The family is a vital social organization. Members of one family grow to develop a very close bond with each other. This makes the members seek each other’s psychological, social and economic support among other things. People in the family find comfort in each other’s company, and the separation or death of one member affects other members in adverse manners. Sally is a minor who is still undergoing emotional development.
Her mother has left home to stay with Sally’s grandparents, and this has a great toll on Sally. Sally is affected by this, and she seeks to change her lifestyle. Evidently, she has started losing faith in the family institution, and she wants to move out. This gets her in to trouble with her father, her school grades starts dropping, and she starts to lose friends. Sally needs to be helped out of this situation; she needs to be guided to accept the state of things and lead a life that will not hurt her.
Theories of Assessing this Conflict
One of the theories that can be used to assess the conflict between Sally and bob is Family Systems Theory proposed by Dr. Bowen. This theory takes the family as a unit, and it says that people are best understood in the context of their families. He classifies the family as an emotional unit whose members share an emotional bond. A member of this unit cannot be studied in isolation; understanding one member of this unit will not be possible without considering other family members (Folberg, Milne & Salem, 2004).
Bowen says that every member of a family has a role to play so as to maintain a harmonious relationship with other members. The other members will respond to each other according to the roles assigned to them. These roles are given according to the family relationship agreements. Therefore, based on this interaction, the behavior of one member of the family is shaped by the interaction with other members (Regina, 2011).
The failure of one member can lead to the collapse of the whole family. Bowel comes up with some concepts that interlock to support this theory. These concepts act as a basis for understanding the relationships among family members, and each member is assigned a place in the family. When a member’s place in the family is toppled, conflicts occur (Taylor, 2002).
In Bob and Sally’s case, the problem occurs since the role that Sally’s mother used to play has been left open. The father is trying hard to maintain a stable relationship with the daughter, but he is unable to fill the vacuum left by the mother. This has a great impact on Sally, and Sally feels that she no longer fits in the family; she wants to move out. Probably, the father does not know about this theory of family conflicts, and he does not understand Sally’s reaction.
Sally has been affected by the separation between the mother and father. She is used to staying with both parents, and she cannot stand the separation. This proves Bowen’s theory by showing that members of the family are much connected with each other.
Sally’s pattern of behavior, including failure in school and loss of friends, is triggered by the instability in her family. She does not see her mother as frequently as she used to do, and she feels that moving out of her house will solve her problems. She feels that she will lose nothing since her mother has also left the home.
Analysis of the Problems
The main problem between Bob and Sally is the lack of proper communication. Sally could be secretly blaming her father for her mother’s withdrawal from home. Bob is trying to save the situation by trying to be a good father, but he fails in that he is unable to talk to her daughter about the things disturbing her. Therefore, the daughter, Sally, has reacted to this by resulting to her own decisions to move out of the family.
Sally is very disturbed about her mother’s departure, and this has a very big impact on her. It is important to note that Sally is still undergoing emotional development, and any disagreement with parents can be disastrous to her. She feels the loss of her parents’ love for her, and she goes to seek love from other people. It is critical to note that Sally’s friends are now people much older than her.
Sally’s father also feels that Sally is unrealistic; she should appreciate what he has to offer her, and she should not make things difficult for him. He loves her and wants the best for her. That is the reason that makes him deny her the chance of staying with these friends; he figures out that she could drop out of school. His claims could be justified since Sally has already started failing in school.
Things to Do as a Mediator
The people involved in this conflict have problems that they are facing differently. The best thing to do is make these people come in to terms with heir situation. This way, they understand each other, and the conflicts will cease. Developing dialogue will be a major step towards reconciling the members once again. The parents need to be there for Sally, and this will ensure a productive relationship among all family members.
References
Folberg, J., Milne, A., & Salem, P. (2004). Divorce and Family Mediation: Models, Techniques, and Applications. New York: Guilford Press.
Regina, W. (2011). Applying Family Systems Theory to Mediation: A Practitioner’s Guide. New York: University Press of America.
Taylor, A. (2002). The Handbook of Family Dispute Resolution: Mediation Theory and Practice. San Francisco: Josse-Bass.
When entering into marriages, men and women have similar expectations: the prospect of establishing and bringing up a cohesive family. Marriage partners look forward to spending most of their time together and sharing domestic responsibilities.
Nevertheless, as time goes on and domestic expenditures intensify, both parties look for ways to meet these costs, thus pushing one of the partners or both to spend more time at work than with the family. This paper will compare and contrast Terry Martin and Edelman’s opinions on satisfactions of being a housewife.
Terry Martin expresses mixed attitudes about housework; at one point, she views housework as an obsolete and anachronous task (Behrens and Rosen 412). Terry goes to the extent of claiming that most of the housewives live under the provisions of their husbands until they die for ignoring the importance of getting a job and providing for themselves. In a way, she portrays such wives as failures.
Terry laments that, housewives are seen as outcasts in the presence of career women. On the other hand, Terry expresses an optimistic attitude towards housework. She views it as one of the jobs that are gradually facing extinction. Hence, she believes that with time, she will be one of the most sought women, due to her experience in housework. This aspect makes her feel that, housework will be one of the most sought jobs in the world, in the future.
