SOCIAL STUDIES

• Nuclear family


  Married or unmarried couple who share a common residence with their children, who may be the couple's own or adopted
• Single parent family


  Family consisting of a mother or father with their children, formed due to divorce, separation, desertion, or death of a partner
• Extended family


  Family made up of members from more than two generations
• Reconstituted family


  Divorced spouses with their new partners and children from former marriages living together
• Types of marriage

  • Monogamy (one man to one woman)
  • Polygamy (a person can marry more than one spouse)
  • Polygyny (one man to three wives)
  • Polyandry (one woman to three husbands)
• Legal marriage


  Man and woman legally united, share common residence and socially approved sexual relationship
• Common law or consensual union

  Man and woman not legally married but share common residence and sexual relationship
• Visiting relationship


  Man and woman not married, do not share common residence but have sexual relationship. Disadvantages: loose relationship, woman may have children with multiple partners
• Homosexual/Same Sex unions


  Two males or two females living together with their child(ren), married where possible
• Sibling households


  Comprises of brothers and sisters or brothers only or sisters only, with older siblings legally responsible for younger
• Characteristics of a family

  • Couple must be adults of both sexes (heterosexual)
  • Couple must be engaged in socially approved sexual relationship (legal marriage)
  • Couple must be engaged in reproduction
  • Couple must share common residence with offspring
  • Couple must be engaged in economic cooperation
• Neolocal residence


  Couple moves away from respective families and live on their own
• Patrilocal residence


  Couple moves in with or lives near relatives of the groom
• Matrilocal residence


  Couple moves in with or lives near relatives of the bride
• Consanguine family


  Original family related by blood
• Conjugal family


  Family created by marriage
• Functions of the family

  • Procreation
  • Socialization (child rearing)
  • Provide economic maintenance
  • Provide emotional support
  • Regulate sexual behaviour
• How government complements the role of the family

  • Welfare payments and social security benefits
  • Day nurseries for children of working mothers
  • Schools for child socialization
  • Foster homes/care
  • Feeding programmes
  • Home help services
  • Counselling programmes
• The Caribbean is described as a multicultural society shaped by the influence of Amerindian, European, African and Asian groups
• Reasons ethnic groups retain cultural practices

  • Proud of cultural traditions and want to preserve them
  • Need to retain cultural identity in multicultural society
  • Pass on cultural practices during socialization
  • Taught by religious and educational institutions
• Cultural practices of ancestors

  • Birth: Christening the baby
  • Death: Holding of wakes, belief in spirits and ghosts
  • Marriage: Courtship, honeymoon
  • Religion: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Shango, Kumina
  • Festivals: Carnival, Crop over
  • Diet: Pepper pot, Roti, Ackee and Saltfish
  • Medicine: Herbal cures, remedies
  • Dance: Maypole, John Canoe, Kumina
  • Music: Folk songs, calypsos
  • Language: English, Dialect, French patois
  • Storytelling: Anancy stories
  • Dress: Saris, jacket and tie
  • Architecture: Amerindian, European, Asian styles
• Traditional roles of family members

  • Father: Earn income to satisfy economic needs
  • Mother: Discipline children, make important decisions, be homemaker, counselor
  • Wife: Love and cherish spouse
  • Husband: Love and cherish spouse, assist with chores
  • Child: Assist parents with chores, love and cherish parents
  • Grandparents: Assist with child rearing, settle disputes
• Factors contributing to changing family roles

  • Greater recognition of women's rights
  • Greater employment choice for women
  • Availability of technology
  • Economic factors
  • Increased educational opportunities for women
  • Expansion of family education programmes
  • Greater choice of leisure activities for women
• Identity crisis for males

  Sharing of traditional gender roles in the family, some male roles no longer seen as solely male
• Marginalization of males


  Recognition of gender equality leads to egalitarian relationships, men have to allow partners to share authority and decision making
• Effects of changing roles on women

  • Able to develop positive self-esteem and independence
  • Earning own income, less financially dependent on men
  • Contributing knowledge and skills to society
  • Escaping housework drudgery
  • Having smaller families
  • Enjoying equal pay for equal work
• Factors assisting preparation for parenthood

  • Family plan
  • Guidance on parenting
  • Adequate financial resources
  • Physical maturity
  • Emotional and psychological readiness
• Importance of Family Life Education

  • Provides health and body development information
  • Teaches socialization and healthy relationships
  • Develops respect for family life
  • Teaches parenting skills and responsibilities
  • Provides family planning information
  • Educates on spacing and reducing births
  • Teaches family planning techniques
  • Helps avoid high-risk pregnancies
• Characteristics of good parents

  • Problem solving skills
  • Ability to provide love and warmth
  • Money management skills
  • Knowledge of good nutrition
• Contemporary social issues influencing Caribbean family life

  • Drug abuse
  • Teenage pregnancy
  • Substance abuse
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • Promiscuity
  • Suicide
  • Poverty
• Reasons drug problem difficult to solve in Caribbean

  • Lack of adequate resources for authorities
  • Lure of pleasure from substance abuse too strong
  • Legislation not strong enough deterrent
• Impact of social issues on the family

  • Use of scarce resources for rehabilitation
  • Cause family conflict
  • Affect morale and self-esteem of members
  • Negative behaviours learned and cycle continues
  • Children deprived of parents
  • Health of family affected
• Strategies government uses to deal with social issues

  • Educating citizens on causes and effects
  • Enacting legislation with heavy penalties
  • Prosecuting offenders
  • Providing assistance to victims
  • Seeking international assistance
  • Creating more employment opportunities
• One of the greatest threats to the family is the family itself, through increasing family breakups and delinquent behaviours of parents
• Laws related to inheritance


  • Surviving partner in common-law union has right to share property
  • Child born out of wedlock has same inheritance rights as child of married parents
  • Spouse inherits 1/4 if deceased leaves minor/disabled child, 1/2 if no such child
  • If no spouse but next of kin, spouse inherits 2/3, remainder to next of kin
  • If one child, spouse inherits 2/3, child 1/3
  • If more than one child, spouse inherits 2/3, children 1/3
• Child out of wedlock

  Has the same rights to inheritance as a child born to married parents
• Conditions in Barbados where the deceased person leaves a will

  • If the deceased leaves a child who is a minor or a child who suffers from a mental or physical disability and cannot maintain himself or herself, the surviving spouse is entitled to one quarter of the property
  • If there is no such child as described above, the surviving spouse is entitled to half of the property
• Conditions in Barbados where the deceased person does not leave a spouse but no child or next of kin

  • If the deceased leaves a spouse but no child or next of kin, the spouse is entitled to the entire estate
  • If there is no child but there is next of kin, the spouse inherits two-third of the property and the remainder is distributed equally among the next of kin
  • If there is one child, the spouse inherits two-thirds of the property and the child inherits the remainder
  • If there is more than one child, the spouse inherits one-third of the property and the remainder is divided among the children
  • If there is neither spouse nor child, the next of kin inherits all the property
• Maintenance Act


  Designed to ensure that a single parent receives some financial support from the other parent to maintain their child or children
• In the event that a parent fails to provide support, the Family Court issues an order which if refused can lead to imprisonment