The document discusses family structures in the Caribbean. It identifies seven main family types: extended, nuclear, compassionate, visiting, single-parent, blended, and same-sex parent families. It also outlines influences on Caribbean families from Europe, Africa, slavery, and India. These include practices like patriarchy, extended families, and sometimes arranged marriages. The roles and makeup of Caribbean families have also changed over time due to factors such as smaller family sizes, more working parents, and shifting gender roles.
14. Familism
– the notion that the
individual is always secondary to the
family’s welfare
15. Important Aspects of the
Caribbean Extended Family
The individual member is often
provided with a secure environment
Children are important economic
assets
16. Important Aspects of the Caribbean
Extended Family
The cultural traditions are handed
down more easily through direct
contact with older members of the
family
18. Nuclear - Parents and
Immediate Offspring
Formal marriage
•
Man and woman are legally
united
•
Share the same residence
•
Share a sexual union (mating)
20. Nuclear (cont)
•
Live together in a household in
mutual agreement based on love
and/or shared responsibility
•
Share a sexual union
•
Usually last for three years and more
27. Reasons for Single Parenthood
1.
Death of one of the parents
2.
Separation of one of the parents
through conflict, desertion, migration
or legal separation and divorce
28. Reasons for Single Parenthood (cont.)
3.
Deliberate choice to rear child in the
absence of the other parent
4.
Adoption (usually women and rarely
men)
29. Possible Effects of
Single Parenthood
Live on one income while being
mother and father to the children
Moonlighting
30. Possible Effects of Single Parenthood
(cont.)
Poverty (half of all children with no
father live in poverty); may result in
dependence on the state
Children may develop anxiety and
stress because of the financial and
emotional burdens on one parent
31. Possible Effects of Single Parenthood
(cont.)
Fewer resources for health, education and
recreation
Absence of love and affection of both
parents
Delinquency (double that of two-parent
families)
33. Characteristics of Blended Families
Remarried parents and their children
Usually mother marries a man who does
not have custody of his children by a
previous marriage
35. Characteristics of Families with
Same-Sex Parents
Several million American gay men and
lesbians are parents
Becoming more common
Children in homosexual families
Seem as well adjusted as other children
Large majority are heterosexual
36. Functions of the Family
1.
To produce children to replace
society's members
2.
To meet the essential needs of life
3.
To teach children their role in
society
37. Functions of the Family (cont.)
4.
To protect and provide security, including
from incest
5.
To provide all members, including
children, with affection and emotional
support
6.
To create social placement- identity
38. Mate Selection
Choice Mating ≡ The physical and
emotional attraction, as well as the
idealization, which generally sees the
person in an entirely positive light and
fails to recognize negative qualities or
traits
42. Factors which Influence Mate
Selection and Lifestyle
Endogamy ≡ Spouses must be
members of the same group (racial,
religious, ethnic etc.)
Exogamy ≡ Partner must be chosen
from outside one's own group
43. Types of Life Style
Monogamy ≡ Form of marriage
involving one man and one
woman
44. Types of Life Style (cont.)
Polygamy ≡ A marriage which involves
more than one spouse at a time
Serial Monogamy ≡ Having more than
one spouse in one's lifetime, although
only one at a time
45. Postmarital Residency Patterns
Patrilocality ≡ The newly married take up
residence with the husband's family
Matrilocality ≡ The newly married take up
residence with the wife's family
46. Postmarital Residency Patterns (cont)
Bilocality (Neolocality) ≡ A residency
pattern in which the married couple
form a separate household and live in
their own residence
48. Patterns of Authority/Dominance
Patriarchy ≡ Father's authority is
supreme
Matriarchy ≡ Mother's authority is
supreme
Egalitarian ≡ Mother and father share
equal authority
49. Influences from Europe
on Family Life and Marriage
in the Caribbean
1.
A marriage partner should be
chosen on the basis of romantic love
2.
Dating, courting and marriage
should precede the establishment of
a family
3.
Marriage is “for keeps”
50. European Influences (cont.)
4.
Marriage should be fruitful
5.
Sexual conduct is to be limited to the
marriage state
6.
Monolithic Code- marriage should be
monogamous
51. Influences from Africa & Slavery
on Family Life & Marriage
in the Caribbean
1.
An element of the West African
family that was transferred to the
Caribbean is patriarchy
2.
Extended family
3.
Polygamy
52. African and Slavery Influences (cont.)
4.
Marriage should be fruitful
5.
Romantic love
6.
Because children were the property
of their masters, there was no
obligation of support by fathers
53. Influences from India
on the Family Life and Marriage
in the Caribbean
1.
The joint family system (extended)
2.
Male domination of the family (father
and the eldest son)
3.
Marriages are often arranged
(romantic love occurs after
marriage)
54. Changes in the Caribbean Family
1.
Functions
The state assists in varying degrees
with meals, books and
transportation
People work in the factories and
offices rather than in the home or
the fields
55. Changes in the Caribbean Family
(cont.)
2.
Size
Greater tendency toward smaller
families, especially among middle
class
56. Changes in the Caribbean Family
2. Size (cont.)
Entertainment and leisure provided by
age and interests, resulting in families
not spending much leisure time together
This has given rise to child-caring
arrangements (nurseries, day care
centers and paid domestic help)
57. Changes in the Caribbean Family
3.
Family Relationships
Status of Women More women at
all levels of society are finding
employment in a variety of occupations
Shared Roles It is not unusual for
fathers to feed the baby, shop and
cook
58. Changes in the Caribbean Family
3.
Family Relationships (cont.)
Less Family Time Due to expanded
parental employment outside the home,
children spend less time under parental
influence and this has often led to
delinquency
Intergenerational Conflict Parents and
teenagers often have different
expectations, leading to the generation
gap and conflict in the family
59. Reading assignments for Families in the
Caribbean:
“Finding a Place for the Slave Family:
Historical Anthropological Perspective” by
Karen Fog Olwig in Reader I, pp 37-47.
Selections from Our Children Now! by the
Community Foundation of the Virgin
Islands in Reader II.