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.

1. The Family in the Caribbean

2. The Family
A relatively permanent group
 Who
are related by ancestry,
marriage or adoption
 Who
live together

3.  Form
an economic unit
 Take
care of their young.
Robertson, p. 49

4. Other Aspects of the Family

Geography - Location (urban,
rural), migration

5. Culture
or Rhythm of Life
Identity
- Name, Social Class,
etc.

6. Marriage
•
A relationship, “usually”
between a male and female
involving

7. Marriage (cont.)
•
Economic considerations
•
Normative sexual activity that
people expect to be enduring

8. Mating
Forming a sexual bond with
another individual (usually of
the opposite sex)

9. Seven Types of Family
Structures in the Caribbean
1.
Extended
2.
Nuclear

10. Seven Types of Family
Structures in the Caribbean
(cont.)
3.Compassionate
4.Visiting
5.Single
Parent

11. Seven Types of Family
Structures in the Caribbean
(cont.)
6.Blended
7.Same-Sex
Parents

12. The Extended Family

13. Extended Family –
Many families living under one roof

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

17. The Nuclear Family

18. Nuclear - Parents and
Immediate Offspring

Formal marriage
•
Man and woman are legally
united
•
Share the same residence
•
Share a sexual union (mating)

19. Nuclear (cont)

Faithful, Long-term
•
Often well established and enduring
•
No formal marriage or legal contract

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

21. The Compassionate Family

22. Compassionate Family

Man and woman are not legally united

Share the same residence (usually for
three years or less)

Share a sexual union

23. Visiting or "Friending" Relationship

24. Visiting or Friendly Relationship

Man and woman are not legally
married

Do not share the same residence

25. Visiting or Friendly Relationship
(cont.)

Man visits the woman at intervals,
couple often has a child(ren)

Share a sexual union

26. Single-parent family

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)

32. Blended family

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

34. Same-Sex Parents

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

39. Mate Selection (cont.)

Arranged Marriage ≡ Arranged by
parents for the social economic and
political advantage of the family unit

40. Love & Male-Female Relationships

Stages of Love
•
Rapport
•
Self-revelation
•
Mutual dependency
•
Personalityneed fulfillment

41.  Components
of Love
•
Intimacyfeelings of closeness
•
Passionromance and sexual pleasure
•
Commitment

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

47. Descent Systems

Patrilineal system ≡ Lineage traced
through male line

Matrilineal system ≡ Lineage traced
through female line

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.