommodate themselves. This incorporates minors, the old and crippled, or just the individuals who can’t bear to live without anyone else. Essential necessities, for example, food, water, home and clean air are available when at least one individual can give these things to the entire family.

• Monetary SECURITY :A well working family gives monetary security to everybody living in the family unit. To start with, relatives who can work and contribute at any rate a piece of their earning to help the family meet everybody’s needs. Second, the family manages to pay bills and figure out how to guarantee the money related necessities are constantly dealt with.
• BUILT– IN SUPPORT SYSTEM : Many individuals have ended up with incredible news yet nobody to tell it to. That is a problem one rarely has when living in a family. Individuals who are in sound families approach each other that a few people don’t have. What’s more, everybody has tough situations. A solid family has each other’s back. At the point when relatives are under pressure, somebody near them is well on the way to see the indications that they are battling with some stress. Individuals may hide their issues with others, yet their family regularly as of now gets it. Regardless of whether they don’t approve somebody’s activities, they love genuinely. They’re there for relatives.
• Medical advantages : Youngsters appreciate a solid way of life when they live in a sound family. They have sound dinners, are urged to get up and move, appreciate time outside, and get instant clinical consideration when required. Medical advantages exist for guardians as well. Examination has demonstrated that individuals who live with kids in their family keep an eye on living more, even after the youngsters have grown up and moved away. This might be on the grounds that guardians will in general eat more advantageous food, stop smoking, decrease their drinking, stop utilizing drugs and may even remain more dynamic contrasted with the childless peers.
• THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS :The community group benefits when the family calms it of the weight of supporting individuals from that family. Solid families produce individuals living alone. What’s more they show their kids at a youthful age that the main way they can control what sort of community they have is to add to it. At the point when guardians add to their community by giving cash or required supplies, they model a demeanor of mindful. They show their youngsters that giving cash, food or supplies to the network helps uphold it so it can serve everybody better. Guardians add to society by attempting to guarantee that their family gets the most ideal instructive chances. They may give money, or they may utilize their informal organization to support a school – age student to get a job. Their passionate and reasonable assistance may be considerably more significant than money related help.
• Crime is a part of human civilization : atleast it has been in many parts of the world more often than not. Families can’t kill wrongdoing, however they can prevent it and decrease it’s effect.
• Significance OF FAMILY IN EDUCATING CHILDREN : One of the main ways guardians add to society is by instructing their kids. The learning doesn’t go only one way by the same token. In a sound family learning has a high need maybe soon after gathering essential requirements. Talking around the supper table, relatives frequently share their political perspectives. They may examine the issue in a forthcoming political decision or the capabilities of an applicant. This moves everybody to discover more about individuals and thoughts included so they can settle on an educated choice when it’s their chance to cast a ballot.

Guardians start teaching their kids when they’re born. They may assist them with figuring out how to walk and instruct them new words as they build up their vocablury. Most guardians are prepared in various manners with regards to helping their kids realize when they go to class. They can empower scholorship and moral conduct also.

Sorts OF FAMILY IN INDIA

JOINT FAMILY: A joint family or unified family is a more distant family plan predominant all through the Indian subcontinent, especially in India, comprising of numerous ages living in a similar family, all limited by regular relationship. A joint family comprises of a couple; their children; their little girls, etc upto ages. Quite a few these individuals may without affecting the lawful presence of the family, be diminished.

Nuclear family: A nuclear family or intimate family is a family bunch comprising of two guardians and their kids ( at least one). It is as contrast to a single parent family, the bigger more distant family or a family with multiple guardians. Family units normally focus on a wedded couple which may have quite a few kids. There are contrasts in meanings of observers. Some definitions allow only biological children that are full – blood siblings and consider adopted or half and step siblings a a part of the immediate family, but others allow for a stepperant and any mix of dependent children including step children and adopted children, Some sociologists and anthropologists think about the family unit as the most essential type of social association.

FAMILY STRUCTURE

Truly, India had a custom that was winning from ages of the joint family or unified family. The framework is a more distant family game plan predominant all through the Indian subcontinent, especially in India, comprising of numerous ages living in a similar home, all limited by the basic relationship. A joint family comprises of a couple; their children; their little girls, etc upto ages. Quite a few these individuals may without affecting the lawful presence of the family, be diminished.