According to Edelman, housework is as vital as other professional works and thus professional works should not eclipse it. She views housework as one of the pillars that strengthen marriage or family ties. Edelman goes to the extent of cutting down the number of hours she spends at the workplace to cater for domestic chores.
Edelman feels that, housework ought to be split between the wife and the husband. Consequently, she feels angry when she finds her husband overcommitted to his company and thus leaving all the domestic chores to her.
According to Terry, serving one’s children is not acknowledged as serving another person’s children. When she tells Ms. Putdown that she is Hekker’s wife, Ms. Putdown is not satisfied and wonders what else she is apart from being someone’s wife (Hekker 414).
Terry does not want to talk about the children that she usually takes care of, since she feels that the society considers looking after one’s children as a task that does not amount to a job. Nevertheless, when she lies that she takes care of her dead sister’s children, Ms. Putdown warmly approves that.
According to Terry, serving her children is one of the best tasks she can ever engage in. However, this task is not recognized by the society as a job, and many people keep on asking her when she would start working.
On the other hand, Edelman feels that, it is her responsibility to look after her child. In spite of her tight schedule at workplace, she is against hiring a nanny or babysitter to look after her child. Edelman is always angry with her husband since she feels that he is not concerned about their child. According to her, the child deserves parental care and attention more than anything else does.
On the other hand, Terry sees her husband as caring and understanding. She acknowledges that she entirely depends on her husband for financial upkeep, and the husband has never complained about it. According to Terry, her husband views her in a different perspective relative to the society.
The society perceives her as a parasite that lives off her husband. However, the husband acknowledges the role she plays in bring up the children and is comfortable with her. At the beginning, Edelman feels that her husband has abdicated his responsibilities as a parent.
She views him as an irresponsible husband who is after making money at the expense of his family (Edelman 430). In spite of John providing for the family, Edelman feels that he needs to be present for their daughter. Edelman feels that, her husband believes that she should assume domestic responsibilities as her income level is too low compared to her husband’s income. Nevertheless, she later realizes that her husband is committed to the family after the company stabilizes and he starts having more time with his family.
Terry Martin acknowledges that, just like men, women would wish to accumulate wealth for themselves. She knows that, by depending on her husband, she stands out as a failure. However, according to her, she does not view herself as a failure. Despite working as a housewife who caters for her children, she seeks to confirm a certain theory.
She lived in an era where career wives patronized housewives. Housewives were considered failures and ignorant. Terry wishes to reveal the level of ignorance in the society that only perceives anything as acceptable only if done for the sake of a third party. Her desire is to see that she treats her family with devotion.
On the other hand, Edelman desires to see that she has a united family. In all she does, she strives to see her husband create time for their daughter. Moreover, she yearns to strike a balance between working and spending time with her family. The anger she has towards her husband is because she feels that the husband does not work towards getting time to spend with the family.
She is eager to see her husband fulfill the promise he made during their wedding day that he would be her companion, in life and at home. She desires to reenergize the fellowship they enjoyed during the early days of their marriage.
The main reason why Terry and Edelman have differing views towards their children, husbands, desire for self-fulfillment, and housework is the hunger to ensure that their families are happy. While Terry feels that, her husband is particularly supportive in ensuring that they have a stable family, Edelman feels that her husband does remarkably little to nurture their family.
Works Cited
Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 11th ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
Edelman, Hope. “The myth of co-parenting: how it was supposed to be. How it was.” Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. 11th ed. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. Boston: Longman, 2011. 429-435. Print.
Hekker, T. Martin. “The satisfactions of housewifery and motherhood/paradise lost (domestic division).” Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. 11th ed. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen. Boston: Longman, 2011. 412-414. Print.
Addiction is a chronic disease affecting the brain. The patient experiences urges to use drugs regardless of the apparent negative consequences of this practice. The condition is considered as an ailment because the substances abused alter the normal functioning of the brain. Addicts are members of families and other social institutions. Consequently, social workers intervene to help these families and the patient.
In this paper, the author will cover three primary topics related to addiction and patient assistance. They include the stages of change model, solution focused therapy, and treatment of minority substance abusers.
Stages of Change Model in Substance Abuse Treatment
When working with addicts, therapists employ different approaches to help their clients. One such strategy includes the support stages of change model developed by Prochaska (Palmer, 2011). The approach is popular because of its reported success in treating addicts. The model comprises of six stages. They include pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and relapse.
Pre-Contemplation
At this stage, patients do not consider their state to be a problem (Fisher, 2009). The main reason is that they have not started experiencing negative consequences in terms of changes in behavior.
Contemplation
During this stage, an addict tries to change, cut down, or quit substance abuse. In spite of the felt need to conform to societal norms, the individual is still hesitant (Montvilo, 2013). As a result, the patient continues abusing drugs.
Preparation
The preparation stage is the most active phase of the cycle. The patient begins to make minimal changes and gathering information about recovery (Palmer, 2011). In addition, clients may start formulating goals and developing plans of action.
