Introduction
The contribution is dedicated to the family, its definition and presentation of its basic types, functions and assistance from the social worker. The family is presented from the point of view of several experts, either sociologists or psychologists, the family is defined from the point of view of the sociological dictionary as well as from the point of view of current legislation - the Family Act. Subsequently, the contribution characterizes the types of families based on statistics from the statistical office and presents six basic functions of the family. The conclusion of the paper is dedicated to the procedures of social work with the family. It draws attention to the procedures and rules of the social worker when working with the family and the methods of supervision, which should be helpful as one of the last options.
Family
The family represents a simple model of society. As we will work with this term, we will try to define this basic term - "FAMILY". For a social worker who works with families, this concept is important. The original meaning of the word family meant a community of people who live under one roof, are subject to one authority and follow established rules. Current legislation defines the family as a unit based on monogamous marriage. In the amended Family Act No. 36/2005 Coll. marriage is defined as the union of a man and a woman formed on their voluntary and free decision in order to create a permanent and harmonious community that will ensure the proper upbringing of children. Marriage is an equal relationship with mutual respect, dignity, help, joint upbringing of children and the creation of a healthy family environment.
A large sociological dictionary defines a family as a joint household consisting of parents and their own or adopted children. They form a closed, small intimate group in which confidential personal contacts prevail. This family is characterized by common interests and a considerable degree of solidarity. (Great sociological dictionary II, 1996).
In the recent past, we have come across a number of different definitions of the family in the professional literature, such as, for example, that the family arose primarily from the need to protect its offspring, teach, educate and prepare it for life (Matejček, Z., 1994). Contemporary authors define the family as a kind of institution that has irreplaceable importance for the development and life of a person. In addition to satisfying psychological, social and physical needs, the family provides the background necessary for social self-realization. The family is a source of patterns of behavior for the next life and a well of experience. (Fischer, Skoda, 2009)
The family can also be seen as an important agent of socialization and gives the child the first and very strong experiences in life. The child in the family sees the behavior of others, cooperation, mutual help, attitudes and opinions as well as the values of the father and mother. This family integrates the child into the way of life, teaches him social requirements and norms. Subsequently, we draw attention to the fact that the family can be perceived as a socially important link between a person and society, and therefore it is important for a person and also for the whole society. It is important for a person which family he lives in and for society it is important which families he is made of (Keller, J., 2008). According to Laca (Laca, 2011), the family is an important part of every person's life. In its essence, it is a form of permanent cohabitation of persons who are connected by marriage, partnership, blood and adoption bonds. The family has its roots in the past and its direction is towards the future.
The family is of irreplaceable importance for society. According to Marschϋtz, on the one hand, by caring for its old and sick members, to whom it renders an irreplaceable service, and on the other hand, the family devotes itself to the younger generation and opens its doors to life. (Marschűtz, 2008).
The German sociologist René König called the family a "socially total phenomenon" while, according to him, family analyzes have a "strategically central position" (in Sociológia 38, 2006, No. 1, p. 6).
Types of families
All the definitions of the family presented by us are positive and have their legitimacy, but let's look at the family from the point of view of the statistical office, which carried out an evaluation of families from several points of view. Over the past three decades, the Slovak family has undergone significant changes, also as a result of transformational processes in society. There has been a departure from traditions, especially in the sense that family and parenthood are no longer linked strictly to marriage. As reported by the Statistical Office, young people are reassessing their priorities, especially when it comes to choosing between parenthood and a career path. Divorce is often understood as one of the solutions in case of disagreements between partners. Currently, the incomplete family is no longer considered an unwelcome aspect, there is a disintegration of the family, i.e. mutual support of family members comes into conflict with claims to personal independence. (Statistics in contexts, 2023).
We will present the current image of the Slovak family based on the "2021 Population Census" from the data published by the Statistical Office. According to the statistical office, as of January 1, 2021, there were 1,436,078 families - family households in Slovakia, which represents 60% of all census households, with almost 4.2 million inhabitants living in them, i.e. 80% of residents who declared their residence in Slovakia as of January 1, 2021 live in family households. These families include complete families (made up of families of married couples and families of cohabiting couples) and incomplete families (made up of single fathers/mothers with a child/children). Families of married couples make up 66% of family households, families of cohabiting couples (9%) and families of single parents with children (25%).
