Genogram Analysis of the Author - Coursework Example

Genogram Analysis of the Family and Consumer Science of the Concerned November 7, Genogram Analysis There is no denying the fact that a Genogram tends to be a 21st century version of the conventional family trees. Though a Genogram tends to replicate a family tree in many ways, in a broader sense a Genogram happens to be an illustrative representation of the family history of a person. A Genogram happens to be a detailed family tree that not only contains information as to the names of the respective family members and their place in the family hierarchy, but also contains varied other details as to the nature of marital relationships of the varied family members and whether the married or divorced, the diseases and health conditions that afflicted them and varied other facts depending on the type of information that is decided to be used in the configuration of a Genogram. That is why a Genogram is of immense relevance for tracing the salient traits and attributes in one’s family. Thereby I must acknowledge the fact that configuring a Genogram of my family turned out to be am immensely informative and insightful experience for me. Well, I must acknowledge the fact that I was quiet conversant with much of the information pertaining to my family and varied family members existing across varied generations that I required to construct a Genogram of my family. However, as it is with a Genogram, one need to have many intricate details about one’s family members so as to be able to compile and configure a truly informative and viable Genogram. Thereby I was required to solicit the help of my father so as to cull out the detailed information as to my family. My father as his other brothers is quiet conversant with the family history and the intricate details concerning the family as to the varied health conditions that afflicted or afflict varied family members, the marital history of the family members and the names of the spouses of the various family members. Belonging to the second generation of the family, and being a person with panache for details, my father readily helped in providing the data pertaining to my family when I told him that I needed it to compile a Genogram of our family. I also sorted out tits bits from many other family members also. Well if I consult the Genogram of my family I could see that the success rates of the marriages in my family is not that high. My grandparents that are Lawrence V Ray and Julia Ray were divorced. One of my uncles Richard Ray never married, and my father and my uncle Charles Ray did divorce their first wife and remarried. If I take a look at the marital history of my generation, my brother Jeffrey had a divorce while one my cousins Russell is in a cohabitation relationship. However, the salient factor that needs to be noted is that in my generation, three of my cousins that are Lauren, Morgan and Alex are happily married and do have a stable marital life. Well, if I consider the successive generations in my family, I believe that the individuals in my family and particularly the males always had a typically independence loving temperament that in a way is never conducive to a stable marital life that requires compromises and adjustments. However, many of the individuals in my family were able to subdue this streak and did manage to have stable marriages as my uncles Glen and Lynn. However, some opted for an emphatically independent attitude that influenced their marriages. One salient trend that needs to be noted in my Genogram is that a majority of my family members are vulnerable to high blood pressure. Both of my grandparents and all of my four uncles and my father did suffer or suffer from high blood pressure. This trait has even percolated to my generation and some of my cousins do have a high blood pressure condition. Thereby my family has a history of being vulnerable to ailments like strokes and heart issues affiliated to high blood pressure. The other trait that I could notice in my family Genogram is that my family has a history of academic accomplishment. A majority of my family members, leaving a few happened to be academically accomplished people and highly successful professionals. I have practically noticed that education is a trait that is highly valued in my family and the successive generations did encourage their progeny to do well academically and helped them with material and emotional support. The other recurrent factor in my family that I have already discussed is that my family has a history of unstable marriages, irrespective of the fact that many individuals in my family are in stable marriages. I must say that my father Warren J Ray has a high blood pressure condition. I could trace this trait to my grandparents that are Lawrence Ray and Julia Ray, both of whom suffered from high blood pressure and were vulnerable to health deficits that could be associated with high blood pressure. I think one big reason for a tendency for high blood pressure in my family is unhealthy life styles and improper dietary preferences that have passed on from one generation to the next. My grandparents and my father and all his four brothers happen to be avid foodies who enjoyed rich and sumptuous food. Thereby, the predilection to high blood pressure in my family could be associated with a stark preference for a diet rich in fat, sugar and salt. The other thing that I could trace out in my family Genogram is that most of my family members being academics oriented and being successful professionals led a sedentary life. A lack of proper physical exercise is one other big trait that is common to my family. Thereby a preference for wrong foods and a sedentary lifestyle are