Action
At this phase, addicts focus more on overcoming addiction. Changes in behavior are noted (Fisher, 2009). Due to the transformation, this phase may be stressful. However, with proper preparation, the stage can be exciting.
Maintenance
According to Montvilo (2013), patients at this juncture focus on continuous progress towards change. Individuals strive to maintain the new behavior patterns. They also try to avoid triggers. Therapists and clients consider this stage to be the most difficult. The reason behind this is because if not well managed, the client may go back to drugs.
Relapse
According to therapists, this stage provides an opportunity for patients to learn more about addiction and themselves. Clients are helped to avoid going back to their previous behaviors (Fisher, 2009).
Solution Focused Therapy
Solution focused therapy is a goal oriented collaborative approach that focuses more on solutions than on patient’s problems. It was developed by social workers Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. The treatment concentrates on the client’s needs, a move that helps them to change. According to Palmer (2011), the approach focuses on both present and future goals.
Solution focused therapy has various strengths. The approach motivates clients to make behavioral changes through questions (Fisher, 2009). The questions are categorized into five groups. They include miracle, scaling, exception-seeking, coping, and problem-free talk queries.
Treatment of Minority Substance Abusers
Racial and ethnic minority groups have different perceptions towards substance abuse and treatment. Among natives and African Americans, spirituality and religion are central determinants of culture. People define addicts according to their understanding and interpretation of sacred doctrines (Palmer, 2011). Some individuals of African American origin consider addiction to be a sin or violation of spiritual codes of conduct. Among the Hispanics, machismo takes center stage. Motivational interviewing is viewed as the most effective approach to dealing with substance abuse. In addition, women are prohibited from consuming alcohol. Within the Asian American community, family is considered to be the key to treating substance abusers. Members are required to work together to help the patient overcome the problem (Fisher, 2009).
Conclusion
Substance abuse and addiction is a major problem in the world. The issue affects people from all races and backgrounds. However, through proper therapeutic measures and intervention techniques, patients can be helped to overcome the habit. Families with substance abusers should seek the services of social workers services to help their relatives.
References
Fisher, G. (2009). Encyclopedia of substance abuse, prevention, treatment, and recovery. Los Angeles: SAGE. Web.
Montvilo, R. (2013). Addictions and substance abuse. Ipswich, Mass.: Salem Press. Web.
Palmer, S. (2011). Social work in mental health and substance abuse. Oakville, ON.: Apple Academic Press. Web.
I am interested in family violence because I want to be a police officer. Daily through the media, we are bombarded with information in relation to family violence in its different forms. I am interested in learning more about family violence due to the desire to understand the factors that contribute to high cases of domestic violence. I think the information in this course will be important in helping me to understand the various issues with regard to domestic violence. Examples of family violence are sexual harassment and rape, psychological assault perpetrated by both men and women. It has been shown that cultures of different communities support many types of violent acts (Majau, 2014).
How history has contributed to violence in the family today
The patriarchal power system is not embodied in the biological males, but it is a social construction (Gosselin, 2014).Therefore, the long history of male domination is insightful in determining whether this cultural subordination of women to men provides the reason for the existence of the inequalities that exist between the sexes and also establishes the effect of globalization of this topic.
The information is necessitated by the fact that this family violence is usually not reported, or even when reported, the perpetrators go scot-free (Majau, 2014). There are fewer legislation and policies to curb family violent acts (Gosselin, 2014). The other inherent aspect of this topic is how this culture has been interred in the women that they are not only the perennial victims, but they are also perpetrators of this vice by silently hiding their sufferings or by psychologically taunting other women.
Thus, family violence can largely be attributed to the underrepresentation of women at home and other major decision-making institutions such as religious institutions and learning institutions (Majau, 2014). This becomes a barrier for women to attain power and change the oppressive traditions. In fact, efforts have to be focused on empowering women in different communities.
References
Gosselin, D. K. (2014). Heavy hands: An introduction to the crimes of family violence, (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Majau, U. (2014). Perspectives to sex discrimination: male and female chauvinism. Web.
The United States of America is a country that is faced by several social issues that are both positive and negative. The family institution is an example of an institution faced with many issues such as divorce.
According to court records, divorce is an act that has been practiced widely in the United States of America since the 1600s and by early 1880, one marriage ended up in divorce out of fourteen to sixteen married couples. According to Kreider and Fields (2001), out of 2.4 million marriages that are celebrated annually, 1.2 million divorces occur yearly in the United States of America. This has left sociologists asking themselves the reason behind the increasing rate of divorce in the American society.
Divorce
Divorce is defined as dissolution of marriage by the parties involved through a judgment by court of law or accepted customs. Divorce has been identified as a major problem in the United States based on the data obtained by research personnel, organizations, media centre’s and the cases filed and decided by the courts of law.
According to Jennifer Baker, 50% of first marriages, 67 % of second marriages and 74% of third marriages end up in divorce in America. This shows how difficult it is to maintain one’s marriage in the United States due to the significance of marriage held by the Americans (Kreider & Fields, 2001). According to Riley and Glenda (1991), divorce is most common in couples with three or more children, young married couples and couples with low economic status.
