Indian family systems, collectivistic society and psychotherapy

Abstract

Indian society is collectivistic and promotes social cohesion and interdependence. The traditional Indian joint family, which follows the same principles of collectivism, has proved itself to be an excellent resource for the care of the mentally ill. However, the society is changing with one of the most significant alterations being the disintegration of the joint family and the rise of nuclear and extended family system. Although even in today's changed scenario, the family forms a resource for mental health that the country cannot neglect, yet utilization of family in management of mental disorders is minimal. Family focused psychotherapeutic interventions might be the right tool for greater involvement of families in management of their mentally ill and it may pave the path for a deeper community focused treatment in mental disorders. This paper elaborates the features of Indian family systems in the light of the Asian collectivistic culture that are pertinent in psychotherapy. Authors evaluate the scope and effectiveness of family focused psychotherapy for mental disorders in India, and debate the issues and concerns faced in the practice of family therapy in India.

Family embeddedness and entrepreneurship experience: a study of Indian migrant women entrepreneurs in Australia

“…Findings also reveal that more than half of the MWEs were living with extended familyin-laws, uncles, aunts and cousins -as a joint family. this is in contrast to earlier findings of the joint family disappearing in India (Gupta 2005;Chadda and Deb 2013), as less than half of the participants in our sample were living independently. Further, as the participants were living in a host country where their extended families could not join them, it can be assumed that the percentage of joint families would be higher in their home country.…”

“…On the contrary, the study of South Asian women entrepreneurs based in the U.K. found that the family as an institution not only supported the start-up of businesses but also provided monetary and other forms of support to enable the women to take the risk and, thus, played an important role in the success and growth of their business (Dhaliwal, Scott, and Hussain 2010). Research further suggests that globalization and sociocultural influences have caused the family system in India to change, and the concept of joint families is slowly waning (Gupta 2005;Chadda and Deb 2013). In addition, women are increasingly coming out of their traditional housekeeping roles to be represented in the labour force and are pursuing professional careers alongside men (Budhwar, Saini and Bhatnagar 2005).…”

Development of an Academic Achievement Risk Assessment Scale for Undergraduates: Low, Medium and High Achievers

“…A child's parents might give or lend money to poor relatives, thereby reducing the immediate resources available to the child. Moreover, siblings and extended family members share parents' attention, so children with more siblings have lower academic achievement (Chadda & Deb, 2013). Recently, Hasnain and Krantz (2010) investigated the risk factors associated with college dropouts among young adults in Karachi, Pakistan, and found that migrant residential status, living in an extended family and lower socio-economic status were identified as risk factors for college dropouts both for males and females.…”

Parenting Adolescents in India: A Cultural Perspective

“…At the same time, it is important to keep in mind the paucity of research studies exploring such factors in contemporary India [17]. Based on the documented evidence about the collectivistic nature of the Indian society, it does not come as a surprise that traditional Indian parenting would also be pivoted around the promotion of social cohesion and interdependence [18]. The value of such parental goals helps Indian families provide for nurturance, emotional bonding, and social support [17].…”