TEXTUAL CITATIONS

1 The concept of family, from a very general perspective, refers to a group of people

united by ties of genetic inheritance, consanguinity, affection, care, support and shared

experiences who, under the custody of parents, constitute the generative axis of society,

whose transcendental role goes beyond the satisfaction of the basic needs of its

members, focusing its attention on the transmission of an education based on

educational and cultural values. (Gonzáles & Gonzáles, 2014)

As a biological fact, the family implies the common life of two individuals of the

human species, of different sexes, united for the purpose of reproducing, and therefore

of preserving the species over time. From this perspective, the family can be seen as a

human grouping with eminently biological purposes. The family as a biological fact

involves all those who, by the fact of descending from one another, or from a common

parent, generate blood ties among themselves. (Eduardo Oliva Gómez, Vera Judith

Villa Guardiola, 2014)

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16, paragraph 3 defines

that “The family is the natural and fundamental building block of society and is entitled

to protection by society and the State.” (1948)

 Kinship appeared in anthropology as the only resource for the study of social groups

in Europe. It was indicated that it separated complex and simple societies by their

functions and invalidated tools used for the analysis of other societies with different

cultures. Later, the concept of family evolved from a group that fulfilled social

functions to a conjugal group free of many of these functions, but with a lot of

emotional baggage.

The use of kinship was the dividing line between simple societies where it was

considered the most fundamental representation of the social bond, and in more

complex societies where kinship was replaced by economics and other functions.

Around the 1970s, kinship was the central focus of analysis of families in

Europe, despite being the cause of conceptual misunderstandings. Similarly, on the

same continent, the concept of the family went from being described as a composite

group burdened with social functions to being described as a conjugal group free of

many of these functions, but with a lot of emotional baggage.

“Kinship systems, on the other hand, are passive; they only register the progress made

by the family after long intervals, and they do not undergo radical change until the

family has radically changed.” (Engels, 1884)

 While the family is approached from different perspectives and attempts are

made to arrive at a conceptualization, society is changing its course, and with it, new

variables arise when defining the family as a social group.

From the evolution of concepts, “the family,” says Morgan, “is the active element; it

never remains stationary, but passes from a lower form to a higher form as society

evolves from a lower to a higher degree.” (Engels, 1884)

As explained, the family cannot be studied from a single, traditional context, but

rather continuously and in different societies, considering its form and

conceptualizations according to current dynamics.

The family in its evolved form has been presented united to the institution of

marriage that attributes social and legal stability to the group formed as a consequence

of the mating of man and woman, although the possibility that the non-matrimonial

family exists and has existed as a fact is not denied. (Eduardo Oliva Gómez, Vera Judith

Villa Guardiola, 2014)

The family structure has changed from its more traditional form in terms of functions,

composition, life cycle and the role of parents, mainly due to the role of women, who,

due to changes in their economic situation, have found it necessary to leave their homes

in search of family support. (Eduardo Oliva Gómez, Vera Judith Villa Guardiola, 2014)

The family as a system tends to preserve itself and maintain its interaction with its

environment; to achieve this, the family needs to preserve the norms, limits and

hierarchies that it has defined for the relationship between its members, so that it

maintains the stability and constancy necessary for its survival and the preservation of

its identity; however, since it is an open system, in constant exchange of energy, matter

and information with its environment, it also needs to be flexible to stay alive, maintain
its health and give rise to the creation of new family and non-family systems between its

members and the environment. (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana)

Ares (1233) also added that the family is composed of subsystems, these being conjugal,
parental and filial, in hierarchical order depending on the function they fulfill within the family
system and that they use rules as a regulator in their dynamics to maintain stability and adapt
to vital changes in the family cycle.

The family system, according to this theory, also has its own organization or hierarchical order,
taking into account generation, gender and income, among other aspects. In summary, the
family system is characterized by interdependence, reciprocal influence, evolution and change.
The application of general systems theory to family theory highlights a number of important
issues: the conception of mental disorders as the result of the complex interactions of the
individual with his or her environment; the influence of family functionality on individual
development; the dynamic nature of the causality of certain mental disorders; and the
conception of the family as an open system, in constant exchange with other groups and
institutions in society.