Factors Influencing Divorce
There are several factors that influence divorce among couples in the United States of America. Some of the factors include culture, age, and socioeconomic issues among others. Divorce has both its merits and demerits to the couples, the children and the society. Divorce affects children as they may end up losing their communication ability with their opposite sex and it may affect their perception towards marriage (Kelly & Emery, 2003).
The problem of unrealistic expectations is one of the factors influencing divorce in the American society as many spouses do not rely on each other financially. They only rely on each other for sexual gratification, nurturance, affection and understanding for their happiness. In absence of these comforts, one or both of the couples will begin outsourcing the absent ingredients in the marriage thereby leading to divorce.
Socioeconomic status of the spouses is another influencing factor in that marital success is facilitated by education and the income levels of the spouses. Education promotes the effectiveness of communication between couples with easy resolution of their differences. On the other hand, economic hardships generate stress and with increased hardships and disagreements over finances, emotional support between the spouses decreases thereby leading to divorce.
Life course variables are another factors influencing divorce. In a marriage, presence of children and the duration of marriage are incorporated by timing and duration of events. With respect to marriage age, young married couples tend to experience more problems than the couples who married at older ages and for this reason, they have higher chances of divorcing.
Conclusion
Many factors have been cited as the cause of divorce and they include culture, age, and socioeconomic issues among other factors. However, divorce as observed in the United States of America is promoted by the society as a whole and is highly welcomed and appreciated by the society despite the negative effects it has on the family both the couples and the children. Divorce has granted several couples their freedom and burdened others with added responsibilities of raising children on their own.
References
Kelly, J. B. & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children’s adjustment following divorce: risk and resilience perspective. Family Relations, 52, 352-362.
Kreider, R. M. & Fields, J. M. (2001). Number, timing, and duration of marriages and divorces: Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
Riley, Glenda. (1991). Divorce: an American tradition. New York, NY: Oxford UP.
The Ukita family has a medium degree of well-being because it owns all necessary household appliances, including the washing machine, two TV sets, the microwave oven, and the kitchen machine. The children and parents are well dressed and they have enough clothing in their wardrobe.
They also have a family car, which is another necessary attribute of wealth. As per the Skeen family, it has relatively similar level of well-being because they have enough household appliances, two cars, and good furniture. They also garage for their automobile.
Both the Japanese family and the American family seem to be happy and well off, but in a difference sense. The Ukita family is more concerned with material well-being, which can be judged from the things that are placed in front of the house. Besides, the family itself is sitting around the table and watching TV. Therefore, it can be concluded that the parents are more interested on earning more money and become richer.
Despite their focus on household values, the Ukita family still adheres to the Japanese traditions by eating traditional dishes and sitting at the table without shoes on. The family leaves the shoes outside the kitchen before entering the room. In contrast, the Skeen family attaches much more importance to spiritual and cultural values rather than to the material ones. Mrs. Skeen holding the Bible is another evidence of the family’s adherence to religion and traditions.
The wall with family photos handing on it is another thing that supports the family’s adherence to family values. Therefore, the members of the Skeen family are less concerned with material well-being because all household appliances are placed in the background of the photo.
Aside from economic well-being, the photos depict the differences in social well-being and its influence on the families. In particular, the Ukita family is depicted as sitting in front of the TV and watching news. So, it is possible to suggest that they are interested in what is going on in the world, but are less concerned with what is going on in the neighboring house. In contrast, the Skeen family rely less on mass media because they are more focused on face-to-face communication.
They are more open-minded and less prejudiced. Environmental issues are also brightly illustrated in the photo. Hence, the Skeen family considers environmental problems a priority because all of the furniture items seem to be made up from the ecologically pure materials. Unlike the Skeens, the Ukita do not pay much attention to the environment because there is no sign of their interest in the surrounding world.
While comparing these two families, it should be stressed that the Japanese family is under greater influence of popular culture and consumerism trends because all of the items presented are traditional objects that an average family should have, including clothing, appliances, and car.
Unlike the Japanese interior, the American family is more likely to stay beyond the media culture expansion because they are less attracted with the material values. The poses of the Skeen member are also more open and they look happier than Japanese family members. Allocation of objects, including car and furniture in the foreground serve as a sound argument for the adherence to consumerism. The Skeen family stands separately from the interior, which indicates their indifference to material objects.
Works Cited
“MW-Japan”. n. d. JPEG File. 20. Nov. 2012. Print.
While researchers consider poverty to be a primary reason for isolation, all individuals who are unable to participate socially or integrate themselves into the social realm, or without the necessary tools of power could be at a risk for isolation (Hayes, Gray& Edwards, 2008).
Members of some community could face isolation as a result of living in remote neighborhoods which enjoy fewer benefits as compared to those with sufficient resources for education and employment (Hayes et al., 2008). Vinson (2007) explicates that community members belonging to low income groups and living in localities with limited resources such as education, health and labor are at a higher risk for isolation.
Novello et al. (2011) note the impact of families and couples living with a partner suffering from a mental health problems or distress. Hayes (2007) found that low levels of parental education, family problems, child abuse in families, failure of children in schools are important aspects which lead to social isolation in children.