The family is going by a senior individual called a ‘Karta’, is typically a male or a female, who settles on choices on monetary and social issues for the whole family. The patriarch’s better half by and large applies authority over the family unit and minor strict practices and frequently uses significant impact in homegrown issues. Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family. Anyways with urbanization and monetary turn of events, India has seen a separation of customary joint family into smaller arrangements – like families, and the conventional joint family in India represented few families.

A Hindu undivided family is a legal term related to the Hindu Marriage Act. The female members are also given the right to share to the property in the HUF. The term finds it’s reference in the provisions of the income tax Act, but the expression is not defined in the act. There are various aspects of Hindu law relevant for the purpose assessment of income of HUF with Hindu Succession act of 1956 and Income Tax Act 1961 and wealth in the status of HUF, as well as the provisions of Hindu Succession Act 1956 as amended by the Hindu Succession (Ammendment) Act, 2005 relevant for the purpose of assessment of income and wealth in the status of HUF under the Income Tax Act 1961.

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND

Economic background has become a very prominent factor in the likelihood of living in an extended family. The relative economic deprivation of racial and ethnic minorities leads to higher level of joint family involvement. Having family on which one can rely is very important in times of economic hardship especially if there are children involved. Living in a joint family provides constant care for children and support for other members of the family as well. A joint family is a survival strategy in the face of economic difficulties. Being able to rely on not only two parents but grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters helps to create a support system which in turn brings families closer together. Living in a joint family provides many things which a nuclear family does not.

CHANGING PERSPECTIVE OF JOINT FAMILY STRUCTURE IN INDIA

Families have both structure and function. Like the skeleton and muscles in a body, the structure is what gives a family it’s size and shape. Also, like organs within the body that perform necessary functions to keep the body working, there are certain necessary functions that keep families healthy. It sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. It asserts that our lives are guided by social behaviour. Social structures give shape to our lives – for examples, in families, the community, and through religious ceremonies, give structure to our everyday lives. Each social structure has social functions or consequences for the operation of society as a whole.

Social structures consists of social relationships as well as any social institutions within a society. One example of a social structure is a social class( upper class, middle class and poor). Another example of a social structure is the different levels of a government. Family, religion, law, economy, and class are all social structures.

INDIA AND IT’S FAMILY STRUCTURE

India has a rich family structure with a patrilineal background, which help the family members to sustain a life with kingship groupings. Earlier, mostly joint families were found where family members live together under one roof. They all mutually work, eat, worship and co-operate each other in one or the other way. This also helps the family to get strong mentally, physically and economically, the children also get to know about the values and traditions of the society from their grandparents and elders. The family system has given a lot of importance in India and has worked more often to make the bonding among families stronger. The family system has given a lot of importance in India and has worked more often to make the bonding among families stronger. Meanwhile, the urbanisation and westernisation had it’s influence on the basic structure of the Indian family structure. The division of the joint family into smaller units is not the symbol of people rejecting this traditional structure. The circumstances and conditions also made the need for people to split the family.

The family as a social institution has been undergoing change. Both in it’s structure and functions changes have taken place. India, as in many traditional societies, the family has been not only the centre of social and economic life but also the primary source of support for the family members. The increasing commercialisation of the economy and the development of the infrastructure of the modern state have introduced a significant change in the family structure in India in the 20th century. Especially, the last few decades have witnessed important alterations in family life.

India’s fertility rate has fallen, and couples have begun to bear children at a later age. At the same time, life expectancy has increased , resulting in more elderly people who need care. All of these changes are taking place in the context of increased urbanization, which is separating children from elders and contributing disintegration of family – based support systems.

FACTORS AFFECTING FAMILY STRUCTURES

Change in fertility: An inevitable outcome of declining fertility rates and increasing age at first birth in most of the countries in the world, including India, is a reduction in family size. Fertility declined due to the combined effect of substantial socio-economic development achieved during the last two decades and the effective implementation of family planning programmes.

Hence, it has become irrational for many people to have large families as the cost of children is increasing. In traditional societies, where human labour was a source of strength to the family, more children were preferred to fewer. But as the economic contribution from the children in a family decreased, because of a move away from agriculture, the need for large numbers of children decreased. Improvements in health care and child survival also contributed. The emphasis was on the quality of life rather than number of children, a new concept added to the family.

Change in age of marriage: In many countries in the world where significant declines infertility are being experienced, reductions in the proportion of people never, married have often coincided with or preceded declines in marital fertility. A subsatantial increase in the proportions never married, among both males and females, at young ages has been noted in many countries. A consequence of the increase in the proportion of never married young adults is the gradual upward trend of the average age at marriage. Postponement of marriage among females resulted in the postponement of child bearing in the reduction of family size.

