Family Case Study: Family Dynamics, Challenges & Child Outcomes

This case study examines a family of four residing in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, highlighting the challenges they face due to the father's frequent absence for naval duties. Elizabeth, the mother, struggles to manage her teenage daughters, Catherine and Angela, who are significantly influenced by peer pressure and the lack of a consistent father figure. The children, being of mixed race, experience adjustment issues at school, with Angela becoming withdrawn and Catherine engaging in gambling, leading to financial strain. The situation escalates when Catherine is caught stealing, resulting in a confrontation where she accuses her father of being absent and contributing to their problems. The case study underscores the impact of parental absence, cultural background, and intergenerational values on family dynamics and child outcomes, illustrating the complexities within the family structure.

Running head: FAMILY CASE STUDY
Family Case Study
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FAMILY CASE STUDY
A family of four lives in the region of Newcastle, located in New South Wales in
Australia. Their neighborhood was quite scenic and peaceful in nature. The neighbors were
considerate to the family and often came by in the evenings to give company to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, aged forty years was married to John, aged forty five years and had two daughters,
named Catherine and Angela. Catherine was seventeen years old while Angela was fourteen.
Elizabeth was a native of Australia, while John was from London. As a consequence, the
children were a mixed race and this significantly affected their level of adjustment in their
school. John had to work overseas since he was employed in the navy and as a result, he could
not be home for a better part of the year. Due to this, the responsibility of the entire family fell on
Elizabeth. However, she found it quite difficult to handle her two daughters alone who were in
their teenage years. Being teenagers meant that Catherine and Angela were quite influenced by
the opinions and views of their peer groups.
Catherine and Angela attended the same school and Elizabeth was of the hope that they
would be able to look after one another. However, this did not transpire as the two girls were
heavily impacted by the absence of their father. Since John had to spend much of his time away
from the family, Catherine and Angela grew up without a father figure who was almost non-
existent to them. As a result, when John came home on a holiday, his two girls would not listen
to his advices and would try not to be in his company if they could help it. John, on the other
hand, did not try to mend his relation with his children in an effective manner. His life overseas
turned him quite rough on the inside and made him cautious about his surroundings. As a
consequence, it was difficult of him to open up to people. This difficulty was in existence even in
the case of Elizabeth. Before their marriage, John had a business of his own near his house due to
which the couple could spend their time together, raising their kids. They had a happy and

2FAMILY CASE STUDY
content life. However, ever since John joined the navy, he could not give much time to his family
and the distance among them only grew more with time.
The whole family situation deeply impacted the children. Due to their mixed races, they
faced a lot of problems in school. Angela was more impacted by this than Catherine and often
spent her days with Elizabeth’s mother who used to take care of the children when Elizabeth had
to go to work. Catherine, on the other hand, got involved with a group of people who were
addicted to gambling. Catherine started to gamble in a regular manner and often used to steal
money from her mother’s wallet. This put a financial strain on the family as Elizabeth’s work
could only cover the regular expenses of the family and the income earned by John was sent
home only once every three years.
One day, Elizabeth’s mother caught Catherine stealing money. She was so aghast at the
instance that it took her quite some days to report the incident to her daughter and son-in-law.
During that time John was at home and hearing the misdeeds of his daughter made him quite
livid. When Catherine came back home from school, John started to accuse her of being a failed
daughter while Elizabeth wept in the corner. Hearing the accusations of her father, Catherine
shouted back saying that John has failed to be a father figure to his two daughters. His absence
had affected his children to the extent that one of them was being bullied in school while the
other had fallen in bad company. Catherine believed that of John was more present in their lives
then perhaps all these hardships could have been avoided.
John took a moment to realize the accusations of his daughter. He had grown up in a
family where the women were usually subdued by the men of the family. They hardly spoke up
and abided by the wishes of his father and him. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was raised by a
strong mother who always believed that women should be able to voice their opinions. As a

3FAMILY CASE STUDY
result, Catherine’s character could reflect the values imbibed by her mother and her grandmother
when she voiced her opinions.