In his report, Vinson (2007) proposes government sponsored community projects and intervention plans to reduce social exclusion. He recommends implementation of these projects over longer periods of time rather than short doses.
He asserts that there should be a greater focus on education, better job opportunities, job placements, enhanced resources for health and treatment, development and training of parenting skills and the development of local leadership.
Social capital has been defined as the availability of networks and access to social connectedness within a community (Stone, 2001). Since my community has a good transportation system, communication system including telephone exchanges, mobile phone companies, schools, churches, recreational activity centers such as sports clubs, Disney parks etc., I would rate it high on the social capital scale.
The Internet provides new opportunities for social connection for people who are isolated. Access to the internet has been identified as an important economic barrier to social inclusion (Vinson, 2007). Childhood services could serve as informational centers and communication networking centers for parents (Grace & Bowes, 2010).
Staff members of these centers could work towards the facilitation of communication between parents of children with special needs and professional child experts (Grace & Bowes, 2010). Staff members of child service teams could provide parents with knowledge and information for enhanced interaction and communication with children (Grace & Bowes, 2010).
References
Grace, R. & Bowes, J. (2010). Barriers to Participation: The Experience of Disadvantaged Young Children, their Families, and Professionals in Engaging with Early Childhood Services. Web.
Hayes, A., Gray, M., & Edwards, B. (2008). Social inclusion: Origins, concepts and key themes. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Novello, D. J., Stain, H. J., Lyle, D. & Kelly, B. J. (2011). Psychological distress of rural parents: Family influence and the role of isolation. Journal of Rural Health, 19 (1), 27-31.
Stone, W. (2001). Measuring social capital: Towards a theoretically informed measurement framework for researching social capital in family and community life (Research Paper No. 24). In Hayes, A., Gray, M., & Edwards, B. (2008). Social inclusion: Origins, concepts and key themes. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Vinson, T. (2007). Dropping Off the Edge: The Distribution of Disadvantage in Australia. Canberra: Catholic Social Services Australia.
Posting Response
We are indeed fortunate to be living in a good community setting which facilitates social inclusion. Since we rank high on the social capital scale, we have better opportunities to interact, socialize and gain education. All of these factors increase the potential for better jobs, social networking and an overall better life.
Since an advantageous neighborhood has been noted as an important factor in social capital (Vinson, 2007), we should focus on strategies which will help us improve neighborhoods of the less fortunate children. Childhood services could indeed play an important part in making neighborhoods more advantageous (Grace & Bowes, 2010).
The staff of these childhood services should be appropriately trained for educating parents about ways to communicate with children. Additionally, childhood services should serve as platforms for social interaction between parents, thereby reducing levels of social isolation between families. By holding meetings and events which involve parents and children, childhood services could achieve the goal of social inclusion.
In absolutely remote areas where parents and families have less access to transport and means of communication, childhood service centers could set up internet hubs to encourage social networking. Networking and communication will surely be easier with access to the internet.
However, parents should be educated about the importance of extra curricular activities for children in aiding their overall growth and development.
Since lack of community activities and hobbies have been noted as an important measure of social exclusion (Hayes, Gray & Edwards, 2008), child services should take the responsibility of setting up events and programs which promote and encourage children and parents to participate in social activities.
The article created by Damaske, Bratter, and French (2016) focuses on the households headed by single women, revealing their perspective on diversity. The authors conducted a longitude study to find out what tendencies in the framework of employment, race, and poverty among the representatives of the selected populations were observed during the decade 2000 – 2010. In general, the concept of diversity presupposes that all people are different and have various life experiences. However, professionals presuppose that particular trends can be observed in the way individuals with similar characteristics live. Thus, they manage to develop three hypotheses:
There is an association between race and poverty, regardless of employment status across time.
Black and Hispanic women who are not married and take care of their children themselves are more likely to experience economic issues than white single mothers.
Employed women in 2010 are less likely to suffer from poverty than in 2001.
Development of Perspective
Due to their research, the authors managed to reveal that the number of single mothers with economic issues increased with the course of time even though racial disparities reduced significantly and were not so critical in 2010 as they used to be in 2001. It happened because poverty among white mothers increased, but Black and Hispanic people remained more likely to face this issue because the gap between these populations was critical and did not reduce.
While the first two hypotheses were supported by research, the last one was refuted. Damaske et al. (2016) proved that even employed individuals are at risk of poverty in 2010 while they were expected to have better financial conditions in 2001. All in all, professionals revealed that racial diversity was associated with disparities even among a rather limited population of single mothers.
Their perspective on diversity, Damaske et al. (2016) managed to develop when checking their hypotheses and obtaining those results that were discussed in the previous paragraph. In order to reach this target, professionals analyzed and synthesized data obtained from American Community Survey. In particular, information from 2001, 2005, and 2010 was used. However, the article started with the introduction that revealed the findings of literature review based on more than 15 high-quality sources that discuss information appropriate for the research topic.
