Roles, relationships and

responsibilities in the
Caribbean family
 Key terms/ concepts :
1. Status -

A social position which an individual occupies.

2. Role -

The behaviour which is expected from an individual occupying a particular status.

3.Role conflict -

This is when one role interferes with the performance of another

4.Double burden -

This situation exists when women are expected to continue the traditional role
within the home while working similar hours to their partners. This situation
More explanation of Status, Role and Role conflict
i. STATUS- Every individual occupies a number of different positions ; for example an individual may be
a teacher, choir master, father,community leader and a counsellor. These positions are known as the
individual’s status.Each individual occupies a status/ position in the family. In fact, it is possible for an
individual to occupy more than one status at a time.

ii.ROLE - In each status you are expected to behave in a particular way which is unique to that status.
In other words, a status imposes certain responsibilities on you.These responsibilities are your roles.It is
the way one who is occupying a certain position is expected to behave in a relationship with someone
else.Also note that a role is always associated with a status. It cannot exist by itself. E.g. in order for a
man to perform the role of father he must have a child.

Iii. Role Conflict- This happens when one role interferes with the performance of another role.

Eg. a husband may complain that his wife is not spending enough quality time with him because she is

busy fulfilling her housework responsibilities as well as taking care of the children
 Relationships within the family
This may range from cooperation to conflict. Family members demonstrate cooperation by working
together to achieve family goals. Conflict arises when members of the family have a disagreement or an
argument.
 Factors affecting family relationships
All families face challenges. Family relationships can be affected by internal factors OR external factors.

Internal factors are those originating within the family while External factors are those which come from
outside the family.

Internal factors

*N.B. Students these are NOT ALL of the examples these are ONLY a few !!!!!

i. Poor Communication skills - At times family members find it difficult to communicate with one another.
Communication may become hostile and counterproductive, making every issue seem much bigger than
it really is.

Ii. Poor money management skills - The amount of money earned is not always the problem: financial
hardship may arise if adults have difficulty differentiating between their wants and needs and make poor
use of the money they have earned.
 Factors affecting family relationships
Iii. Different views about raising children- Each parent may have a different view of how children should
be socialized, guided, and disciplined.

Iv. Excessive demands on children- Some children have to take on the role of parents in the home. This
may be more than they are capable of, and cause disappointment and resentment.
Traditional roles of members of the Caribbean family
Traditionally ,roles and responsibilities in the family have been divided between men and women. For
example, women concentrated on the tasks that needed to be done in and around the home and on child
rearing. This led to the saying ,” a woman’s place is in the home.” Men on the other hand, were often
engaged in activities which kept them away from home for long periods sometimes.

Some traditional Male roles in the family

i. Disciplinarian - disciplined the children

ii. Protector - protected the family

iii. Breadwinner- earned the money to supply the family’s economic needs

iv. Decision maker- made all the important family decisions

Traditional roles of members of the Caribbean family
Some traditional Female roles in the family

I. Caregiver- carded for children and other family members

Ii. Socialising agent- socialized the children

iii.Economic provider- prepared and looked after backyard gardens, made art and craft items

iv. Decision taker - allowed her spouse to make all the important decisions in the family

v. Homemaker- did all the household chores such as cooking and cleaning

vi. Counsellor- dealt with the family’s emotional and psychological problems and looked after its religious
needs.
 Factors affecting family relationships continued

External factors-

i. Unemployment / financial problems- When adult members cannot provide for the basic needs of their
family,this can lead to stress and arguments. There is often a sense of fear and disappointment among
dependent members.

ii.Interference by outside individuals, family or friends- Families often have a level of input from outsiders,
which can be positive or negative . There are times when advice from outsiders can be counterproductive
and families need to look within to solve their problems.
 Impact of role sharing in the family
These traditional roles have changed considerably over the years and roles are now a lot less clearly
defined. For example, in the past the man was expected to be the chief breadwinner in the family; in
recent times many women are earning the same as OR more than men. Women are also disciplining the
children; when in the past that was a main role of the males.

In the past males were definitely , the heads of the households. This type of authority was described as
being Patriarchal. This meant that the males were the main authority figure in the homes. However, in
today’s society there is a sharing of the roles; whereby women are performing some of the traditional
male roles ( as was seen in the TWO examples stated in the first paragraph) and vice versa. Therefore,
there is an equal sharing of authority in the home between mother and father- this type of authority is
described as being Equalitarian.