MENTAL HEALTH AND THE EXTENDED FAMILY

One of the most important trends in America during the 1950s was what is commonly known as the “nuclear family”. Each family unit consisted of a father, a mother and their children and they lived and worked separately from the rest of their family in houses that were obtained by abundant and inexpensive credit. At the average age of eighteen, the children would be expected to leave this unit in order to set up one of their own. The rest of the family, the aunts, uncles and grandparents, were only seen on special occasions.

If you believe what you see in modern advertising, this has come to be seen as a cultural norm. The reality is that the “nuclear family” was ideal in times of record economic prosperity, but during hard times, it isn’t practical or fair. The “nuclear family” was an invention of the fifties, when a large, prosperous middle class was necessary to prove that the “American way” was so much better than communism. Now, however, the widening gap between the rich and the poor has decimated the middle class, and the happy families dwelling in beautiful suburbs, seen so often on television, are rapidly becoming a complete fantasy.

During the depression, homes were modeled as “extended families” where it was common to have three or more generations living under one roof, and neighbours were included as well, since they would often share in the child rearing and the household work.

Most people who have experienced mental illness in either them or in a family member know that the continued support of family and friends, often well into adulthood, is essential in the eventual recovery of the individual. There is no shame in this, because families have worked together for their common good long before the “nuclear family” was ever invented.