Diversity in Family Structure: Enhancing Strengths and Complicating Vulnerability

1. Diversity in Family Structure: Enhancing Strengths and Complicating Vulnerability Positive Parenting DuPage Maggie Brett, L.C.S.W. February 17, 2012

2. Agenda • Check-In • Demographic shifts • What are some of the types of families were seeing? • Use of genograms as a tool to describe family structure • What can we look at to enhance a family’s strengths?

3. Demographics • Family: “Group of two persons or more (one of whom is a householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together”—U.S. Census • Obvious limitations to this definition, e.g. family may extend over different households and more than one family may be in a household • Marriage rates have decreased since 1940, and divorce rates have increased • Increased life expectancy • Less children born to a couple

4. 2011 Census • Of the 74.6 million children younger than 18 in 2011, most (69 percent) lived with two parents, while another 27 percent lived with one parent and 4 percent with no parents. Of those children who lived with two parents, 92 percent lived with two biological or two adoptive parents. • Among the children who lived with one parent, 87 percent lived with their mother. • Of the children living with no parents present, 57 percent lived with at least one grandparent. • In 2011, 10 percent of children under 18 lived with at least one grandparent. Seventy-eight percent of these children also lived with at least one parent. • Of the 67.8 million opposite sex couples who lived together, 89 percent were married couples, while the remaining 11 percent were unmarried. • In 2011, there were about 7.6 million unmarried couples living together. • In 2011, married couples with children made up 20 percent of all households, half what they were in 1970 (40 percent). • In 2011, 23 percent of married couple family groups with children younger than age 15 had a stay-at-home mother. This proportion decreased in the last few years during the recession. In 2007 — before the recession began — the corresponding figure was 24 percent.

5. Multi-Generational Households

6. What does research tell us? • On average, children do best when raised by two married biological parents who have a low-conflict relationship • Non-marital unions less stable over time than marital unions • However, children who live in other family situations mostly do well • Question is whether it is the family structure or other factors that influence stability, e.g., lower family income, the characteristics of people who get married, quality of relationships

7. What families are we serving? • Two parent families, married and unmarried • Single parent families, usually mothers • Gay and lesbian headed families • Multi-generational families • Extended families • Blended families • Multiple families in one household

8. So, what are the factors that enhance the strengths or complicate the vulnerabilities of a family? • Devoted parent/s vs. absent or impaired parent/s • Adequacy of income • Overall physical and psychological well-being • Cognitive development • Stability in the home • Mobility • Level of conflict • Education • Physical, social, emotional, and psychological support

9. Genograms • Genogram is a family diagram that maps family patterns and relationships within and across generations • Can be used to better understand the client in context of family • Can be used to identify and understand repetitive patterns of behavior

10. Genogram symbols

11. Relationships symbols

12. Sample Genogram—Tiger Woods

13. Sample—Albert Einstein

14. Capture your Thoughts (York-Barr, et al, 2001)