1. CHAPTER 15 – MARRIAGE AND FAMILY STRENGTHS AND NEEDS
Instructor: Wendy Crapo

2. Used by permission of
THE ACADEMY OF NURSING
2355 E S.
S.L.C., UT 84124

3. Families are dynamic: RECURRING THEMES:
There will always be families and they will always continue to change.

4. RECURRING THEMES cont’d:
Families are diverse:
Families are a composite of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and lifestyle variety.

5. RECURRING THEMES cont’d:
Families satisfy important societal and personal needs: Societal health and stability depends in large part on strong and stable families.

6. RECURRING THEMES cont’d:
Families need societal support:
The family needs greater societal and institutional support to overcome problems and grasp opportunities.

7. MARITAL NEEDS Desire for intimacy
Needs to be balanced with maintaining a separate identity
Interpersonal competence: The ability to share and develop an intimate, growing relationship with another.

8. MARITAL STRENGTHS VS FAMILY STRENGTHS
Many of the traits of healthy marriages are also found in healthy families.
Childfree couples generally have more time for each other and substantially less psychological, economic and physical stress.
Many of our marital skills develop alongside our family skills.
Do Families with children generally have more stability? Why?
Question:

9. DAVID MACE’S ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE:
Commitment
Communication
Creative use of conflict

10. SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGES:
Numerous studies show correlation between communication patterns and marital satisfaction.
Commitment involves ongoing growth, willingness to work and ability to work.
Commitment to the sexual relationship within marriage is essential to marital strength.
Commitment involves give-and-take in order to be together and nurture the marriage.
Commitment to success is an essential component.

11. FAMILY STRENGTHS Activity:
Traits of a Healthy Family by Dolores Curran surveyed 500 family professionals and asked them what the top ten traits of healthy families were.
Activity:
In groups determine the priority of each trait.
_____Develops a sense of trust
_____Has a balance of interaction among members
_____Has a shared religious core
_____Teaches respect for others
_____Teaches a sense of right and wrong
_____Communicates and listens
_____Has a sense of play and humor
_____Affirms and supports one another
_____Exhibits a sense of shared responsibility
_____Strong sense of family in which rituals and traditions abound 4 9 10 3 7 1 5 2 6 8

12. FAMILY STRENGTHS Commitment is a prevailing characteristic
Identify family goals
Positive family identity
Work to promote growth of other family members
Affirmation, respect for others and the world & trust
Strong parental role models
Communication is direct
Responsibility
Moral code and spiritual orientation give meaning, purpose & hope
Allow children to make mistakes and face the consequences
Make time for family
Traditions and sense of family history

13. FAMILY STRENGTHS cont’d
Questions:
What types of rituals, traditions, or holidays are practiced in your own family? How do these types of events strengthen families? Which is more important quality time or quantity time?

14. FAMILY QUALITY
Family quality can be seen as a continuum over the life cycle
Cohesiveness of the family is severely tested at times but can emerge stronger
May involve periods of distrust, disorder and unhappiness
Each family is different from each other

15. FAMILY CRISIS Unite to face the challenges of a crisis
Cumulative effect of other family strengths enable strong families to deal with crisis
Able to accept changes from crisis and see possibilities for growth
Able to be open to resources available to them
Acknowledge their vulnerability
Recognizes interdependence within family and community
Adaptability essential

16. FAMILY COHESIVENESS
Cohesiveness involves emotional bonding, boundaries, coalitions
Sharing time
Sharing space
Sharing interest
Sharing recreation
Sharing friends
Sharing decision making

17. FAMILY ADAPTABILITY Leadership Assertiveness Discipline Negotiation
Roles
Rules

18. What improvements need to be made in Family Policies?
Question:
What improvements need to be made in Family Policies?
Does honor and dignity to the parental role need to be restored?
If so, how?

19. AMERICAS GREATEST NATIONAL RESOURCE = THE FAMILY
Where character is formed
Where society is preserved
A haven of peace and rest