Change in mortality: Mortality declines, particularly infant mortality, everywhere preceded the decline of fertility. Improved survival rates of children means that when women reached the age of 30 they increasingly had achieved the completed family size they desired. Earlier much larger births were required to achieve the desired completed family size. In the last three decades infant mortality has declined significantly in every country and this trend undoubtedly influenced the fertility decline. Mortality decline followed by fertility decline altered the age structure of the population and also the structure within individual families.

Marriage dissolution: It is no longer the case that all marital unions, whether formal or informal reach final dissolution through death. A considerable proportion of unions are disrupted suddenly for reasons such as desertion, seperation or divorce. An obvious failure in a family relationship is where husband and wife cease to live together. Thise women who are divorced at latter ages mostly remain single for the rest of their lives and live with their dependents. The idea that when a couple has children it will be less likely to divorce is widely accepted in most of the societies. However, it has been believed in the last couple of years even in most of the Asian cultures, including India, a great proportion of divorce involves couples with young children.

Participation of women in economic development: The commercialization process which opened markets in many developing has succeeded in replacing the traditional co-operation, in the economic relationship with that of competition. In this process, the social institutions in these countries found themselves in conflict with the key aspects of the new economic systems. The economics of the family and the sexual division of labour within the family is very much determined by opportunities in the labour market. The developing economies of system India have facilitated the freeing of women from household chores and their entrance to their labour markets. The declining ability of men to earn a ‘family wage’ along with the growing need for cash for family maintenance has resulted in an increasing number of family members( particularly the wife) in the family engaging in economic activity.

According to Talcott Parsons, modern industrial society has led to the growth of what he calls “isolated nuclear family”. This family is structurally isolated as it does not form an integral part of the wider kingship group.

Family is very fluid social institution and in the process of constant change. The modern family, or rather the post modern family is also witnessing several new forms of it cropping up. Modernity is witnessing the emergence of same sex couples (LGBT relationship), cohabitation or live in relations, single parent households, a large chunk of divorced living alone or with their children.

JOINT FAMILY Vs NUCLEAR FAMILY

In India, the joint family system has been prevalent since a long time. However with the passage of time, the importance of joint family system ha been disintegrated. This in turn gave rise to nuclear family system. One of the main causes of disintegration of joint family systems in society was job opportunities in the cities. And there was a lack of living space in cities. It became difficult to accommodate all the members of a joint family in one single home in a city. Cost of living in cities was also higher.

Another advantage of a nuclear family was privacy. Some other advantages of nuclear family included specific sense of freedom that gave a nuclear family the ability to live as they wished to. It avoided stress and discomfort to the family members.

The disadvantages of nuclear family included that if the father and mother both wanted to work and both of them went to work, in that case they had to live their child/children alone with the baby sitter, where the child gets no family values. Feeling of security and safety and a sense of support system lacked.

The advantages of joint family included that family members never felt alone, there were always people to loof after children. Work and expenses could be shared. Guidance and care would also be present. Disadvantages included family members could lose their individuality. The main disadvantage of a joint family was interference in all the activities of the members and the lack of privacy for personal feelings.

To go to another country and vacation for a few days creates unforgettable memories. However, to study abroad in another country different from your own is a life changing experience. Not many people are ambition enough or willing to take that chance to leave the comfort of their own home, and some hesitate because of the different barriers. Studying abroad is beneficial, it provides exposure and cultivates one’s personality and interest in adventuring new things. My firsthand experience living in Guadalajara, Jalisco changed me profoundly, it opened my curiosity about their history, taste in music, cuisine, nightlife, festivals, and sports which are all too different from the United States.

History plays an instrumental role in the state of Jalisco, and most notably are the architectural buildings in Guadalajara. This is a state that is rapidly growing and pushing into a more modern commonwealth. However, many landmarks and monuments cannot be demolished as the people in Jalisco value history and attempt to preserve their churches, villages, and historic museums and have a clear cultural trajectory that is reflected in the relics. One of the most popular destinations, is Guadalajara Metropolitan Cathedral. Since the Spanish colony, the neo-gothic and Spanish Renaissance towers have undergone numerous reconstructions throughout their time but haven’t lost their touch to having very fine architectural detail and art inside. Thus, the area is very emblematic of the state and is surrounded by other significant sights such as Plaza De Armas, La Sala De Los Magos, and Guadalajara Coat Of Arms all at an enjoyable walking distance.

