Mexico is a country that has long been thought of as being an impoverished nation, with many more people who are among the poor that those who can be reasonably be considered to be wealthy. In recent years the Mexican people have had a dramatic change in their demographic outlook, with the largest change being in the fertility rate having dropped from 6.5 in the early 70’s to its current rate of 2.2 – easily the fastest rate of decline in the world today. With the importance of family to the Mexican people it is hard to imagine that these new rates will be sustainable in the future and will have dramatic negative implications for the economies of both Mexico and the United States as the population ages without replacement workers (McGoldrick, Giordano & Garcia-Preto, 2005; Sedano, 2008).
The Mexican people are a people who find their roots amongst the Mayan, Aztecan and other Native American people. They also often share an ancestry with the European Spanish who conquered and settled much of what is today Mexico and the American Southwest. Their common language is Spanish and the majority of Mexican people follow the Catholic religion, which interestingly has changed in many ways to include many of the traditions and symbols of the other more ancient religions that were practiced before the Spanish conquest and the forced conversion of the natives. There still runs a deep attachment to “folk” medicine to cure ailments that are most likely caused by stress or other psychological means such as fright, the “evil eye” and even indigestion (McGoldrick, et. al., 2005).
The family in Mexico is predominantly patriarchal in nature there is also a great deal of respect that is due the mothers of the family. Family types range from nuclea...
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...e more educated parents (McCabe, 2002).
It was discovered that such factors as income, perceptions of stigma, expectations of therapist directness, therapist-client match and even acculturation had no significant effect of the dropout rates. The greatest predictors were instead, parental belief in strict discipline in reaction to behavioral and emotional problems along with the perception of barriers to getting treatment (McCabe, 2002).
While it is seen that acculturation may increase the ability of the client to seek assistance and that the acculturation of the parents may help them better understand the role of therapy in helping with behavioral and emotional problems will help more adolescents with these problems seek help it does was shown that improving the parents expectations and attitudes towards therapy may have beeter retention outcomes (McCabe, 2002).
One of the most fundamental institution of colonial Mexico was the family. According to Mark A. Burkholder and Lyman L. Johnson, “‘family’ in this context meant not only the biological family, but also the larger set of family relations created by marriages and by forging alliances through the selection of godparents…”. The nucleus of the family was the father who exerted a great deal of power over other members of the family. Both, men and women were control by their fathers but, man were given certain liberties that were not presented to women. For instance, Susan Socolow mention that “daughters had to be controlled, and the...
During the initial interview with the client a new format is used called the Cultural Case Formulation. This takes into account the cultural identity of the person, their cultural definitions of distress, and cultural stressors. Psychosocial stressors are included which can be unique to each culture and the level that a person identifies with their culture can be taken into account when treatment planning. By assessing a client's cultural identity this may allow the clinician to identify barriers or commonalities between themselves and the
Williams, Norma. (2009). The Mexican American family: tradition and change. New York: General Hall. (Primary)
As Kirst-Ashman and Hull Jr (2012, pp. 453-454) reminds us, “the family is central to Hispanic culture and is hierarchical in structure. That is the father is the primary authority figure (Devore & Schlesinger, 1996). Furthermore, scholars inform us that many Hispanic fathers appear somewhat aloof from the family, especially the children as it is the father’s role to pursue instrumental roles such as earning a living. Often, this results in the father being less likely to express emotional support (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., p. 454). Understanding these concepts of the Hernandez family culture as well as asking questions about their family members depicted on the genogram can aid me to become more informed. This can be a very positive step in the right direction in building a relationship of mutual respect and trust as in our respective roles as client and social work professional enhancing our ability to work together to determine the best intervention
Mexicans, as constructed by Menchaca, are a predominantly mestizo population whose mixed ancestry she traces to early Latin American civilizations. In 200 BC the largest city in the Americas, Teotihuacán, was founded. Teotihuacán would one day be the site of Mexico City, and by 650 AD there were between 120,000 and 250,000 inhabitants. (2) Groups that inhabited the region fro...
