Family Strengths: Definition, Characteristics, and Healthcare

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of family, exploring its definition, characteristics, and societal significance. It begins by examining various definitions of family, highlighting the importance of these definitions in government programs, resource allocation, and societal norms. The essay then discusses the different types of families, including nuclear and extended families, and emphasizes the family's role in socialization. The core of the essay focuses on family strengths, defining them as processes and relationships that protect and support family members, particularly during challenging times. It explores the characteristics of strong families, such as marital happiness, good parent-child relationships, and the ability to meet individual needs. Furthermore, the essay highlights the crucial role of family strengths in healthcare, emphasizing their impact on patient recovery, healthy choices, and social support. It concludes by stressing the importance of healthcare providers upholding the relationship between patients and their families to improve clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, advocating for the inclusion of family support in healthcare delivery.

FAMILY STRENGTHS
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FAMILY STRENGTHS
Defining what a family is often highly debated as its explanation and definition have a
number of different consequences in the lives of the people. Government agencies define what a
family is , this is very important as it determines who will benefit from their programs and who
will not. Definition of a family also bears access to resources such as educational, life insurances,
recreational and health services. Other definitions also portray he society beliefs of what is
acceptable and normal and therefore they show the implication of displaying a deviant behavior.
A family is found I many different societies including the state, economy, educational
organizations and religious communities. It is, therefore, a universal institution.
A family is a group of people who are either connected by marriage or blood. According
to George Peter Murdock an American anthropologist, a family is characterized by economic
cooperation, common residence, and reproduction. A family includes adults who at least have the
sexual relationship that is socially approved and have either their own or adopted children. The
most common type of families is nuclear or extended family (Redshaw, Manns and Fleming
2016).
A nuclear family according to George is one which comprises of a father, mother, and
children. This social grouping is said to be universal. An extended family is mostly an extension
of a nuclear family. This can be due to different ways such as polygamous marriages or due to
lineages. Most of the society views the family as a principal institution for children socialization.
One of the primary functions of the family in the society is reproduction and production of
persons socially and biologically. This occurs when there is the sharing of materials and

providing nurture and care, sentimental and moral ties, and also the obligation and moral rights
(Tucker, Paul, Hobson, Karoff and Gass 2016).
There is no formal or official definition of family strengths. People tend to think that it is
a set of processes and relationships that protect and support the family members and families
especially in times of change and difficulties Family strengths are important in maintaining the
cohesiveness of the family and also developing the well-being of individual members of the
family. Characteristics of strong families according to early studies show that they have marital
happiness, the good relationship between the parents and the children, ability to meet family
individual needs. Recently studies have also shown that there are different processes that show
family strength such as parenting strategies and styles, communication patterns, time use,
adaptation to change and crisis and household routines (Shin 2014). Other studies have shown
that a strong family is one that can produce itself by bringing up children who will later have
stable and harmonious children for themselves. Family strength can also be defined as the ability
of these families to cope with stress (Sigurdardottir, Warwick and Svavarsdottir 2017).
In the healthcare industries, quality care is very important (Hong & Han 2015). Family
strength is important as it helps individual members in making healthy choices and offering care
to their sick relatives. Family strengths bring about social support which enables one to have
access to people one can rely on. Family support during stress, the crisis has been shown to play
a big impact in the lives of the affected people. For instance, most of the people who have been
diagnosed with chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes or high blood pressure, family
support are very important (Shin 2014). Strong families help the patients and loved ones in
remembering their clinic appointments, carry out exercises and take their medications. A strong
family can also assist the individuals in practicing a healthy lifestyle that enables one to avoid

chronic diseases such as high blood pressure. The family also provides practical support such as
childcare support, taking the patient to the doctor or even to the market.
In conclusion, the paper has reviewed the concept of family in contemporary society. The
paper has also discussed on family strengths and their application in healthcare. In this case, the
conclusion of the paper is that family support is imperative in patient recovery. It is also
important for healthcare providers to uphold the relationship between patient and their families
in order to improve clinical recovery, this can be achieved through listening to the views of the
family and taking them seriously. In addition, the patient’s family should be respected and they
should be involved in all the decisions relating to the patient. Therefore, it is important for the
healthcare providers to include family support during healthcare delivery in order to improve
patient recovery and the time spent in the hospital.

Reference List
Hong, Y.S., and Han, K.S., 2015. A Structural Equation Model on Family Strength of Married
Working Women. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 45(6), pp.900-909.
Shin, Y.O., 2014. Middle schooler’s recognition of family strength & interest of family life
contents in technology and home economics (Unpublished master’s thesis). Korea University,
Seoul, Korea, 1(3) pp 12- 45
Shin, Y.U., 2014.Middle School Student's Perception of Family Strength and Educational
Interest of the Unit of ‘Home Life'area'in Technology• Home Economics. Korea, 34(13), pp.
340- 500
Sigurdardottir, A.O., Garwick, A.W. and Svavarsdottir, E.K., 2017. The importance of family
support in pediatrics and its impact on healthcare satisfaction. Scandinavian journal of caring
sciences, 31(2), pp.241-252.
Tucker, A.R., Paul, M., Hobson, J., Karoff, M. and Gass, M., 2016. Outdoor behavioral
healthcare: Its impact on family functioning. Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs,
8(1), pp.21-40.
Redshaw, M., Manns and Fleming, P.J., 2016. Does family-centred neonatal discharge planning
reduce healthcare usage? A before and after study in South West England. BMJ open, 6(3),
p.e010752.