In addition, Mexico is the birthplace that holds itself to its vibrant traditional style music and each state has its taste but Guadalajara is the motherland of mariachi and ranchera music. Mariachi is well known as a fundamental part of Mexico’s identity and national pride. You can say both genres are closely tied together and their music is composed of different instruments lyrically story tells the struggles and triumphs of its people and revolutionary heroes. The music is associated with a dance style El Jarabe Tapatio in which follows the rhythm of the beat between two people and has inspired performers. According to Jose Luis Ovalle, The Mexican Folk Dance Company, “Anna Pavlova, the great Russian Ballerina, who visited Mexico in 1919, fell in love with the culture and the spectacular attire and decided to include the (heretofore) ‘Mexican Hat Dance’ in her permanent repertoire.” Nevertheless, it marvels me how both genres have inspired artists and the evolution of Mariachi and Rancheras has persisted nonetheless, it has transcended across different continents, and its artists such as Silvestre Vargas, Vicente Fernandez, and Pedro Infante to name a few have put Jalisco on the map for their contribution in music.

Moving forward, not all Mexican dishes are spicy and what makes Jalisco stand out is their cuisine. Depending on the location each has its specialty, one of my go-to places is Guadalajara’s San Juan de Dios Market. The area has three levels and the market is displayed for each floor to have its theme. Therefore, on the second level, you can try a selection of some of the most popular dishes, my favorite Sweet Enchiladas. It is a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy mole, dipped in chocolate sauce, rolled with the perfect seasonings of ground beef, and sprinkled with cheese leaving your mouth watery and asking for seconds. During my stay, Guadalajara introduced me to some culinary delights and never left me missing home-cooked meals.

Equally as important, as the history, music, and cuisine is the nightlife Guadalajara brings. Early hours of the morning people do their routine but by late evening the city comes to life specifically, Avenue Chapultepec. This location offers upscale restaurants and dive bars, and in between the streets, they are divided into different sections. As you explore your way through, the first section you will come across three types of vendors, these are painters, artisans, and enthusiastic bookworms. The next section is the entertainers these are people playing an instrument, singing their best rendition of The Beatles, or artists performing a dance. Once you stroll through the end, and look for a quiet down area, you can find yourself sitting on very detailed ironwork benches or sculptures of heroes and appreciating the beauty the city has to offer.

Furthermore, Guadalajara is one of the most festive cities all year round attracting many locals and visitors. It is impossible not to attend some of the most interesting public exhibitions the city has to offer includes art, music, and theatrical performances. One of the biggest festivals in the city is the international book fair held in late November, it is the second largest book fair and is an important publishing gathering in Latin America. The event is held for nine days and showcases a selection of books such as; philosophy, novels, fiction, and religion to name a few. According to Combined Book Exhibit, “The Guadalajara International Book Fair is the go-to event for Spanish language content. More than 1900 publishers attend with over 20,000 professionals from 44 counties and 700,000 attending from the public.” This is a great opportunity not only for businesses, and authors but for those who love literature, the only drawback is they cannot last forever.

Moreover, there is a hunger for sports and the people in Guadalajara over the years have continued to demonstrate how vital sports are, almost as important as religion. There are various types of activities in Guadalajara and often when the word “sports” comes to mind we think of soccer. Yes, that is true Guadalajara is the home to the professional soccer club Chivas and fans are very passionate about their team. However, the city is also well known for its Charreada a competitive sport that is similar to rodeo and is deeply rooted in our native land dating back to revolutionary times. Charreada is a national sport that begins with women referred to as “escaramuzas” mounted on horsebacks choreographing a dance to a Mexican song. Next, the men dressed in charro perform numerous tricks, this can be using ropes, horse riding, or cattle riding. Thus, Charreada is much more than entertainment but an authentic culture that distinguishes Guadalajara.

In conclusion, in the effort to reconnect with my roots studying abroad in Guadalajara has opened my mind to not only respecting the culture but also viewing the world differently. It allowed me to appreciate the inescapable arts in the streets and infrastructures, it introduced me to music, cuisines, festivals, and sports that have now been transcended into our very own country. Nevertheless, Guadalajara is only a small portion of the whole state, and there are more areas to explore. You have to be able to experience and immerse yourself in to fully understand the beauty of this city. Each one of these characteristics is emblematic of the city and to experience it firsthand, I believe is what makes Guadalajara a great place to visit.

