Concept Of Family In Contemporary Society †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Concept Of Family In Contemporary Society? Answer: Introducation The definition of family and their relationship has changed with time. In contemporary society, clearly understanding the structure of family is important to understand the cause of issues in families and counsel person affected by different issues. Family can be defined as group of people living together connected by marriage or blood relations. In the contemporary society, family may not mean living together, however the element of blood connection still defines the family. Family is also defined as a social group in which social group live characterized by common residence and cooperation in all activities. In current society, many transformations have been observed in forms of family (Barnes Rowe 2013). For instance, in the past more of joint family was seen characterized by unity and support for each other. However, now fragile family is seen because of shifting demographics, poverty and unequal distribution in different socio-demographic groups. The form of family is also chan ging with the changes in family needs throughout the life course. The possible consequence of this change is the rise in contemporary family issues and threat to well-being of family members (Lamanna, Riedman Stewart 2014). On the whole, it can be stated that contemporary family is quiet fluid and changeable today. It is reflected by family types like single parent families, joint families, step families and homosexual families. In the past, family was defined based on essentialist notion, however now fluid ideology regarding family also exist due to shifting pattern of society (Park 2015). Family strength framework and application to health care practice The family strength framework defines the positive traits needed for promoting the strength of a family. The main qualities that denoted family strength included commitment, positive communication, affection, sense of spiritual well-being, spending time together and coping with stress and crisis. A family which possess all the above traits are very strong and healthy relationship is seen between all family members (Smith Ford 2013). The main focus of the family strength framework is to present what is right and wrong with particular family. The advantage of this framework is that it does not focus only on negative points, it also indicates the positive traits present in a family. Identifying strength is crucial to the growth and foundation of the family. This universal framework effectively defines all strong families in the world as families may differ on the basis of their culture, however the basic qualities mentioned in the framework drives a family towards success and prosperit y (Walsh 2013). The family strength framework has been found useful in improving the health care practice. For instance, the study by Sittner et al. (2007) has showed that with the use of family strength framework, nurses can assess family strengths and determine the risk factor present in families that affect the health of a patient. Based on this identification, the nurse can support families to identify their role and promote recovery of the affected patient. Hence, it can be said that the framework has found great application in family focused nursing. The main goal of family focused nursing practice is to use practice model to plan clinical priories for families and apply nursing models for care planning of individual families. The nurses utilize the family strength framework and their critical thinking and critical judgment to analyze situations in family and support family members to fulfill and manage the needs of the family. They give the message to individual about the importance of family strength on well-being of a person. They help to determine the coping process for families too (Masten Monn 2015. Therefore, the family strength framework is turning out to be a conceptual model to guide clinical interventions and take preventive steps for vulnerable families. It is now widely used in the mental health field too empower clients and provide interventions based on family resources. The main goal of clinical intervention by using the framework is to reduce risk and vulnerability in patient. Therapist often works with mentally disturbed client to find new possibilities to reduce their problem in life and adapt future oriented stance to enhance well-being and functioning of the person. They mental health staffs also focus on promoting process of resilience in families so that personal and relational transformation in family is achieved (Caplan 2013). Reference Barnes, M Rowe, J 2013, Locating the child, young person and family in contemporary health care, in M Barnes J Rowe (eds), Child, youth and family health: strengthening communities, Elsevier, Sydney, pp. 3-17. Caplan, G., 2013., An approach to community mental health(Vol. 3) Routledge. Lamanna, M.A., Riedmann, A. Stewart, S.D., 2014, Marriages, families, and relationships: Making choices in a diverse society, Cengage Learning. Masten, A.S. Monn, A.R., 2015, Child and family resilience: A call for integrated science, practice, and professional training Family Relations,64(1), pp.5-21. Park, J.W., 2015, Contemporary Family Portrait: The Hidden Uncomfortable Truth of Family Dynamics. Sittner, B.J., Hudson, D.B. and Defrain, J., 2007. Using the concept of family strengths to enhance nursing care.MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing,32(6), pp.353-357. Smith, L Ford, K 2013, 'Communicating with children, young people and families - A family strengths-based approach', in M Barnes J Rowe (eds), Child, youth and family health: strengthening communities, Elsevier, Sydney, pp. 91-110. Walsh, F., 2013, Community-based practice applications of a family resilience framework. InHandbook of family resilience(pp. 65-82) Springer New York.