Nuclear Family

1. What kind of clash between beliefs and practices does Hansen describe? How is it related to the ideology of SNAF? What role do structures of work and school play in creating this clash?
2. According to Sarkisian, Gerena, and Gerstel, what are the ethnic differences in extended family integration? What accounts for these differences?

1. Hansen describes a clash between beliefs and practices. Hansen explains in the article that the “internal household practice of interdependence counters the hegemonic ideology of individualism.” Hansen explains how the American ideal often focuses on the importance of individual achievement and success, making family interdependence seem rather difficult. However, since children are in such need of help from others the idea of the “individual” is somewhat lost or blurred. In fact, the family is the only place in which interdependence and reliance on others is deemed as acceptable. The article then discusses the idea of the typical American family, more specifically SNAF. SNAF stands for Standard North American Family this ideology implies a hetereosexual parents that raise their children to follow the same values, culture, religion and other ideologies of the family.

Hansen views the structures of work and school as very intertwined. As is becoming more and more common today, both mothers and fathers are involved in the workforce. With both parents working childcare and day care programs have become increasingly important. Parents look for afterschool programs for their children, thus making parent and child time more difficult to coordinate. Hansen categorizes this need for outside help as “reliance on networks.” It is nearly impossible for the family or the parents to function independently and without the support of outside help. Especially when it comes to child rearing and education.

2. According to Sarkisian, Gerena and Gerstel there are many ethnic differences in extended family integration. For Latinos/as there seems to be a greater focus on kinship. This is known as familialism. It is more common that Latino families’ living situations include their more distant relatives and extended family, than for white families. White families tend to be comprised more of the immediate family while the Latino/a families are larger and more extended. White families tend to be connected more through financial support while Latino/a families had more “instrumental help.” These differences occur for many reasons, including difference in education and financial background. There is also somewhat of a varying definition of the nuclear family. The ability for a family to remain or become very extended is very dependent on the economic factors and stability of the family. In addition to familisim, there is also gender roles and religious involvement that play large roles in the formation of the family. The Latino/a culture is run by very patriarchal system known as machismo. This makes the families very male dominated and controlled. Finally, for Latino/a families religion is more than just an experience it is a tradition and a all encompassing part of their lives. These three selected issues greatly lead to the differences in the extended family.