As a result, background information was obtained, and it was possible to identify research questions that were worth discussing. The most general information regarding race, poverty, and employment in the selected population was revealed further to obtain enough data for the development of hypotheses. The research sample included millions of single-mothers but was eventually limited to a little bit more than 200,000 families, as valid information on their employment status and child’s age was needed. In addition to three major variables, attention was paid to demographic characteristics, acculturation, family composition, mother’s education, and occupation.
Mainly, the multivariate analysis was based on the identification of the likelihood of the sample’s presence in poverty. Data obtained from the survey reports were put in a table so that they could be easily compared and discussed further in the article. The percentage of the sample with particular variables in 2001, 2005, and 2010 was revealed next to each table. Thus, the authors’ perspective on diversity was developed on the basis of information identified with the help of multivariate models.
Expansion of Personal Understanding
The article prepared by Damaske et al. (2016) improved my understanding of diversity because it provided me with an opportunity to focus on a particular sample with defined features. I have already realized that diversity mainly deals with the presence of individuals with various characteristics within one group of people before reading this paper. Nevertheless, I failed to pay enough attention to the fact that diversity can influence individuals’ living conditions.
Moreover, I was impressed by the fact that this impact can alter with the course of time because this feature was not discussed previously. Thus, it was interesting for me to get to know that the effects of diversity on one group of people can differ.
I cannot say that I did not expect poverty rates to change. The thing is that I did not understand the significance of this alteration. However, the article prepared by Damaske et al. (2016) made me wonder what caused changes in diversity. In particular, I would like to understand why the third hypothesis turned out to be wrong – what affected the connection between poverty and employment.
Applications of Perspective
The authors believe that their perspective on diversity can be used to continue discussing the notion of race and its influence on vulnerable populations, in addition to women who are not married but have children. Moreover, it is possible to think of the ways issues associated with racial diversity and employment can be overcome. The perspective developed by Damaske et al. (2016) may also be used to identify at-risk populations and develop strategies to benefit them, minimalizing inequalities.
This particular article can be beneficial for the discussion of child poverty as well. In particular, the authors’ perspective on diversity encourages professionals who deal with social work practice to focus on alterations observed over the course of time to identify possible future changes and prevent adverse outcomes.
Reference
Damaske, S., Bratter, J., & French, A. (2016). Single mother families and employment, race, and poverty in changing economic times. Social Science Research, 62, 120-133.
Traditionally, the American family used to be made up of two parents. They could fully support each other in terms of family needs. The traditional nuclear families were the major source of hope and inspiration for all the family members. However, the changing times have ushered in new types of families and their respective roles. It is highly likely that the socio-economic changes witnessed in the last five decades or so have significantly transformed the family structure.
To begin with, most of the modern American families are no longer nuclear-based. There are myriads of blended families that have cropped up with parents who remarry especially after separating or divorcing from their spouses. While cases of divorce and separation of parents was not a common occurrence in the past, the modern American families have rapidly assimilated these practices. It is very common for parents to part ways and secure custody of their children.
The changing family times has also witnessed the degrading family values especially due to the fact that children who are brought up by either single mothers or fathers do not receive the full parental support during their sensitive years of development. It is equally profound to note that conflicts within families have been on the rife.
Lack of cohesiveness and strong family ties have led into several cases of divorce and separation. In the event that a divorced parent remarries and opts to have children with the new spouse, a new family springs up. Consequently, new relations such as step brothers and step sisters have emerged. There are some blended families that relate well while others may not be in good terms at all.
Parents who are divorced may decide to either share custodies of their children or manage the family roles single-handedly. However, lack of a common custody has led to the overstraining of family resources owned by a single parent. In some instances, it has occasioned serous suffering of children who are under the care of a single divorced parent.
It is also vital to mention that not all cases of single parents emanate from divorce and separation. There are spouses who have decided to bear children without being in a legally recognized marriage.
Nonetheless, single parent families that have found it difficult to support themselves in terms of accessing healthcare, food, education and housing have been compelled to seek monetary support from close family members such as uncles, aunties and grandparents. It is not surprising that there are several instances where grandparents have assumed active roles of raising their grandchildren.
Perhaps, the employment and money issues have significantly affected the modern American family structure. Traditionally, one working parent used to provide for the entire family. However, it now requires concerted effort to do so due to the challenging economic times. It is not uncommon for parents to secure more than one job in order support the financial needs of their families.
The difficult economic times have also interfered with the traditionally acknowledged family roles. Although a standard family is supposed to perform certain social roles, the changing family structure can no longer allow the latter. Some of these roles include physical development, intellectual development, emotional development, social development, and moral development. In other words, the modern family cycle is similar to the changing seasons of the year.
Alcoholism is considered a diseased condition mainly because of excessive consumption of intoxicating beverages. Psychiatrists utilize at least three criteria in diagnosing alcoholism in individuals. American Psychological Association suggests that identification of physiological problems, including hand tremors and the experiencing of blackouts among individuals, is one of the ways of diagnosing alcoholism. Another way of establishing whether an individual is an alcoholic is to find out whether he or she has psychological problems, such as an obsession with intoxicating beverages. This is considered a serious condition, which proves that an individual is addicted to alcohol.