Work Cited

1. Ovalle , Jose Luis. “The Mexican Folk Dance Company of Chicago – Dance from the State of Jalisco.” The Mexican Folk Dance Company of Chicago – Dance from the State Of, mexicandancecompany.org/mexican-dance/jalisco.html.
2. “2019 Guadalajara International Book Fair – CBE.” Book Marketing | Book Promotion – Combined Book Exhibit, www.combinedbook.com/2019-guadalajara-international-book-fair.html.

 

To what extent do you consider education has figured prominently in your family background?

Education has had an interesting role in my family background. A few of my uncles undertook tertiary education after completing secondary school at comprehensive schools as the profession they wanted to go into required a degree of that sort whereas other family members such as my mother went to government-funded colleges, or straight into the workplace. My grandparents on my mother’s side, however, did encourage them to pursue higher level education as their own education journey was unstable due to the socioeconomic and rural effects – my nana’s father experienced tuberculosis twice after returning from the Burmese jungle and struggled to recover, whereas my grandad had to help his family on the farm every morning.

Who and what have been the most significant influences in shaping your educational journey to bring you here to university?

The most significant influences in shaping my education journey have been specific members of my family as well as my aspirations for the future.

Ever since I was a child, my parents encouraged me to do my uttermost best at school as it could be beneficial for the future in preparing me for the real world with the skills I needed. My mother went to a catering college in England when she was a teenager, but she never attended university, nor did my father, so they always made sure that whether my siblings and I wanted to attend university or not, we were able to have a good start in education. This was achieved by sending us to a local private school once we outgrew our public primary school in Perth. This high school was expensive, especially as a twin, but this fuelled us to work hard to show them that the outcomes were worth their money. This helped us form connections with our teachers and friends, and the support we received made us believe we could get the results we needed to get into university to work towards our future career aspirations – as both of us wanted to go into the professions of law and education, the university looked essential.

My older brother has also been one of the biggest factors in influencing my journey to university as I have always admired his work ethic through his education journey. From his last year of middle school to his final year of high school, my brother was the school’s Dux – the highest-performing student of his year level for four years consecutively. He treated his education seriously throughout those years so that he would have something to feel proud of and made sure he treated all of his educators and teachers with the uttermost respect. Although this set the bar in my family high as he was considered to be the ‘genius’ of the family, it did benefit my sister and me as we could see from a young age, as my brother is five years older than we are, that it is important to make the most of learning and that even if we do not follow his lead by becoming the Dux, hard work and the passion for knowledge could give us many great opportunities for the future in return.

How might your lifelong learning journey in a global knowledge society be similar and/or different from that of preceding generations of your family?

My lifelong learning journey in a global knowledge society will be both similar and different to the preceding generations of my family. It will differ from my older family members as I am fortunate enough to have access to educational resources they weren’t granted and develop skills required for a twenty-first century in a global knowledge society. With this comes the skills of being able to research what they did not have easy access to and critically analyze it for relevance and reliability that will benefit our lives in a quickly adapting, digital future. On the other hand, my lifelong learning journey will be similar to theirs as my family members describe themselves and identify as lifelong learners. My grandparents are gradually learning how to use technology in order to communicate with me from all the way in England which proves that even without experience in tertiary education, they have to ability to adapt and develop.

To what extent do you think family educational and occupational experiences relate to social class; gender; rural/urban location; cultural background; and national or inter-national context?

Students located in rural areas face issues of a lack of resources and access to tertiary studies as these government-funded institutions are located in metropolitan and urbanized areas. This can provide them with limited goals for occupations and feel as though they are needed to follow their family’s pathway.

There is also the issue of teachers only working in these areas temporarily in order to receive experience as they experience isolation and loneliness, preventing them from residing there for longer and losing connection with the vulnerable community in need of permanent staffing. Although there are implementations of programs that strive to provide these urbanized teachers with experience, they are ‘sometimes very brief’ and ‘report withdrawal rates by participants of up to one-third’ (Welch, 2018). This is often due to these teachers struggling to believe that they have a ‘commitment to making a difference in these regions’ (Welch, 2018) as they do not spend a long time there.

The social class of a family also affects their educational and occupational journey, as the definition changes over time. In the past, it would have shaped the hierarchy where families were positioned socio-economically. This would influence the occupations they went into as often individuals would follow what their families did. What initially referred to differential resources, power and statuses of society has now become relationships formed and cultural tastes, which can create clear connections and disadvantages. With this ever-changing definition of social class, there is a less rigid but more complex approach.