Child rearing and family structure within the Hispanic culture is noticeably different than what is present in the mainstream Western culture of today. One apparent difference is in gender roles. There exists a vastly different expectation in Hispanic culture for males and females. The male is considered to be the independent breadwinner, and the head of the household. Accordingly, the female role is one of submission and provider of childcare. In contrast, it is more than acceptable in Western culture for a female to maintain a non-traditional role. Hispanic culture additionally differs from Western culture in the traditional makeup of the family. Within Hispanic culture the extended family plays a huge role
We tend to be like those around us that have the same values and beliefs. So we also tend to do the same things and are raised the same way. Marrying into an Anglo family, this family does not have the close family relations that my Mexican family has. Some Anglo families may, although not to the extent of Mexican households. If you have ever seen My Big Greek Fat Wedding, well this is how Mexican families tend to live their lives, always in each other’s business. I don’t see much of this in my husband’s family and for me, it was a huge adjustment. There almost seems to be a distance and lives are not shared. Where Mexican women think family is most important, Anglo women think family is important, but so is the status. Anglo women seek it all; they want family and career; although not an impossible task, it can take away from family time. “Since prestige, power, and self-esteem are not derived from achieved status to as great an extent among Mexicans, employment is more crucial to psychological well-being for Anglo women than form Mexican” (Ross et al. 1983). Inequality among races shows that Mexicans take immense pride in the household chores while Anglos take great pride in status. By tradition, Mexican women are praised and revered for their roles as homemakers. This view is a status of prestige that is very respected in the Hispanic community. “Ministering mothers are respected revered and recognized important figures despite their alleged low status in the family” (Mirande, 1977:752). On the other hand, “Anglo women are not in traditional homes where the wife receives prestige for her role in family, yet they are not in nontraditional homes where the husband and wife share the work (both outside and inside the home) equally” (Ross et al. 1983). As stated earlier Mexican women in the roles of homemakers in their home are viewed as pillars of strength and respect in their homes and
In the Asian community, a directive, structured, goal-oriented, problem-solving approach that focuses on alleviating specific symptoms is usually preferred. Asian clients expect therapists to give concrete advice and view the therapist as a knowledgeable expert and authority figure. (Paniagua,
In addition, some clients may want to explore their multiple identities and how they position themselves in a world that is highly influenced by culture. Nonetheless, as I read this question, I realized that there is no right or wrong answer. Similarly, there is no right or wrong reason to come to therapy. Therapy is for the individuals who want help regardless of a reason or problem. It is possible that some clients may not have a problem but that is not for the therapist to judge. Instead, the therapist must remain curious and explore the client’s perception of the problem or problems in order to identify unique outcomes and help build preferred
In a tradition Nepali family, the male is considered the head and is responsible for family decisions. Likewise, women are supposed to stay at home and take care of the children. People live in a joint family and make contributions on household tasks and expenses. However, like the Mexican culture, these practices has been changing in Nepali culture too. As mentioned earlier, Mexican families had been modernized. While some families still follow the traditional family system, many others have changed the way they live. New families prefer to live in nuclear families and females have started being the head of the household. Even though the family structure has been modernized nowadays, family is the number one priority among many modern Mexicans. They still like to celebrate festivals and occasions with all of their relatives and still take care of their elderly parents. Family ties are strong in Mexican culture and have been for centuries, and they hope to keep it the same
Velez-Ibanez, C., & Greenberg, J. B. (1992). Formation and transformation of funds of knowledge among U.S.-Mexican households. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 23(4), 313-35.
The Sanchez Family is a large family that emigrated to the United States of America from Mexico. The family is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith and retains their Mexican culture. The family members that this case analysis will focus on are Hector Sanchez and his daughter, Gloria Sanchez. This analysis will provide a review of the family members and how each lens and theory is related to the family member and their presenting concerns.
I will begin to examine the Mexican American ethnic group, probing the historical circumstances that impelled them to come to America, focusing on the structure and functioning of their family life to determine or, at least, to raise clues about how and why they have been able or unable to maintain an ethnic identification over the generations, and take a brief look ahead to being to speculate what the future endeavors are for this ethnic group and their constitutive families.
Latin American society places a great deal of importance on the family as a support network; it is not uncommon for several generations to reside in the same house. This emphasis is called familismo, and the mother in the family is usually the most important figure. She “is seen as the primary nurturer and caregiver in the family…[and] plays a critical role in preservation of the family as a unit, as well as in...
Mexico faces economic trouble as there are more workers than there are jobs that are available. The problem for Mexico is that half the nation’s population is under twenty years old. Making it hard to get a job even in prospers time as millions of people who reach working age go out to look for a job every year (Stein 70 ). Another problem that Mexico suffer from is that about seventy percent of the nation lives in poverty, and half of them live in dire conditions(Stein