FAMILY – a small social system and primary reference group made up of two or more persons living together who

are related
by blood, marriage or adoption or who are living together by arrangement over a period of time.
Characteristics:
 Face to face contact
 Bonds of affection, love, loyalty
 Emotional and financial commitment
 Harmony
 Simultaneous competition and mutual concern,
 A continuity of past, present and future
 Shared goals and identity
 Behaviors and rituals common only to the specific unit.

Types of family:
1. Traditional form – an autonomous unit in which the father, mother, and child live together under one roof.
2. Non-traditional form – the father may be involved in the household chores, bringing up the children and family life in
general.
3. Other forms of families:
 Based on composition:
 Nuclear family – composed of a father, a mother, and a child or children
 Extended family – composed of the nuclear family, plus the relatives of one or both spouses, who
usually live with the nuclear family. The span of three generations at the least.
 Beanpole family – a family with 4 or more generations, each of them small; as each generation lives
longer, parent-child relationships last longer.
 Single-parent family – composed of either mother or father with his/her biological or adopted
children.
 Stepfamily/Blended family/Reconstituted family – composed of one separated/divorced or widowed
adult with his/her children and a new spouse with all or some of his/her children.
 Single state – the never-married, separated, divorced, or widowed individual, often characterized by
privacy, independence, job mobility, opportunity to develop skills and knowledge and geographic
mobility.
 Same-sex or Homosexual family – composed of gay and lesbian partners living together with or
without an adopted child or a child form a previous relationship.
 Cohabiting or communal family – consist of unrelated individuals of families who live together under
one roof for purpose of companionship, desiring to achieve a sense of family, test commitment, and
share resources and household management.
 Based on locus of power:
 Patrifocal or Patriarchal family – a union in which the man has the main authority and decision making
power.
 Matrifocal or Matriarchal family - a union in which the woman has the main authority and decision
making power.
 Egalitarian – a union in which the husband and wife exercise more or less an equal amount of
authority.
 Matricentric – the prolonged absence of the father gives the mother a dominant position in the family,
although the father may in a way also share the decision making power with the mother.
 Based on place of residence:
 Patrilocal – requires the newlywed couple to live with or near the residence of the parents/family of
the bridegroom.
 Matrilocal - requires the newlywed couple to live with or near the residence of the bride’s
parents/family.
  Bilocal – provides the newlywed couple the choice of staying either the groom’s or the bride’s parents,
depending on factors like the relative wealth or status of the families, the wishes of the parents, or
certain personal preferences of the bride and the groom.
 Neolocal – permits the couple to reside independently from their parents.
 Avunculocal – prescribed the newlywed couple to reside with or near the maternal uncle of the groom.
 Based on descent:
 Patrilineal – affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or her father
 Matrilineal – affiliates a person with a group of relatives his or her mother.
 Bilateral – affiliates a person with a group of relatives related through both his or her parents.

Theoretical frameworks applicable to families

KALISH HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

 Richard Kalish (1983) – adapted Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in order to come up with a needs theory for the family.
- He suggested the stimulation needs as an additional category between the physiologic needs
and safety and security needs.
- This additional category includes sex, activity, exploration, manipulation, and novelty.
- He also emphasized the importance of exploring and manipulating the environment.

Family theories and models

Family theory Description
Family Systems Theory A system in which the family members are interdependent
and are working towards specific purpose and goals.
Developmental Stage Theory Ever-changing and growing; each family member is expected
to accomplish tasks at every stage of development.
Structural-Functional Theory A social system passively adapting to external influences,
instead of acting as a change agent in itself.
Interactional Theory A unity of interacting personalities with assigned positions and
roles, expectations and norms of behavior.
Role Theory Family life is structured according to the roles that are
assumed by the person in interaction with others.
Crisis Theory The family is made up of members who individually
experience a state of disequilibrium resulting from situational,
developmental, or societal sources of stress called CRISIS.
Two forms of CRISES:
 Developmental crisis – transitional periods in
personality development characterized by
disturbances in cognitive and affective functioning.
 Situational crisis – sudden, unexpected threats to, or
loss of basic resources or life goals.

Stages of the Family Life Cycle according to EVELYN DUVALL:

Stage Available Roles
1. Married Couple (without children)  Wife
 Husband
2. Childbearing family (oldest child at birth up to 30  Wife/mother
months)  Husband/father
 Infant daughter or son
3. Family with Preschool children (oldest child at over 30  Wife/mother
months up to 6 years)  Husband/father
 Daughter/sister
 Son/brother
4. Family with school-age children ( oldest child up to 12  Wife/mother
years)  Husband/father
  Daughter/sister
 Son/brother
5. Family with Teenager (oldest child at 13 up to 20 years)  Wife/mother
 Husband/father
 Daughter/sister
 Son/brother
6. Family Launching Young Adults (first child to last child  Wife/mother/grandmother
gone)  Husband/father/grandfather
 Daughter/sister/aunt
 Son/brother/uncle
7. Family Without children (empty nest to retirement)  Wife/mother/grandmother
 Husband/father/grandfather
8. Aging family (retirement to death)  Wife/mother/grandmother
 Husband/father/grandfather
 Widow or widower

Functions of the family as a social system

Function – comes from Latin word “functio”, which means “to perform” or “to execute”.
- Specific action/s, duty, or business belonging to a person/group by virtue of his status or character.
Role – a pattern of behavior expected of a person who occupies a specific status in a society.

Types of Function:
1. Physical function – met by the parents as they provide food, clothing, and shelter; protection against danger;
reproduction; and provision for bodily repairs in cases of fatigue or illness.
2. Affectional functions – meeting emotional needs and promoting adaptation and adjustment.
3. Social functions – providing social togetherness; fostering self-esteem and a personal identity tied to a family identity.

Family health tasks:

1. Recognize the presence of a wellness state or health condition or problem.

2. Make decisions about taking an appropriate health action to maintain wellness or manage the health problem.
3. Provide nursing care to the sick, disabled, dependent, or at-risk member.
4. Maintain a home environment conducive to health maintenance and personal development.
5. Utilize community resources for health care.