the culprits behind my family’s vulnerability to high blood pressure. The good thing is that those of my cousins who are disciplined about their diet and do exercise are spared of high blood pressure or other associated conditions. One word that characterizes my immediate family is ‘affection’. Both of my parents that are my father Lawrence Ray and my mother Julia Ray though divorced do happen to be people that are committed to their children and are very affectionate with and supportive of them. Irrespective of their personal marital issues, they always made it a point never to encumber their children with them and always collaborated and cooperated with each other to extend love and support to their two children. This is a trait that runs into the family. All the individuals in my family, who were either divorced or in stable marriages did happen to be committed parents and always loved and encouraged their children to excel. I think it is primarily owing to this trait running in my family that most of us happen to be quiet stable and nurturing individuals. I must say that my brother Jeffery Ray is quiet supportive and affectionate towards me and we share a close and nurturing relationship. One word that characterizes my extended family is ‘bonding’. Besides, my brother Jeffery I have eleven cousin brothers and sisters and I must acknowledge that I share a close bond with a good number of them. Though most of us being academically involved or being engaged in busy professional lives does rarely get a chance to get together as a family, still most of us make it a point to stay connected through phone and social media. I must acknowledge that we make one large family and whenever the family gets a chance to get together, it makes one raucous and rocking gathering. This predilection for family bonding and staying connected runs into the family. As far as I know, my father was always quiet close to his four brothers and immensely loving towards their families and children. In line with this family inclination for attachment and bonding, I must say that I am quiet attached to the three children of my brother Jeffery that are Jace, Alyssa and Karly. Though Jace is an adopted child, yet I have noticed that all the three children have inherited this trait for bonding with other family members from their father and grandparents. Even a cursory perusal of my family Genogram assures me of the fact that I have inherited much from my family. For instance I could distinctly see that I have inherited the color of my eyes and hair and the shape of my nose typically from my family. In line with the family vulnerability, my physician has suggested that I am vulnerable to developing high blood pressure. Therefore I always make it a point to eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis. I believe that I will manage to stay away from high blood pressure. The other trait that I have inherited from my family is my drive for excellence. I believe that like most of my family members I am quite a gifted and talented person and happen to approach my goals with a marked sense of dedication and commitment. I must admit that I could say the same about my brother Jeffery and most of my cousins. Typically like many of my family members I know I will also turn out to be a successful and accomplished professional. I must say that if I consider the dominant parenting style in my family and evaluate most of the parents, I must say that most of my family members happen to be permissive parents that tended to take the role of a friend and a guide to their children and always made it a point to help and support them, irrespective of their personal problems including their marital issues. Most of the parents in my family Genogram rarely bothered their children them with unrealistic and cumbersome expectations and always encouraged their children to be independent thinkers and accomplished personalities. I thing permissive parenting happens to be the dominant parenting style in my family, a parenting style that is shared by my grandparents, my parents and my uncles and their spouses. My brother Jeffery is also a permissive parent to his three children and like his parents is very loving, nurturing and supporting towards them and my attitude towards my brother’s children is also quite the same. Though both my grandparents that are Lawrence Ray and Julia Ray were divorced, yet they were very affectionate and concerned towards my father and his children. Both I and my brother do have the fond memories of spending some high quality time with both of our grandparents. I do believe that my father and his brothers inherited panache for family responsibility and a tendency to being concerned about their progeny from their parents. Irrespective of being divorced both of my grandparents remained highly involved with our family all their life and harbored a high degree of concern for their grand children. I must say that I play the role of an organizer in my family who always makes it a point to plan family gatherings and outings, and updating the varied family members about the latest family news and issues. Though I immensely enjoy this role yet sometimes it gets really stressful considering the fact that I am highly involved with my career and academic life and playing the role of an organizer requires me to set aside time and resources. Yet, overall its much fun and joy and I do not mind doing this for a long time to come. Thereby, I must confess that compiling the Genogram of my family in a way helped me reintroduce my family to me. It not only helped me acknowledge many family traits and tendencies that I was already aware of, but also conveyed to me many ignored and hidden traits of my family. Read More