Caribbean Family, Social Institutions and Government Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering key concepts, facts, and details from the lecture notes

What are the major functions of the contemporary Caribbean family?

A unit of procreation, a social unit for rearing children, an economic unit for satisfying basic needs, and a social unit for satisfying emotional and psychological needs.

What role does the family play in procreation?

Families introduce new members to the human race and provide a unit for reproduction.

What is the primary responsibility of the family in socialization?

Preparing children to live as social beings by teaching them values, attitudes, roles, and basic skills.

What are the basic economic needs that families are responsible for providing?

Food, clothing, and shelter.

What is the family's role in satisfying emotional needs?

Providing comfort and strength during crises, and emotional support on a daily basis.

Define family.

A group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption who share a common household or residence and are dependent on one another.

Define household.

A group of people sharing a home or living space who aggregate or share their income, as evidenced by the fact that they regularly take meals together.

What is a consanguine family?

A family where members are related by blood, sharing a common ancestor.

What is a conjugal family?

A family formed when individuals marry and have or adopt children.

What is a nuclear family?

A family composed of both mother and father living with their child or children.

What is an extended family?

Three or more generations living under one roof or two generations of the same family, including parents and their child(ren) living with other family members.

What is a joint family?

When adult children marry and bring their families to live in the same household, forming several nuclear family units within the extended family.

What is a single-parent family?

A family with one parent only – a mother or a father – living with their child or children.

What is a matrifocal family?

When a father is absent and does not play his role in a single-parent family.

What is a patrifocal family?

When a mother is absent and does not play her role in a single-parent family.

What is a reconstituted/reorganized/reconstructed/blended family?

A family formed when one or both of the parents have children from a previous relationship.

What is a sibling household?

In this family type both parents are absent or dead and older siblings care for the younger ones.

What is a common-law or consensual union?

Partners live together by mutual agreement without being legally married.

What is a visiting union or relationship?

Partners living in separate locations but operating as a family, with one partner possibly living with the children.

What is a role?

A person’s position and expected behavior.

What are responsibilities?

Obligations to carry out certain tasks.

What are the typical roles and responsibilities of the head of household?

Making decisions about important family matters, consulting with other family members, and often being the main breadwinner.

What should be the nature of the relationship between parents?

Mutual cooperation and respect, sharing in the upbringing of children, and providing for their needs.

What should be the nature of the parent-child relationship?

Mutual respect and cooperation, with authority resting with the parent and the child expected to be respectful and obedient.

What are some internal factors affecting family relations?

Poor communication skills, poor money management skills, different views about raising children, different expectations, excessive demands on children, and irresponsible behavior.

What are some external factors affecting family relations?

Unemployment or financial problems, interference by outside individuals, and excessive demands from work or other organizations.

What issues cause arise from conflict between marital partners?

sexual problems, adultery, financial problems, disagreements over raising children, and unwillingness to share family responsibilities.

What is 'the generation gap' in conflict between parents and children?

Differing values or standards of how to behave.

What are the causes of conflict between siblings?

Sibling rivalry, clashing personalities, and the division into antagonistic groups (particularly in step-families).

What are the contemporary changes in traditional family roles in the Caribbean?

Traditional gender roles are less defined, and women are earning equal or greater wages than men and are more involved in the workforce thanks to mechanization and improved gender equality.

What support services are available to working parents in the Caribbean?

Child-minders, day care centers, laundromats, dry-cleaning services, cooks, restaurants, fast food services, breakfast programs, school canteens, after-school collection and supervision services, summer camps and schools.

What issues result from the marginalization of the male?

Violence against women, depression, alcoholism and drug abuse, infidelity, and suicide.

What are some identity crisis factors in changing family roles?

Spending more time at work, feeling uncomfortable doing household chores, patriarchal family structure challenges, reduced importance as a sex partner, and rise in sibling households.

What does the Maternity Protection Bill (1997) provide?