The family is the intermediary group between the individual and society. It

constitutes the primary core of the human being, in it man inscribes his first feelings, his

first experiences, incorporates the main patterns of behavior, and gives meaning to his

life. (Ares, 2002)

For Psychology, the family implies a set of family relationships integrated in a

mainly systemic way, which is why it is considered a social subsystem that is part of the

macro social system called society; these relationships are considered a fundamental

element in the process of personality development. (Eduardo Oliva Gómez, Vera Judith

Villa Guardiola, 2014)

For its part, the field theory, enunciated by Kurt Lewin (1951), has also had

important repercussions in the family field, serving as a starting point for ecological

psychology. His theory highlights the need to go beyond the study of the isolated

individual, outside of his environment. The person and his environment must be

understood as a constellation of interdependent variables, the totality of which

constitutes a field. The description of this field must be carried out from the perspective

of the individual who participates in it, since each person perceives the field in a

different way. According to Lewin, psychological fields have three characteristics:

strength (tendency to act in one direction), position (the status of the person in relation

to the other) and power (the relative weight of one area of the field in relation to the

other).

Families are multi-individual systems of extreme complexity, but at the same time
subsystems of larger units: the extended family, the neighborhood, society as a whole.
Interaction with these larger holons engenders much of the family's problems and tasks,
as well as its support systems. Furthermore, families have differentiated subsystems,
each individual is a subsystem.

The perspectives that focus on the family structure conceive it as

___________________ (AUTHORS, years), developing various classification systems.

The criteria for classifying the family, according to González (2008: ___) are:

According to Ares(2002), the family fulfills several basic functions such as

biological, economic and cultural-spiritual, and, therefore, from the execution of these

functions, a supra function is fulfilled, the educational one. This includes important

elements such as:

 The function of parenting that provides, in addition to food and care, a minimum

of these for the survival of the individual, from the affective, mothering and

fathering perspectives.

 The function of acculturation and socialization that, over several generations,

becomes an important part of family history and upbringing. Through this

function, it contributes ethical, social and moral values and the identity of the

person, family and society.

MINUCHIN FAMILY TYPES

Another of Minuchin and Charles Fishman's (1997) contributions to the study of

the family are the types of this social system, for which they mention that "the most

common configurations are pas de deux, three generations, support, accordion,

changing family and host family."

Pas de deux families: composed of two members, in which one of them has possible

areas of difficulty, since in this type of structure the development of mutual

dependence is potential. Similarly, this type of family is also classified as single-

parent by Membrillo and Ocampo(2008), since it is composed of at least one child

and one parent. Within this type of family, Minuchin and Fishman also mention that

another way of structuring a pas de deux family is by two elderly people who

present empty nest syndrome.

Three-generation family: type of extended family that includes several generations

(mother and/or father, grandparents and children) and maintains a close relationship.

The organization and functions of these subsystems (marital, fraternal and filial) are

flexible, but require continuous harmony since not knowing the limits between

subsystems could generate conflict among its members.

Support families: A type of large family where there is an extensive fraternal

subsystem and, for this reason, older children take on the functions of their parents,

although they continue to belong to the fraternal subsystem. This type of family

works as long as the limits are clear and the “parental children” do not exceed their

capabilities considering the level of maturity. When these parental children overstep

their functions, because they need protection and affection from their parents, they
present symptoms that are projected onto the family. It is also indicated that, in this

type of family, by having a large fraternal subsystem, the mother presents

overexploitation in her care and protection functions, giving way to the demand for

help, so the parental children would assume these functions.

According to the context where the research was carried out, families, although

they have a small fraternal subsystem, the children, mostly minors, assume

economic functions (provider roles) to help support the family, because they are

families with limited economic resources, which is why the Child Labor Eradication

Program was developed for children immersed in work or at risk of doing so.

Accordion family: This type of family suffers from a multi-causal abandonment by

one of the members of the marital subsystem, where the spouse who remains in the

family system assumes additional functions to caring for the children. Another case

for this type of family is in the absence of both spouses, where a third party, whether

a blood relative or not, takes on the role of the parents.

In our society, it is usually the mother who takes on additional roles when her

spouse abandons her, so the symptoms of abandonment are reflected in her children.

Changing families: characterized by a constant change of residence, due to which

support networks are lost and they are subsequently exposed to new contexts that

could create dysfunctionality in the family dynamics.

Host families: Basically, this type of family provides a temporary place of residence

to a host child who, for various reasons, has had to leave the original family system.

