Cultural Aspects While Assessing the Family

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Table of Contents

Cultural Background
Cultural and Religious Orientation and Extent of Acculturation
Reference List

Cultural Background

The family consists of four members: the father of the family is John Smith, the mother is Fang Smith; they have two children – Michelle aged eleven, and Paul aged eight. As you can see, Fang is Chinese by origin and her native culture is Chinese. She came to America to the University and met John here. They got married and now have two children that are full-fledged members of American society and genuine representatives of American culture. Now Fang is 34 years old. She can be considered Chinese American except for her environment which is full of Chinese national cultural ornaments and figures, according to the Friedman Family Assessment Model (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2006, p. 335).

Cultural and Religious Orientation and Extent of Acculturation

Language and Cultural Identity

The self-identified ethnic background by Fang is Chinese American as she thinks that the level of acculturation is comparably high, while other family members identify themselves as Americans including children. The language spoken in the family is English; Fang does not use her mother tongue while communicating with her children; so, they do not know Chinese. However, sometimes, she can sing in Chinese when she is sad or happy but mostly when she is alone. Other family members speak the English language only. The country of origin of the interviewed member of this family is in china, though she has lived in the United States for 16 years. The children of the interviewed member are Chinese Americans of the second generation. However, they identify themselves as Americans as they were born in the USA. The family’s social network includes two different ethnic groups with diverse cultural roots. “Chinese American individual may nod head to indicate yes or shake head to indicate no. Excessive eye contact indicates rudeness” (Giger & Davidhizar, 2004, p. 15).

Residence and Activities

The family of the interviewed member lives in the residence which is not a part of a homogenous neighborhood. They live in a calm suburban area that cannot be considered the one enriching cultural diversity of its inhabitants. Religious aspects, as well as cultural ones, vary within the family under consideration. Fang does is not demand her children to be adherent to the religious aspects of Chinese traditions, though family traditional values are highly appreciated in this family. All rules established by parents are family-oriented. In this respect, children are not required to believe in something except their family and respect their forefathers’ traditions and moral values. Recreational and educational activities are pure/America and need no thorough explanation because Fang had come to the USA to study in college as well.

Dietary Habits, Furnishings, and Family Roles

The dietary habits include a mixture of common American dishes successfully combined with traditional Chinese foods that are served mainly on family holidays when all family members come together and recollect their forefathers. Besides, eating together is one of the family traditions taken from Fang’s original culture. Groceries are frequently bought in supermarkets, except for those occasions when Fang cooks traditional Chinese food (she buys fresh vegetables and fruit in ethnically-themed markets). The family members wear ordinary clothes that can be bought in any store at average prices. The home is designed using an international architectural style. However, certain elements such as kitchen units and some rags have national Chinese ornaments. John is the head of the family and Fang was taught to obey her husband.

Ethnic Community, Western Health Care, and Folk Practitioners

According to the Smith family ecomap (cited in Bomar, 2004, p. 287), the family members experience certain influences from other people and organizations. The family under consideration is not influenced by the ethnic community of Fang who represents another culture. The family uses western health care services and only Fang tends to use some herbs as a way to strengthen the health of her children and husband. This is the only way of using ethnic health care practices. According to Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Model of Six Cultural (Giger & Davidhizar, 2004, pp. 7-8), the culturally unique individual expressed communication difference when avoiding excessive eye contact which is considered rude in China, tried to save distance when speaking which refers to the cultural phenomenon of space, and told about adherence to traditions and respect to forefathers as a cultural phenomenon of time orientation.

As claimed in the study by Bomar (2004), it is necessary to learn the family cultural aspects before suggesting certain nursing interventions for representatives of different cultures who perceive the same treatment measures in different ways. I believe that my observations and the interview with Fang Smith have confirmed the information acquired before on this topic. Moreover, Fang turned out to be acculturated enough to provide clear evidence of her attitude toward specific cultural phenomena under Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Model of Six Cultural. The difference included the absence of religious aspects in the life of the family, unlike the typical Chinese family which also evidences in favor of the acculturation level.

Reference List

Bomar, P. J. (2004). Promoting health in families: Applying family research and theory to nursing practice. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Health Sciences.

Giger, J. N., and Davidhizar, R. E. (2004). Transcultural nursing: Assessment & intervention. (4^th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby.

Stanhope, M., and Lancaster, J. (2006). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community-oriented practice. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Health Sciences.

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