Finally, an alcoholic individual has some behavioral problems, which tend to interfere with his or her normal functioning in society. Such an individual would always have conflicts with other family members, as well as colleagues in the place of work. History shows that alcoholism is not associated with a specific age, but, instead, all ages are represented. This is a challenge to many families since some of them fail to control their members against acting in a manner that would be dangerous to others. In the United States, history shows that alcoholism is rampant in all ethnic groups (Richter & Richter, 2001). Additionally, it does not discriminate against people based on income, meaning that it is a problem for both the poor and the rich. In this case, poor and rich families indeed face this issue.
Recent studies suggest that extremely learned individuals are affected more by alcoholism as opposed to unskilled individuals. Individuals with no inspiration would not engage in alcoholism as compared to extremely encouraged persons. Some studies term alcoholism as a family disease. In this regard, alcoholics could be adults, teenagers, youth, husbands, or even wives. In extreme cases, an alcoholic member of the family may disrupt life and make it unbearable for other family members. Many problems facing individuals and their families are attributed to alcoholism since it affects members in different ways. For instance, the drinking behavior of the mother could harm even the unborn child since alcohol affects the fetus.
Studies show that the mother’s organs and tissues would contain alcoholic materials given the fact that they are transported through the blood. This implies that even the placenta would contain alcoholic materials (Rogers, McGee, Vann, Thompson, & Williams, 2003). The fetus obtains its food through the membrane that separates the maternal and fetal blood systems, which means that the child would be affected. A drinking mother may give birth to a child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which is one of the birth defects. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome affects the weight and height of the child. Moreover, children might be born with mental problems and other defects on various body parts, such as the face and the lips. These defects affect the reasoning of the child, the learning ability, problem-solving ability, judgment ability, and the ability to memorize.
Several children brought up in alcoholic families have poor problem-solving skills, and they tend to lack social skills that are critical as far as coping with new environments in society is concerned. A critical review of the literature shows that such as children would grow-up with frustrations meaning that they become angry easily. Alcoholism affects the normal growth of children since most of them grow up with hyperactive conditions meaning that they are unable to stand still for a long period. As children grow up in alcoholic families, they become impulsive, implying that they are unable to coordinate their activities. Some might even develop complications that impede their speech and the ability to hear clearly. Studies prove that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and other alcohol-related issues are often undeviating, which means that they cause enduring tribulations that tend to lead to psychosomatic retardation.
Current Trends
The national survey conducted in the United States to establish the drinking trend is astonishing since it shows that heavy drinking is reducing among individuals. Still, issues related to drinking are on the increase. This shows that dependence on alcohol is on the increase while heavy drinking is reducing. The governmental agency, referred to as Alcohol Research Group carries out studies every five years, and the trend is the same. The first study conducted between 1967 and 1984 revealed that heavy drinking had dropped significantly, but dependence had gone up. It was noted that people consumed less than five bottles of alcohol per week, but the rate at which alcohol was taken was in the increase. The scenario was the same in a study conducted between 1984 and 1990 since heavy drinking was on the decrease, but dependence on alcohol was on the increase. Between 1995 and 2000, the state agency found out that the effects of alcoholism on family units and the intake were almost the same. Subsequent studies confirm that drinking is the major issue, irrespective of the intake rate. This means that alcohol consumption results in serious problems in families, irrespective of addiction.
A study that has been conducted by Gallup for several years incurs with the findings of the governmental agency on alcohol research since heavy drinking is reducing, but dependence is on the increase. Due to this, individuals claim that drinking is an issue in their families since it affects tranquility and prosperity. Gallup suggested that the reduction in drinking habits could be a result of public awareness campaigns, which sensitize people on the dangers of alcohol on their health. Since individuals are concerned with their health, they simply reduce consumption to the levels that their bodies can handle, but they do not quit drinking. Culture plays a critical role in interpreting the effects of alcoholism on families since some cultures are affected more. People are often reluctant to quit drinking while preferring to reduce their drinking habits to manageable levels. Current campaigns on alcoholism are aimed at reducing intake rather than encouraging individuals to abstain. This reduces intake but increases dependence on alcoholism, which brings about several problems that have affected families in almost all cultures.
Societal Concerns
Societal members are often concerned with the issue of alcoholism since it affects the social institution of the family. In many societies within the United States, breakups and frequent disagreements are caused by alcohol intake. An individual under the influence of an illicit drug behaves unpleasantly, which would result in quarrels and even violence. Studies on the effects of alcoholism on families suggest that parental intake of alcoholic beverages tend to influence the lives of their children negatively. For instance, a child develops some symptoms that affect his or her socialization among peers, such as a low sense of worth, solitude, culpability, defenselessness, fear of rejection, chronic despair, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Such children tend to think that they are the causes of the problem, which would end up affecting them psychologically. In this regard, tension will always be high among these children, leading to stress. In some rare scenarios, children might end up experiencing nightmares, bed-wetting, and expressing grief throughout. Since their socialization is weak, they might not have enough friends owing to fear of retribution. Some children might fear to go to school since their peers may laugh at them. For mature members of the family, alcoholism may lead to obsessive perfectionism, hoarding, and excessive reservation (Velleman, & Templeton, 2003).
