Social Studies

• Family

  A group or social arrangement in which individuals who are specifically related by blood, marriage, adoption or some other factor, grouped together and tend to share a domestic unit (house)
• Monogamy


  Marriage of one man to one woman
• Polygamy


  Marriage between more than one person
• Polygyny


  One man having two or more wives
• Polyandry


  One woman having two or more husbands
• Patrilocal


  The couple takes up residence with the husband's parents
• Matrilocal


  Couple takes up residence with the wife's parents
• Neolocal


  When a couple establishes their own residence
• Matrilineal


  The privileges and duties follows the female line
• Patrilineal


  The privileges and duties follow the male line
• Matriarchal


  Female has dominant authority, she is head of the household
• Patriarchal


  Male has dominant authority, he is head of the household
• Patrifocal


  Family patterns where the father has responsibility
• Matrifocal


  Family patterns where the mother has responsibility
• Marriage


  A legal union between two persons, a man and a woman
• Endogamy


  If a person chooses a partner from within their own ethnic group, tribe, religion or class
• Exogamy


  If the partner is chosen from outside these groups
• Divorce


  A legal end or dissolution of a legally contracted marriage
• Legal separation


  Husband and wife live apart for a specific period as ordered by a court of law
• Annulment


  A declaration by a religious leader or church that a marriage is invalid
• Alimony


  Maintenance or allowance due to a woman or man from the either partner after divorce or legal separation
• Kinship


  Family relationship
• Status


  A social position or rank
• Functions of the family in contemporary Caribbean society


  • As a unit of procreation
  • As a social unit for rearing children
  • As an economic/financial unit for satisfying basic needs
  • As a social unit for satisfying emotional and psychological needs
  • Cultural - passing on traditions
• Types of family


  • Nuclear - mother, father, children
  • Extended - grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, children, uncle, aunt, cousin
  • Sibling-household - brother/sister looking after younger brother/sister
  • Single parent - mother and children/child, father and children/child
  • Reconstituted family - formed from former families (step parents, step brothers/sisters)
• Types of unions

  • Marriage - a legal union between a man and a woman
  • Visiting relationship - the man and woman live in their own homes but are involved sexually and children may result
  • Common law (consensual) union - a man and a woman living together in mutual agreement based on love without entering into a legal or formal marriage
• Roles and responsibilities of members in the family

  • Grandparents - assist parents in the upbringing of the children, contribute to social emotional and economic development of the child, assist in solving marital problems, babysit in absence of parents and pass on traditions of the family
  • Parents - provide the basic economic needs of the children, socialize the children to conform to the values and attitudes of society, providing emotional security, communicate and share ideas with children, pass on tradition
  • Children - assist parents in the running of the home, respectful to themselves and others
• Factors which contribute to the changing roles of members of the Caribbean


  • Status of women in society
  • Choice of employment
  • Educational opportunity
  • Available technology
  • Leisure activities
• Results of the changing role of members in the family


  • Identity crisis
  • Role conflict
  • Independence
  • Development of self esteem and confidence of women
  • Marginalisation of males
• Preparation for parenthood


  • Physically prepared
  • Economically prepared
  • Emotionally prepared
  • Psychologically prepared
• Characteristics of a good parent


  • A good listener
  • A good role model
  • Make time for the family
  • Display unconditional love
• Contemporary social issues


  • Substance abuse
  • Teenage pregnancies
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
  • Poverty
  • Street children
  • Suicide
• Causes, Effects and Solutions for Social Issues


  • Teenage pregnancy - Causes: peer pressure, dysfunctional homes, abuse in home, poverty, low self esteem, curiosity or experiment; Effects: places stress on the county's financial resources, disruption in the education of the teenage mothers, higher rates of poverty, medical concerns; Solutions: involvement in extra-curricular activities, teaching sex education in schools, promotion of contraception and safe sex for teens, peer counselling
  • Child Abuse - Causes: substance abuse, parent or guardian was also abused, stress of parents, insolent children, financial or other problems experienced by parents; Effects: death, causes child to be violent or aggressive, physical or mental impairment, emotional and physical scars on children, resentment of parents; Solutions: counselling of parents and abused children, discouraging corporal punishment, providing affordable child care, using other methods of punishment than beating etc
  • Street Children - Causes: unemployment of parents, parental neglect, peer pressure, poverty, lack of parental control, death of parents; Effects: increase in crime and violence, place a pressure on the county's social infrastructure, reduce the productive members of the labour force; Solutions: placing children into homes for safety, providing skill training for these children so they can contribute to the society, provision of foster homes for these children, provision of welfare for poor families
  • Poverty - Causes: unemployment, lack of education and training, limited financial resources, economic hardship (recession); Effects: increase in criminal activities, strain on country's resources; Solutions: creating employment opportunity, welfare provision, non governmental agencies assisting these persons
  • Suicide - Causes: broken relationships, death or loss of love ones, substance abuse, depression, emotional and financial stress; Effects: disruption in family relationship, county robbed of human resources, depression on family; Solutions: counselling, provide encouragement for victim, having good and supportive friends, share problems openly with close friends and love ones
  • Sexual Transmitted Disease - Causes: multiple sex partners, unprotected sex, ignorance, promiscuity, prostitution; Effects: strain on financial resources of the country, deprivation of the country's labour force, increase in the dependency ratio, strain on health care; Solutions: get tested, teaching of sex education, use of condoms and the availability of these, having one sexual partner, informing the public about these diseases and their transmission
  • Juvenile Delinquency - Causes: lack of parental supervision, parents are working most of the time, neglection, break up in the family, drug abuse, peer pressure; Effects: strain on country's resources, drop out of school, imprisonment, poor reputation and character; Solutions: involvement in extra-curricular activities, teaching sex education in schools, promotion of contraception and safe sex for teens, peer counselling
• Victim support


  • Having good and supportive friends
  • Sharing problems openly with close friends and love ones
• Sexually transmitted disease


  Infectious diseases caused by viruses which are transmitted by sexual contact
• Causes of sexually transmitted diseases


  • Multiple sex partners
  • Unprotected sex
  • Ignorance
  • Promiscuity
  • Prostitution
• Impacts of sexually transmitted diseases


  • Strain on financial resources of the country
  • Deprivation of the country's labour force
  • Increase in the dependency ratio
  • Strain on health care
• Measures to prevent sexually transmitted diseases


  • Get tested
  • Teaching of sex education
  • Use of condoms and the availability of these
  • Having one sexual partner
  • Informing the public about these diseases and their transmission
• Juvenile delinquency


  Criminal activity committed by a child below the age of 18
• Causes of juvenile delinquency


  • Lack of parental supervision
  • Parents are working most of the time
  • Neglection
  • Break up in the family
  • Drug abuse
  • Peer pressure