1. Family Structures in the Caribbean

2. African-Caribbean Families  Approximately 80 to 90 percent of families in the Caribbean are from an African background (greatest effect on culture)  Absent fathers  Grandmother-dominated households  Marriage and Divorce  Child-shifting, where children are sent to live with relatives because the parents have migrated or have started a family with another spouse  Four kinds of relationships within family  marital union  common-law union (the parents live together, but are not legally married)  visiting union (the mother still lives in the parents' home)  the single parent family (mother raises children alone)

3. Chinese-Caribbean Families  Try to keep much of the traditions and customs of China  Especially try to preserve their language  They often identify with the areas in China from which they came, and keep close associations with people from areas  Provide education for all their children, but sons are still favored  Privacy  Family problems usually kept private and only talked about within the family/household. Not a lot of emotional expression, public demonstrations of love are rare  Chinese families appear more stable.  Stay true to Chinese family structure and tradition of rather introverted family life  Chinese families will sometimes migrate to areas where other Chinese families are, isolated from others  Family traditions  Many families may change religions, they still practice Buddhist traditions like lighting incense and, sometimes, keep Buddhist shrines in the home.  Many use/trust herbal medicine as opposed to modern.  Are still often perceived by many as higher class families because of their lighter skin color

4. Indian-Caribbean Families  Roles of Family Members  Father – head of family, authority figure, provider. Final disiplianarian and decisionmaker.  Mother – caretaker, household chores. Major role of women is to get married and contribute to the family.  Women are seen as inferior to men (traditional Hindu perspective)  Children - bring honor to their families through achievements and good behavior  Valued traits in chilren - conformity, generational interdependence, obligation, and shame  Children are seen as products of their parents hard work. One of the primary goals of marriage in Hindu families is to have children.  Children must take care of their parents when they grow old (traditional Indian way)  Girls groomed for marriage from childhood  Several generations live in same house  Role of women starting to improve  More women are going to high school and universities, and hold prestigious jobs