Step-families: This type of family is created from the union of marital subsystems

with children from a previous relationship or with one marital subsystem with
 children and the other without; in its dynamics, there are alliances between them so

there are already some previously defined aspects and functions.

Families with a ghost: these are families that have suffered the loss of a family

member, most clearly their spouses, so the family could be in a state of unresolved

grief and, consequently, the assignment of responsibilities or functions that the dead

member fulfilled are not fulfilled.

Uncontrolled families: in this type of family, one of the members presents

symptoms in the area of control and hierarchy, does not respect limits and could

create dysfunctionality in the family system. These symptoms are presented

according to the stage of development of the member with this difficulty.

Psychosomatic families: This type of family occurs when one of its members suffers

from an illness that makes him or her incapacitated and requires care, so the

protection function in the family is excessive, trying to maintain harmony within the

family system.

According to the context in which the research was carried out, it was possible to

highlight that, as mentioned by Minuchin, the types of families that surround the

population to be worked on are pas de deux, three generations, support, accordion

and host family.

This knowledge, furthermore, occurs in a specific socio-affective (family)

context, to which it is not alien, but quite the contrary. Thus, a person's vision of
the world cannot be objective, nor is there just one way to understand events,
but rather each person constructs them according to their perceptual schemes
of meaning, linked to their family and social environment.
 This construction occurs in a specific socio-affective context, which, in the
case of social groups, is provided by the family, which is why a person's vision
of the world cannot be objective or reducible to a single way of understanding
events. On the contrary, each person constructs his or her reality individually
based on his or her perceptual and meaning schemes, linked to his or her
family and social environment. APPOINTMENT

TYPES OF ROLES

TRADITIONAL
The marital role, which will be played by the couple; fulfilling their marital
functions, these are: sharing moments when the children do not intervene,
making decisions for the common well-being of the family, creating a space as
a couple, dealing with issues of education, health or any situation that arises
through good communication. (Oropeza, 2014)
Fraternal role, it occurs between children, between siblings, creating
complicity and providing mutual support. Filial role, also played by children,
but here their function is to learn, grow, respect and evolve as human beings.
(Oropeza, 2014)

The role of a father requires greater responsibility and must provide the
family with protection, food, care, security, love, respect, a place to live and
sustenance. (Oropeza, 2014)
Mother role, emotions are handled a lot, the maternal role creates a special
space to be able to manage emotions in any situation in order to be able to
express them, properly handling respect for behavior inside and outside the
home. There are also cases where you can contribute financially to the
household. (Oropeza, 2014)

MATERNAL ROLES
We consider it very difficult to describe the different roles that the urban society of our time
will allow women to play in the middle class of our society, but we consider it appropriate to
make an attempt and try to exemplify what these roles might be. QUINCE
TRADITIONAL MOTHER WIFE This role represents a series of universally recognized rights and
obligations; she is economically dependent on her husband; her authority is emotional; she
owes fidelity to her husband, to whom she has given children as her main obligation. APOLI
QUINCE
Her main obligation has been the upbringing of her children, as well as the constitution of the
home; she is expected to provide domestic services, be subordinate to the economic interests
of her husband and limit any economic or cultural activity within the environment in which she
operates. QUINCE
COMPANION WIFE This type of role is found in well-off social classes; she seeks to strengthen
the husband's social role with her presence, and she must share fun with him. She must
remain attractive and maintain social relationships that are advantageous for her husband.
COLLABORATIVE WIFE Appears in the middle class; here the socioeconomic modifications of

society are what have fostered this role and constitutes what some authors call the egalitarian

family. They spend a large part of their lives at work outside the home. APOLINAR QUINCE

PARENTAL ROLES
Considering the roles that men play in our society could be a somewhat difficult
task, if we consider that the social movement is broad, as well as the very
extensive cultural patterns, in addition to the fact that the different social strata
would have to be considered, which is why we would not be allowed to
standardize a single behavior or classification of the role that men play within
their family, however, we can consider the following roles. QUINCE
Husband or provider This role reaffirms the paternal figure; it is based on the predominantly
traditional type of education. The individual who has this role is dedicated exclusively to work;
it can be seen especially in middle and low socioeconomic levels. APOLINAR QUINCE
COMPANION HUSBAND This is a complementary role to the companion wife, in which both
interact in order to assert themselves as a couple; we find it mainly in upper middle classes
and executive and professional couples; the husband helps to reaffirm the wife's position both
at work and at home. APOLINAR QUINCE
COLLABORATING HUSBAND In this role there is equality in the couple; both work outside the
home and collaborate in domestic activities. APOLI QUINCE
STEREOTYPED ROLES

