Social Environment (Family)

What is Social Family Environment?

• The family provides and important part of our social environment especially for youths development and health.

• Family can provide many resources such as shelter, food, clothing, emotional support and educational opportunities.

• The family structure, parental health and disability can all be examples of determinants that affect health and development.

What is Family Cohesion?

• Family cohesion refers to the closeness or bonds within a family.

• Family Cohesion or lack thereof is a risk factor to youth health and development.

• Issues such as substance abuse, mental illness and suicide can be a result of poor family cohesion or they can lead to it.

• Development can be influenced by the family. For example a family that regularly socializes could assist with the social skills and emotional development of the youth.

Impact on Youth HealthPositive

• Physical: Support and influence from the parents to exercise.

• Mental: the youth having self confidence• Social: the amount of time spent with family

socializing.

Negative

• Physical: Poor family eating habits• Mental: Family always fighting with each

other which could cause depression • Social: Parents leaving the child how alone for

long periods of time which could cause loneliness

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDijQwR80Oc

Impact on Youth DevelopmentPositive

• Intellectual: a family who helps their child with school work can help them develop their intellectual skills.

• Emotional: the family of a youth can help them develop the optimal way to deal with emotions and how to express them.

• Social: regularly socializing family can develop the child's social skills

Negative

• Physical: parents not playing with their baby which could lead to them not developing their gross/fine motor skills

• Intellectual: not sending the child to school which means they don’t learn how to read or write

• Emotional: If the parents fight a lot it could impact the child learning to express their emotions in the appropriate way.

• Social: the parents may not teach their child important values or beliefs