Figure 1: Structure of families in the Slovak Republic in 2021
As the statistical office further states, most families are families with children. They declare that almost 944.6 thousand families founded by marriage (RZM) represent 38.1% without children and 584.3 thousand with children, which is up to 61.9%.
The number of families founded by cohabitation was 50.8 thousand, of which 37.7% were without children and 62.3% were with children.
If we look at the so-called incomplete families, so we find that these families form the second largest group of families, with a number of almost 357.2 thousand. Single-parent families with one child prevail - 68.9%.
Table 1: Family households by number of children in the Slovak Republic, 2021
Source: Statistical Office of the SR 2023
The statistical office also paid attention to alternative forms of family coexistence. The source of changes in the family are influences that cause a certain diversification of forms of family coexistence, such as life events, but especially the permanence of the relationship, early and frequent premarital experience in the field of sexual life, postponement of parenthood, higher emphasis on material values, efforts to maintain individual freedom or career aspirations. And so the cultural pressure for one, certain universally binding family model has weakened and different solutions are being sought and created and different people make different decisions according to their preferences, and because it takes two to start a family, negotiation about the family model towards which the couple is moving increasingly becomes a part of selective matching (Možný, 2006).
In recent decades, an alternative family has been established not only abroad, but also in Slovakia, which was created by the breakup of biological families on the basis of a new partner relationship. This type of family is also known as a reconstructed family, or an extended family, a re-established family, or even a stepfamily. From the point of view of several experts, it is clear that this type of family represents the most complicated network of family relationships.
Basically, this family consists of parents and at least one child who is directly related to only one parent, but at the same time, this type of family can also include joint children from the current relationship. Thanks to the statistical office, 48,950 such families were identified and in them there was at least one child who had a parental relationship with only one person in a married or cohabiting couple. A larger part of such reconstructed cohabitation consists of families founded by marriage (27,202) and a smaller part is cohabiting couples (21,748). However, of all marriages with children, extended families make up only 4.7%, in contrast to 26% of all cohabitations with children. (Statistics in contexts, 2023).
Table 2: Patchwork families in Slovakia in 2021
As the statistical office declares, in this type of family members encounter several problems, which can lead to trauma for children and parents.
The future of families in Slovakia is closely related to the setting of demographic processes, which are connected to family behavior and also to the age composition of the population. The dynamism of population aging is a factor that affects the development of families and households. In addition to this factor, it is necessary to take into account socioeconomic conditions, apartment, lifestyle, as well as norms and values in the context of family behavior and couple cohabitation. (Statistics in contexts, 2023).
Essential Family Function
If society is to function, it must fulfill its basic functions, and the same applies in the family. Most authors agree that we know six basic functions of the family:
- Biologically – reproductive
- Economical
- Emotional
- Protective
- Kindergarten
- Socialization (Sobotková, I. 2012)
Each of the defined functions of the family is specific in its own way, and families within it try to fulfill a specific role. It is also important to point out that all functions are interconnected, they complement each other, we cannot strictly separate them, as they form one whole - just one family. In addition to the above-mentioned basic functions of families, it is also possible to meet the hedonistic, value-oriented and regenerative function of the family.
On the basis of the Institute for Work and Family Research, we draw attention to the so-called The "European family", which has undergone significant development in recent decades. Kasanová (Kasanová, A., 2022) draws attention to the fact that the stability of today's family stands and falls with the emotional balance of the partner relationship.
Procedures of social work with the family
The family is a space where the social worker can apply the procedures and methods of his work, when he discovers that a situation has arisen in the family that damages or threatens the family. It is undeniable that the most favorable effect on an individual is a family in which there is a harmonious marriage/partnership of the parents, there are no conflicts or unpleasantness. The family is a place where joy, peace and security should dominate. Children in the family, by watching their parents, adopt patterns of behavior. We note that families with a destabilized marriage/partnership have a negative impact on the formation of a child's personality, children are often traumatized. (Levická, J. et 2004)
The role of a parent - "parental role" - is a role primarily biologically conditioned, which has psychological as well as social value. It can be characterized as follows:
- The parental role is clearly a superior role;
- The parent is the dominant authority, the child is dependent on the parent and submits to him in everything;
- Parental power and feeling of control over the child is almost absolute, the parent decides almost everything;
- A parent binds his child with an unbreakable bond to his partner - the other parent, because he is their joint offspring.
