Family Case Study: The Anderson Family

Anderson Family The Anderson family is an African-American pair of grandparents –Ernie and Audrey—raising their daughter’s three children. Their daughter and her husband were killed in a car accident recently; however, the grandchildren had been living with the grandparents before this untimely tragedy due to financial hardships experienced by the family. There are three children, two of which appear to be adjusting well, and have supports in place. The main concern of Ernie and Audrey surround their 3-month old granddaughter, Artesia. Artesia was born with an extremely low birth weight, and has faced other health problems since delivery. While Artesia’s mother was pregnant with her, it was reported that they had been living in a car. Artesia’s mother did not receive proper medical care, as well as engaged in proper self-care, during the pregnancy due to her

However, another specific inclusion of information was the strong Baptist Faith and regular church attendance of the family. This could have a direct influence on Artesia’s development. Krause and Tran (as cited in Brody, Stoneman, & Flor, 1996) stated, “the potential benefits of African American religious participation are underscored by research indicating that religious belief and church attendance form an important coping mechanism for negotiating the life stresses that rural African Americans are more likely than other groups to experience,” (p. 696). While Artesia is far too young to directly experience what is proposed above, it would reach her through transference from her grandparents. The cultural significance of church participation could in fact decrease stress in the household, and provide tools for coping with the situation. Since Artesia was exposed to so much stress during the pregnancy, as well as immediately after, a relaxed environment would benefit her