Ensures women cannot lose their job or pay due to maternity leave and must receive 3 months of maternity leave.

What are the protections established by the Domestic Violence Act?

Protects men, women, and children from physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse.

What does physical preparation for parenthood involve?

Getting the body ready for the demands of pregnancy, birth, and parenting through medical checkups, a nutritious diet, and exercise.

What does economic preparation for parenthood involve?

Organizing finances to accommodate the costs associated with having a child, including budgeting, saving, and possibly seeking financial advice.

What does emotional preparation for parenthood involve?

Understanding and managing the range of emotions that accompany parenthood, practicing self-care, open communication, and learning stress management techniques.

What does psychological preparation for parenthood involve?

Understanding the mental shifts and personal growth that come with becoming a parent, reflecting on one's own upbringing, exploring parenting styles, and developing a positive mindset.

Who is a parent?

Someone responsible for the care, guidance, and upbringing of a child, providing support for the child’s development and socialization.

What are some qualities of an effective parent?

Problem-solving skills, communication skills, socializing skills, disciplinary skills, knowledge of good nutrition, showing of love/warmth, good money management, and decision-making skills.

What is a parenting style?

An approach or method that parents use to raise and guide their children, including attitudes, behaviors, and strategies that influence a child’s development.

What are the four parenting styles identified by Diana Baumrind?

Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.

What is the authoritarian parenting style?

Children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents, with punishment for failure to comply.

What is the authoritative parenting style?

Establishes rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow; much more democratic. Their disciplinary methods are assertive and supportive rather than intrusive, restrictive, or punitive.

What is the permissive parenting style?

Makes very few demands of their children, rarely disciplining them because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control.

What is the uninvolved parenting style?

Characterized by few demands, low responsiveness, and very little communication; parents are generally detached from their child's life.

What is the basis of inheritance laws?

Based on English common law principles and governed by the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration Act.

What is intestate succession?

Estate divided according to law if no will exists, with spouses, children, parents, or siblings as legal heirs.

What is testate succession?

Will generally respected if legally valid, signed by testator in the presence of witnesses, though family members can challenge exclusion from will.

What are the welfare and protection of children laws?

Focus on meeting financial, emotional, and physical needs, with custody decisions based on the child's best interests.

How is custody determined?

Priority to primary caregiver or best-suited parent, with encouragement of shared responsibility unless one parent is deemed unfit.

How is financial support and maintenance for children determined?

Both parents are required to contribute, and the Family Court can mandate child support payments, considering income, child's needs, and cost of living.

What is legal separation?

Alternative to divorce for couples wishing to live apart, with a court-recognized agreement defining rights and responsibilities.

What are the grounds for divorce?

Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, adultery, desertion, or physical or emotional abuse.

What is the scope of domestic violence?

Includes physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse, encompassing economic manipulation and isolation tactics.

What are protection orders in cases of domestic violence?

Restraining orders against the abuser, restrictions on contact, residence, and harassment.

What are the law enforcement and legal consequences for domestic violence?

Immediate action by law enforcement, imprisonment, and fines for offenders.

What is local government?

Local government refers to the smallest government body, responsible for providing services such as education, waste management, and public safety within a designated area.

What is a Constitution in the relationship between citizens and government?

Fundamental laws guiding a country’s governance, defining citizens’ rights and government powers.

What is Democracy in the relationship between citizens and government?

Government controlled by people, typically through elected representatives.

What is Authoritarian in the relationship between citizens and government?

Powers held by a leader or small group with limited political freedoms.

What is the definition of Government?

A Government is responsible for ruling and managing a country by making, refining, and enforcing laws.

What is direct taxation?

Direct taxation that is levied directly on income, wealth and profit of an individual taxpayer or an organization who pays it to the government.

What is indirect taxation?

Indirect Taxation are levied on the sellers of commodities and services but are passed on to the consumers.

What is budgeting?

Drawing up a list of income and expenditure to ensure that money is well spent.