- Parenthood represents a fundamental turning point in a person's life, it requires a change in lifestyle and is not an easy task, it is rather a challenge!
The social worker distinguishes the following types of families: Perfectionist families one or both parents are characterized by an excessive emphasis on desirable behavior, while exceeding the standards is accompanied by high anxiety. Disproportionate families rely on outside help to solve problems. These families have a problem with finances, managing them and raising children. Egocentric families are characterized by a social career, family relationships are of an instrumental nature, an individual has value only when he immediately satisfies someone else's need or presents the family well on the outside. In children, there are frequent school absences, behavioral disorders or psychiatric problems. Asocial families are characterized by a lack of value and social connection to ordinary society. Family relations are weak, if a child is born, it is unplanned and irresponsible, parents sometimes give up children and agree to adoption. In an antisocial family, there can be neglect, abuse, and even child abuse. Adults do not go to work, they can often use addictive substances and there is a possibility of physical aggression.
Social work with the family can be considered as the fourth method of social work, which follows the methods of individual, group and community social work. Social work with the family is based on the idea that parents, children and the family as a whole deserve help. The social worker works with the family, because what affects the individual will also be transmitted to other family members. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the family as a whole.
The main tasks of social work with the family include:
- strengthen the potential of the family and prepare the family for long-term change
- provide additional support to subsequent family therapy so that the family can maintain effective functioning;
- to create specific changes in the functioning of the family to maintain an effective and satisfying daily routine that will be independent of official assistance
A social worker whose role it is to work with a family may encounter it under various circumstances. He can be sought by the family itself, because it realizes that the whole family or its member needs professional help, or the institution where the worker is employed entrusts him to work with the family. The family can also reach a social worker at the initiative of another organization, for example: court, school, etc. or based on the submission of another citizen's initiative or is summoned through the social protection of children and social guardianship. (Levická, J., 2003))
Most often, work with the family is carried out at the Employment Offices, where the competences of social workers are greatest and most effective. We could also mention the Center for Children and Families, then the municipality and also the higher territorial unit. We must not forget the third sector, which has an irreplaceable place when working with children as well as when working with the family. In order for the work to be carried out thoroughly, the social worker works closely with the police, the prosecutor's office, the courts, the school, educational facilities, health care providers, the children's commissioner and the public defender of rights.
The family in social work can be viewed on two levels>
- The family as the social environment of the client - individual
- The whole family as a client of social work
When a social worker goes to work, it is important to focus on the whole and comprehensively assess the family, taking into account the client's point of view and the point of view of the entire environment in which the client lives and which affects him. The task of the social worker is to consider the identified factors and consider which are key in the context of the given situation. (Hudecová, A. et al. 2010)
Conclusion
At the end of the post, we note that before a social worker gets to work, it is important that he or she starts from the basic rules of working with the family:
- Create a relationship with the whole family;
- Control the tension in the family and ensure "ventilation";
- Accept the opinions of all who participate in the process;
- In case of individual meetings, inform all family members;
- Involve the whole family in the process;
- Search for suitable alternative solutions with the family;
- Encourage the family to come to a realistic agreement;
The principles of human rights and social justice form the basis of social work, which forms an interconnected system of values of theory and practice. Another effective, but still little used method is supervision with the family. "The supervisor can correct ineffective practices that occur in the family." (Bujda, 2022, In: Prohuman) Supervision serves to eliminate accumulated and unprocessed negative emotions that can lead to its disintegration. "It can also verify the correctness of procedures by members, with the group and with the family. Supervision can be a prevention against wrong decisions that could have a negative effect." (Bujda, 2022, In: Prohuman). In the future, supervision will be helpful and necessary even in families. Supervision should be helpful as a last resort. "The most effective way to combat these socio-pathological phenomena is prevention." (Bujdová, 2015, p. 25). There are no precisely defined most effective methods of prevention. In doing so, the individuality of each family must be taken into account.
Author: PhDr. Radovan Dvonč
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