Definitions of Family Over Time

See attachments. These assignments are courseroom discussions. After the discussion, the student is to respond to the discussions of two other learners.• Narrowing Your Research Abstract Topic
In Unit 2, you will be completing a topic selection and rationale exercise. Use the interactive, “Inverted Pyramid Exercise,” listed under Resources, to help you narrow your topic. Select a sample population within a family by gender or by age—for example, fathers, mothers, infants, toddlers, elementary school age children, middle school age children, or adolescents. After completing the assigned readings, select a family life issue or stressor relevant to the developmental norms of a selected family population group. Post your topic selection idea and share your rationale for what makes this an important topic for research into the dynamics of families. Please be specific in defining the family population group by age, gender, and cultural group.
Topic Examples:
• Topic for Adults: Parenting stress issues for Hispanic mothers.
• Topic for Adolescents: Stresses for African American adolescent teen boys.
• Topic for Children: Impact of divorce on children ages 9–12.
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two other learners. Your responses to other learners are expected to be substantive in nature and to reference the assigned readings, as well as other theoretical, empirical, or professional literature to support your views and writings.
Learner 1’s post:
Who will you study by age group: Older Caucasian adult moms parenting teenaged children.
What will you measure or analyze by age group: The more mature parenting skills of an older female parent.
How will you do this: This paper will explore the differences in parenting of an older adult Caucasian mother versus younger Caucasian adult mothers.
Why is this of interest to you: This topic is of great interest to this learner, due to their personal experiences with parenting. This learner believes that this is an important topic for human services practice and research with families; due to the immense differences in parenting skills of an older adult women versus a younger adult women, in a general context. This learner is an older Caucasian Adult women raising two teenage child, one boy and one girl. Many of this learner’s child’s friends’ parents are much younger. The observation of their parenting skills and mainly their reactions to teenage circumstances can be extremely different then this learners. (Not suggesting that these parents lack parenting skills).

There is a belief that “children of young mothers are thought to be at risk for developmental delay and behavioral problems” (Whiteside-Mansell, Pope, & Bradley, 1996, pg. 273). Lewin, Mitchell and Ronzio (2013) suggest that their overall findings indicate that the younger a mother is, the more she is at risk for maladaptive parenting, and this risk is not restricted to adolescence. That there is a gradual increase in parenting skills along with mothers’ age at child’s birth, with emerging adults exhibiting more optimal parenting than adolescents.
In conclusion, exploring the differences in parenting of an older adult Caucasian mother versus younger Caucasian adult mothers is of much interest to this learner. Through much personal observation of this learner’s younger counterparts parenting skills and this learners own parenting skills, exploring this is important to a child’s development and is a pertinent topic for human services practice and research with families
References
Lewin, A., Mitchell, S. J., & Ronzio, C. R. (2013). Developmental differences in parenting behavior: Comparing adolescent, emerging adult, and adult mothers. Merrill – Palmer Quarterly, 59(1), 23-49. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/1282300211?accountid=27965
Whiteside-Mansell, L., Pope, S. K., & Bradley, R. H. (1996). Patterns of parenting behavior in young mothers. Family Relations, 45(3), 273. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/213935534?
Learner 2’s post:
In this discussion board, online learners were asked to select a family life issue or stressor relevant to the developmental norms of a selected family population group and begin narrowing down our research abstract topic. The topic in family issues that most interest this student learner would be:
Topics for Adults: Single mothers parenting adolescent and teen boys.
Based on the “inverted triangle model” (Capella University, n.d.) reviewed in this week’s reading and studying, the learner has to offer the following rational for this topic.
Who will you study by age group?
The learner will focus on single mothers with sons between the ages of 9 to 18 years old.
What will you measure or analyze by age group?
The learner will attempt to gather substantive data on relationships, behavioral issues, academic stressors and success and most importantly the learner wants to gather data on the effects of having a male mentor or role model versus not having one. The age groups studied will be from ages 9-18 and the learner will compare successes/failures with ages 25-30.