Apart from affecting children, alcoholism among family members destabilizes peace and normalcy since it breeds violence against women and minors. For instance, alcoholism is the main cause of incest and wife battering in many families. In one of the studies conducted by Testa (2004), it was established that over thirty percent of all father-daughter incest cases are attributed to alcoholism, while over seventy-five percent of all domestic violence cases witnessed in the United States are accredited to alcoholism. Victims of alcoholism are often traumatized and tend to blame themselves for what happened, yet they are always innocent. Since they might end up being hopeless, guilty band ashamed, they could easily start drinking to run away from the hurting incidents. Walsh, MacMillan, and Jamieson (2003) were of the view that children are individuals who are often robbed of their childhood through the brutal acts of alcoholic members of the family. Since children are not helped to get out of the horrifying scenarios, they end up having complications in life that might even affect them in the entire life. Individuals growing up in alcoholic families do not like relating their problems to their past, but they aspire to justify their actions. Due to this, they would easily turn out to be depressed, aggressive, and would develop impulsive behaviors that affect their normal decision-making processes.
A study conducted by Woodcock and Sheppard (2002) revealed that many children from alcoholic families abuse psychoactive drugs, and they would find it difficult to coexist with other societal members. This suggests that such individuals end up being failures in life, just as their parents. Regarding professional life, such children tend to make wrong choices as far as career selection is concerned. Some scholars, such as Loukas, Zucker, Fitzgerald, and Krull (2003), proved through research that such children have negative self-image meaning that they hate themselves to the extent of allowing other people to make decisions for them. They allow other people to make decisions for them since they have a feeling of irrelevance and disappointment.
Relevance or Significance of the Topic
Alcoholism is the major cause of marital problems and instabilities in families around the world. Through the study of the effects of alcoholism on family units, it is established that close friends and family members can change the behavior of a drinker. A study conducted by Thomas and Corcoran (2001) suggested that family members can either worsen the situation or help the drinker adjust his or her drinking habit. Some members of the family would rather allow an individual to continue drinking to maintain peace. Through the topic, psychologists learn that denial is the major problem when attempting to resolve alcoholism in families. Since each family is interested in protecting the member, denial would be employed as an effective tool to defend an individual, but it might end up affecting the family negatively. Denial might perhaps trigger emotional issues among family members, leading to serious marital problems. Divorce the major social issue that is threatening the existence of families in modern society. Alcoholism is one of the major causes of separation; hence appreciating its effects would help in extenuating the predicament. In counseling, many practitioners tend to neglect the role of family members diagnosing the problem, which leads to ineffectiveness in terms of offering professional help to addicts. The study of alcoholism reveals that family members must always be involved in treatment plans in case the issue is to be resolved effectively.
Implication
With the understanding of the effects of alcoholism on families, counselors would be in a position to resolve family problems easily. For instance, the topic helps psychologists in comprehending the idea of codependence. Codependence means that family members become addicted to the behavior of the alcoholic member, which is very dangerous to the survival of family members. This is a big challenge to psychologists specializing in offering help to the affected individuals since they would not extract enough information from family members.
In many cases, alcoholics would stop drinking for some time. When this happens, they will tend to take up their family roles and play them responsible. Family members would attempt to conceal the actions of the alcoholic member to safeguard the reputation of the seemingly faultless family. The whole family is affected since members would be reluctant to take their friends to where they live since the behavior of their alcoholic members would be noticed. For psychologists, this is a great challenge. Therefore, the understanding of the relationship between alcoholism and the family is critical.
References
Loukas, A., Zucker, R.A., Fitzgerald, H.E., & Krull, J.L. (2003). Developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems among sons of alcoholics: Effects of parent psychopathology, family conflict, and child under control. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 112(1), 119-131
Richter, L., & Richter, D.M. (2001). Exposure to parental tobacco and alcohol use: Effects on children’s health and development. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71(2), 182-203.
Rogers, B., McGee, G., Vann, A., Thompson, N., & Williams, O.J. (2003). Substance abuse and domestic violence: Stories of practitioners that address the co-occurrence among battered women. Violence against Women, 9(5), 590-598.
Testa, M. (2004). The role of substance use in male-to-female physical and sexual violence: a brief review and recommendations for future research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(12), 1494-1505.
Thomas, C., & Corcoran, J. (2001). Empirically based marital and family interventions for alcohol abuse: A review. Research on Social Work Practice, 11(5), 549-575.
Velleman, R. & Templeton, L. (2003). Alcohol, drugs and the family: Results from a long-running research program within the UK. European Addiction Research, 9(3), 103-112
Walsh, C., MacMillan, H.L. & Jamieson, E. (2003). The relationship between parental substance abuse and child maltreatment: Findings from the Ontario Health Supplement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(12), 1409-1425
Woodcock, J., & Sheppard, M. (2002). Double trouble: Maternal depression and alcohol dependence as combined factors in child and family social work. Children & Society, 16(4), 232-245.