FAMILY RELATIONS TIES

Family Relations Ties

Family Relations Ties

Introduction

The family is as important in life as during childhood. It is an important support group that creates joy and a sense of belonging through shared time together and expressions of love and affection. The family also provides assistance, such as financial support or help with chores, through all life's changes. The quality of family relationships is established in the early years of marriage and parenthood and carries over into the years. People with healthy marriages and positive relationships with their children enjoy their family life in the years. The individual who have strong family relationships often feel they can turn to family members for assistance when needed. As people experience losses in life, such as the death of close friends or a spouse and changes in health or mobility, they may reach out to family for support. Time with family, help with chores and business and expressions of love become even more important as the individual adjust to major changes in their lives.

Analysis

Family is defined as a social unit made [U3] up of people related to each other by blood, birth, adoption or marriage. It is also made up of people who support each other in one or several ways (e.g. socially, economically, and psychologically) or whose members identify with each other in a supportive unit. There are different types of family; there are the more commonly-known ones, such as nuclear and extended, but there are also names for a mother-and-child family (matrifocal) and a father-and-child family (consanguineal). The conjugal family refers to a heterosexual pair and their offspring, while the extended family refers to at least two related conjugal families, and for instance may consist of a woman and man, their children, and the spouse and children of at least one of these, or two or more siblings, their spouses and children. Other labels have also been devised to refer to specific types of situation (Spitze et al, 1994). In most of these definitions the family overlaps with the household or domestic group: that is to say, the family is identified as those kin and affine who live together in the same dwelling, share a common hearth, and jointly participate in production and consumption.

Marriages in Life

There are many opportunities for married couples to enjoy their lives together and to grow closer. For example, the experiences of retirement and increased travel and leisure time may be richer if shared. In addition, spouses provide extraordinary companionship and support when health and mobility decline and partner needs assistance (Richlin-Klonsky & Bengtson, 1996).

Married couples with vital relationships are most likely to experience continued, positive interactions within marriage. Those who enjoy spending time together and can confide in each other usually maintain a close and giving relationship as they age. However, those couples who are unsatisfied in the earlier years of their marriage tend to have a negative experience in life. Their relationships are difficult, their communication conflictual and ...