How will you do this?
The learner plans to create a short survey and conduct at least two interviews. The learner will also gather information from peer-reviewed journals and articles located in the Capella University library on these topics concerning single mothers and adolescent and teenage boys.
Why is this of interest?
The learner is interested in finding some best practices as well looking at the statistical data of the socially constructed views of success or failure imposed on single mother raising adolescent and teenage boys. Personally, this topic has always been a concern for the learner, as she is a single mother of three boys. Community activism is important to this learner, so she plans to use data found to establish a mentorship program for single mothers and their children at her local church.
Reference:
Capella University. (n.d.). Inverted Triangle Exercise. Retrieved July 14, 2016 from http://media.capella.edu/CourseMedia/HS8478/InvertedPyramid/pyramid_wrapper.asp

• Definitions of Family Over Time
Eshleman and Bulcroft (2010) note that definitions of family are socially constructed and that our personal images of family are at least partially reflections of a range of social, economic, political, and cultural forces. For this discussion, explore how social, political, economic, and cultural factors have shaped definitions of the family over time. (250 words with reference)
• Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two other learners. Your responses to other learners are expected to be substantive in nature and to reference the assigned readings, as well as other theoretical, empirical, or professional literature to support your views and writings.
Learner 1’s post:
Introduction
As discussed by Eshleman and Bulcroft (2010) different groups define the family in different ways. Shaping these definitions is the way society or societal subgroups is structured. These definitions adapt to environmental circumstances, societal condition, cultural innovations and a process by which those in power and privilege can promote a definition to serve their own interests and value.
Discussion
As discussed by Eshleman and Bulcroft (2010) society has created the term of family to refer to some aspect of social reality or an ideal reality all agreed upon by members of a social group. Families are instrumental in the socialization process and how to view or approach the issues that important. The range of social events influence people’s behaviors and lifestyles. Understanding that families’ differences in their pattern differ in each different social class.
As discussed by Eshleman and Bulcroft (2010) political systems affect families in a variety of ways. Political systems are regulated by the state through laws and policies. Families are regulated through these laws through things such as number of spouses, process to be done prior to marriage, divorce and separation to name a few. The economy is the component of society concerned with creation, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Family contributes labor and skills that results in wages and other compensations. This impacts the values and belief systems of families through lifestyle choices, behavioral expectations, socialization experiences and all aspects of social life.
Conclusion
As discussed by Eshleman and Bulcroft (2010) in the past historical research of families has shown that our images of the families are inaccurate in the respect that they show what families live by rather than families that we live with.
Reference
Eshleman. J.R., Bulcroft. R.A. (2010). The family. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Learner 2’s post:

Native Americans as transnational families? Refugees Attachment
As a Native American on an Indian reservation, I was quick to highlight from Eshleman and Bulcroft (2012) “…a chronic state of “ambiguous loss”. I often feel as though, I am in a state of ambiguous loss. I see many parallels between current middle east refugee trauma and that of Native American historical trauma. Of which new family constructs are to be developed and are dynamic. I am saying this because in both cases, middle east refugees and Native American families are in, and will continue to be in a state of flux. In other words, the struggles to achieve family coherency may never be achieved (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012).

It is common for me hear about my great grandmother who went to Indian Boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Consider, “home country conditions are not always favorable to optimal child development” (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012). On the one hand, my grandmother was given an education and fed. I was reminded that some of our people and our children were starving. My grandmother was at least eating.

The state of “ambiguous loss” is very appropriate, and brings about sad feelings. Consider, “…separations are difficult and can cause high levels of guilt and resentment in family members.” (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012). Some returning boarding school children were not accepted back into their families and “reunions were not always amicable” (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012). Some children who were educated took advantage of their knowledge by entering into treaties not favorable to traditional people; essentially strangers due to prolonged separations (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012).

Further, Oneida’s had a matrilineal pattern and while trade was developing, non-Indian male traders would not trade with Oneida women essentially destroying the matrilineal property patterns (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012). Oneida men had no choice to trade, a “functional equivalent”, changing Oneida family system to patrilineal (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012).

Eshleman and Bulcroft (2012) suggests that it may be possible for a society to be functional without an organized family system. Although, Oneida’s were removed from New York State, we seemed to maintain some organized family system. I am suggesting that it seems improbable to completely wipe out a society when people exist regardless of family organization. Over time Oneida’s were able to re-organize as a new family system (current Reservation), therefore, I believe middle eastern refugees will also develop new family organizations in new settlements (Eshleman & Bulcroft, 2012).
References:
Eshleman, J. R., & Bulcroft, R. (2012). The Family (12th ed.)

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