Parentified son. In some dysfunctional families, it can be found that children have been given
– covertly – too high a position in family decision-making. In this way, children have a role that
exceeds their abilities and one could even say that these children occupy the role of father to
their own parents, or father to their siblings. This feature is not in itself harmful. But it is when
it becomes a hidden, long-lasting role that is inappropriate for the child's skills. For example, in
families where one of the spouses is missing or where the couple's relationship is very
disturbed, a child can function as a "substitute spouse." RACING
The scapegoat. Families with serious problems often designate a scapegoat, who is responsible
for assuming the majority of the family's ills. Usually, this person designated to serve as a
scapegoat is a son. In the generation and maintenance of the scapegoat role, other family
members subtly participate and pivot. RACING

STEREOTYPED OR IDIOSYNCRATIC ROLES

FUNCTIONAL
According to Ny·e, there are eight basic roles of the positions of husbands-fathers and wives-
mothers: • Provider role. • Role of housewife. • Role of caregiver for children Role of socializer
of. the children. • Role of reenactor. • Public relations role. • Role of therapist. • Sexual role.

CAREGIVER ROLE
CONCEPT

A caregiver is a person who, on their own or on behalf of others, takes charge of watching over
and caring for another person, such as an elderly person, a baby, a convalescent, or a
dependent person. The caregiver, as we understand it in terms of dependency, is the person
who makes life easier and complements the lack of autonomy of a dependent person, helping
them with their daily tasks such as hygiene, feeding, moving around, among others. (Ruiz &
Nava, 2012)

TYPES OF CAREGIVERS

INFORMAL
“Informal” caregivers do not have training, are not paid for their work and have a high level of
commitment to their work, characterized by affection and attention without time limits.
Informal support is provided mainly by family members, with friends and neighbors also
participating (Flórez Lozano et al, 1997, Aguas, 1999) CITED IN(Ruiz & Nava, 2012) Flores LJA,
Adeva CJ, García MC, Gómez MMP. Psychopathology of regular caregivers of the elderly. Jano
1997; 3 (1218): 261-272.

FORMAL
Regarding the definition of the "formal" caregiver, some authors apply the term only to
caregivers who have received specific training and do not belong to the family of the elderly or
dependent person, corresponding then to a special type of formal caregivers: those trained
through theoretical-practical training for the direct and continued care of the elderly in various
areas. However, we do not consider that this definition includes caregivers who receive
payment for their work but do not have the training required.
It indicates that formal caregivers are people who have been trained in caring for a

person with different needs and who would not be part of the family system. He also

adds that formal caregivers are usually part of public companies dedicated to the

theoretical and practical training of people who provide this professional service and are

paid.

TYPES OF CAREGIVERS
FORMAL
It indicates that formal caregivers are people who have been trained in caring for a
person with different needs and who would not be part of the family system. He also
adds that formal caregivers are usually part of public companies dedicated to the
theoretical and practical training of people who provide this professional service and are
paid.
AND
Primary family caregiver
The husband or wife as a caregiver
Daughters and sons as caregivers
Parents as caregivers
CONSEQUENCES
The caregiver must face a series of conflicts. Firstly, feelings of helplessness in the face of
complex situations that one does not know how to resolve. It is easier to respond to physical
help than to psychological and emotional help. The demand for care linked to depression is
more expensive to treat, not to mention dementia. (Ruiz & Nava, 2012)
Adapting to this new role has a negative impact on caregivers causing physical fatigue,
emotional disorders (stress, depressive and anxious symptoms), economic problems, and poor
performance in the different roles that a person has in life (work, friends, family), this can lead
the caregiver to become one more patient, this set of symptoms has been conceptualized as
the concept of "caregiver burden", emphasizing the tensions and demands that being a
caregiver means, that is why it should be emphasized in pointing out that stress is not the
same as "caregiver burden", but rather a set of factors that affect the caregiver (79) María
Crespo López, Javier López Martínez. Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Support for
caregivers of dependent elderly relatives at home through the development of the “How to
maintain your well-being” program. Secretary of State for Social, Family and Disability Services.
First Edition 2007. CITED IN URREA