6 Pages

 

M

arsh

all, a 32 year old Caucasian male, and Cynth

ia, a 30 year old Hispanic female

, have been together

for over 13 years and married for 9 years. Marshall and Cynthia have three children together: Sylvia,

age 11, Jonathan, age 7 and Torrence, age 5. The two met as children as they lived in the same

neighborhood. Marshall is an only chi

ld and his parents, Judith (age 61) and Randy (age 66) are still

married, living in his childhood home. Marshall has a half

–

brother, Stephen (age 35), the only child

from Randy’s previous marriage (name and age of previous partner unknown). Stephen spent

w

eekends with the family until he moved in full time to have a shorter commute to the local

community college. After graduation, Stephen moved out of state to begin his career. Judith and

Randy allowed Marshall much freedom as a child and often took weekend

 

trips away from home

during Marshall’s teenage years, leaving Stephen in charge. Marshall also often spent time at his

maternal grandparents’ (Vivian and George, both deceased) home during the summer to visit with his

extended family.

 

Cynthia comes from a

 

very strict Puerto Rican home and is the middle child, having an older

sister, Marissa (age 35) and a younger sister, Sophia (age 29). Marissa’s father, William (age 58) is a

pastor in the family’s local church and her mother, Patricia (age 56) works with

 

the women’s ministry

in the parish. They have been married for 36 years and had moved to the United States shortly after

they were married so that William could find better work opportunities. William previously worked as

an HVAC laborer and retired at a

young age after sustaining an injury on the job.

 

Cynthia grew up in a household with very traditional gender roles and the expectation that she

would be married before living with a partner, given the family’s Christian beliefs and values.

Cynthia’s pater

nal grandmother, Carmen (age 80) still lives with her parents and Patricia has been

her primary caretaker for the past several years. Carmen moved in with the family after her husband

Julian passed away. Cynthia threw her family for a loop when she announc

ed her pregnancy with

Sylvia, considering that she and Marshall were not yet married. There was quite a bit of pressure for

Cynthia and Marshall to marry, however, they chose to buy a home before saving for a wedding. As a

result, William and Marshall have

 

a very strained relationship because he blames Marshall for

challenging Cynthia’s faith and getting his daughter pregnant and not marrying her right away.

 

Now that Sylvia is approaching her teenage years, Cynthia and Marshall have been

disagreeing about t

heir parenting choices. Marshall believes that Sylvia should be allowed to have a

cell phone and a later curfew since she is at an age where social connections are most important.

Marshall believes that they have instilled moral principles and responsibili

ty in Sylvia and that she can

be trusted to make good choices.

 

Cynthia believes that Sylvia should still be closely monitored and wants to send her away to an

all

–

girls, Christian camp for the entire summer. Cynthia worries that she will make choices that

will

impact her future. Since Cynthia was only 19 when she had Sylvia, she had dropped out of college to

be a stay

–

at

–

home mom. Cynthia has worked hard to raise her children in the church and pushes

Sylvia to help out with household chores so that she has

an understanding of what adult life is like.

Cynthia constantly reminds Sylvia that making the choice to engage in behaviors that may result in

her becoming a parent at a young age will increase responsibilities on her shoulders. Sylvia has

begun to act ou

t since she feels it is unfair that her brothers are not held to the same expectations

and do not need to participate in household chores. Sylvia often feels jealous of her brothers and has

begun to argue with her mom about her responsibilities around the

house.

 

Genogram Assignment: Martin Family Case

HSV

364

—

Human Behavior in

Social Environment

 

M

arsh

all, a 32 year old Caucasian male, and Cynthia, a 30 year old Hispanic female, have been together

for over 13 years and married for 9 years. Marshall and Cynthia have three children together: Sylvia,

age 11, Jonathan, age 7 and Torrence, age 5. The two met as children as they lived in the same

neighborhood. Marshall is an only child and his parents, Judith (age 61) and Randy (age 66) are still

married, living in his childhood home. Marshall has a half-brother, Stephen (age 35), the only child

from Randy’s previous marriage (name and age of previous partner unknown). Stephen spent

weekends with the family until he moved in full time to have a shorter commute to the local

community college. After graduation, Stephen moved out of state to begin his career. Judith and

Randy allowed Marshall much freedom as a child and often took weekend trips away from home

during Marshall’s teenage years, leaving Stephen in charge. Marshall also often spent time at his

maternal grandparents’ (Vivian and George, both deceased) home during the summer to visit with his

extended family.

Cynthia comes from a very strict Puerto Rican home and is the middle child, having an older

sister, Marissa (age 35) and a younger sister, Sophia (age 29). Marissa’s father, William (age 58) is a

pastor in the family’s local church and her mother, Patricia (age 56) works with the women’s ministry

in the parish. They have been married for 36 years and had moved to the United States shortly after

they were married so that William could find better work opportunities. William previously worked as

an HVAC laborer and retired at a young age after sustaining an injury on the job.

Cynthia grew up in a household with very traditional gender roles and the expectation that she

would be married before living with a partner, given the family’s Christian beliefs and values.

Cynthia’s paternal grandmother, Carmen (age 80) still lives with her parents and Patricia has been

her primary caretaker for the past several years. Carmen moved in with the family after her husband

Julian passed away. Cynthia threw her family for a loop when she announced her pregnancy with

Sylvia, considering that she and Marshall were not yet married. There was quite a bit of pressure for

Cynthia and Marshall to marry, however, they chose to buy a home before saving for a wedding. As a

result, William and Marshall have a very strained relationship because he blames Marshall for

challenging Cynthia’s faith and getting his daughter pregnant and not marrying her right away.

Now that Sylvia is approaching her teenage years, Cynthia and Marshall have been

disagreeing about their parenting choices. Marshall believes that Sylvia should be allowed to have a

cell phone and a later curfew since she is at an age where social connections are most important.

Marshall believes that they have instilled moral principles and responsibility in Sylvia and that she can

be trusted to make good choices.

Cynthia believes that Sylvia should still be closely monitored and wants to send her away to an

all-girls, Christian camp for the entire summer. Cynthia worries that she will make choices that will

impact her future. Since Cynthia was only 19 when she had Sylvia, she had dropped out of college to

be a stay-at-home mom. Cynthia has worked hard to raise her children in the church and pushes

Sylvia to help out with household chores so that she has an understanding of what adult life is like.

Cynthia constantly reminds Sylvia that making the choice to engage in behaviors that may result in

her becoming a parent at a young age will increase responsibilities on her shoulders. Sylvia has

begun to act out since she feels it is unfair that her brothers are not held to the same expectations

and do not need to participate in household chores. Sylvia often feels jealous of her brothers and has

begun to argue with her mom about her responsibilities around the house.

Genogram Assignment: Martin Family Case

HSV364—Human Behavior in

Social Environment