Family Structures and Legacies

What is family structure?

■ According to Merriam Webster Dictionary family is “a group of individuals living
under one roof and usually under one head”.
■ From a sociological point of view, Filipino sociologist Belen T. G. Medina, PhD
(Medina 2001), defined family as “two or more persons who share resources,
share responsibility for decisions, share values and goals, and have a
commitment to each other over time.”

Variations of Family Structures

1. Nuclear or Traditional Family

■ The nuclear or traditional family is comprised of a father, a mother, and their
child/children.
2. Single-Parent Family
■ The single parent family consists of one parent raising one or more children on
his own.
3. Extended family
■ The extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including
grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives, who all live nearby or in one
household.
4. Childless Family
■ The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten family”, consist of a husband and
wife who either cannot or choose not to have children.
6. Adoptive Family
■ An adoptive family is a family that contains at least one adopted child.
7. Same-sex Family
■ A Rainbow Family is a same-sex or LGBTIQ parented family. We define a
Rainbow Family as: any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex person
who has a child or children; or is planning on having a child or children by way of
donor insemination (known or unknown), surrogacy (altruistic or commercial),
foster care, foster to adoption, adoption (domestic or international), opposite sex
relationship, co-parenting or other means.
 Baumrind’s Parenting Style Model
Diana Blumberg Baumrind was a clinical and developmental psychologist known
for her research on parenting styles and for her critique of the use of deception in
psychological research. According to Diana Baumrind, there are four parenting styles
that influence children’s development based on two aspects of parenting behavior:
control and warmth. Parental Control refers to how parents manage their
children’s behavior which may range from overly-demanding to giving hardly any rules
or demands. Parental Warmth refers to whether parents are accepting and
responsive or rejecting and unresponsive to their children.
Authoritarian
■ Authoritarian parents express little affection and warmth to their children. They
are strict disciplinarians who are punitive and rigid with their rules. They believe
that children “should” follow these rules without questioning. They discourage
their children to express disagreements with these rules (Feldman, 2009).
According to research, children with authoritarian parents are more likely to
become rebellious or dependent. Adolescents with aggressive behavior tend to
become rebellious while the submissive ones become dependent (Kopko, 20017).
They also become unsociable, unfriendly, and in some cases withdrawn
(Feldman, 2009).
Permissive
■ Permissive parents are warm; however, they set no clear rules for their children.
Thus, when they reach adolescence, they realize that there are no clear
boundaries and there will be no consequences for their actions. As a result,
adolescents may have problems with their future relationships. Permissive
parents are also undemanding, passive, and they believe that love means giving
in to the whims of their children. They think that children can make decisions
without their guidance, thus they are not active participants in their children’s
development. Adolescents with permissive parents become moody, immature,
dependent and has low self-control (kopko, 2007).
Authoritative
■ Authoritative parents are firm and warm and set limits with their children. They
explain and reason to their children which help clarify the rules with them. They
actively listen to their children, allow questions from them and entertain ideas
from them. Healthy discussions between them and the children are important
but they still take responsibility (Kopko, 2007). They also set clear goals and
encourage their children to be independent and to learn to engage in discussions
 and negotiations (Feldman, 2009). Research shows that children with
authoritative parents become competent, cooperative, likeable, and autonomous.
Uninvolved/Neglectful
■ Uninvolved parents express little interest in their children. They do not put
demands on their children and they only see themselves as providers of clothing,
food, and shelter. They are emotionally detached, minimizing their interaction
time and at some point, are guilty of neglect. They do not show concern with their
children’s needs and do not have knowledge about what is going on with them.
They are more concerned with their own needs than that of their children and
may be considered self-centered. Research shows that children of uninvolved
parents develop impulsive behaviors with self-regulation issues. They also
become detached, feel unloved, and their development can be hindered by lack of
care (Kopko, 2007).

What is genogram?
■ A genogram is a graphical map of a family's history that traces and illustrates
patterns in its structure and characteristics using special symbols to describe
relationships, major events, diseases, traditions, social and personal beliefs and
rituals, cultural heritage, religious beliefs, value systems, philosophies about life,
and the dynamics of a family over several generations.

Ways of Improving Family Relationships

1. Communicate
■ It is important component in any relationship. Talking with each other whether
about trivial things or serious decisions, can help improve relationships. Sharing
what happened during the day, what food they ate, what they learned at school,
etc. Adolescents can also become involved even in solving problems, so all
members will know that they are part of the family and their ideas are respected.
2. Learn to appreciate
■ It cannot be denied that the need to be appreciated is fundamental to all when
family members are appreciated, their self-esteem is enhanced. Appreciation also
promotes healthier relationship because it establish a more positive home
environment. Appreciation is enhanced by hugs, kisses and thoughtful actions
like simple "thank you" notes.
3. Share activities
■ No matter how busy family members are, it is important to schedule a shared
activity like watching movies, hiking, bowling, or even as simple as sharing a
meal together. These enhance cohesiveness in the family and fosters a sense of
belonging.
4. Be committed
■ The well-being of the family is considered to be the top priority. Members are
committed and loyal to the values and rules implicitly or explicitly set by them to
keep the family together.
5. Show support to each other
■ These will be times that families will experience difficulties, challenging the
cohesion of the group. However, if members are able to extend supportFamily
Constellation to each other, chances are that they will be able to overcome the
problems.6.
6. Accept each member as he/she is
■ Being part of a group and maintaining the relationship can be a difficult task but
learning and understanding the differences between each member can be foster a
healthy connection.
Family Constellation

■ Alfred Adler's theory is Family Constellation. We hear of the "middle-child

syndrome" of one child being "spoiled" and "lacking independence" because he or
she is the youngest; or of the eldest being "bossy" and "independent". This type of
thinking is attributed to Adler. He believed that birth order, the gender of
siblings, and the age span in between is partly responsible for the formation of a
person's personality traits.
■ Firstborn children usually have high feelings of power and superiority (which
is why they tend to be bossy), have high anxiety (to set the standards high or to
please parents), and have overprotective tendencies (being and ate or kuya). They
can become leaders and managers if they grow up with helpful social values, or
they could assume dominant styles that lead to social discomforts and or work-
related problems later.
■ Second-born children usually develop their personalities base on the older
child's attitude towards them. They are likely to have moderate competitiveness,
and have a healthy desire to overtake or be better than the older child. Middle
children can turn out to be more adaptable having to adjust to both the elder
 siblings and the younger ones; or turn out with strong needs to belong and
accepted from a past where one was neither part of the elderly grouo of siblings,
or the younger ones.
■ Young children are ofteb the most spoiled and pampered having been lavished
woth much attention in their growing uo years. While they can become more
confident in the process, it is also possible that having been long induldged and
overprotected, they may develop "strong feelings of inferiority" and may "lack a
sense of independence".
■ Only child lives in an adult world and competes against his/her mother or
father. He/she may think of him/herself in an inflated manner and develip an
exaggerated sense of superiority. He/she lacks cooperation, has a parasitic
attitude, and expects others to pamper him/her (Fiest et al., 2013).