Secret Life of an American Teenager, Essay Example

Amy Juergens, portrayed by Shailene Woodley in the Secret Life of an American Teenager is forced to deal with motherhood and high school after unexpectedtly being impregnated by formed band mate Ricky while on a band camp expedition. This particular show represents a single-parent form because Amy is unwed and with child and fails to have a formal father figure incorporated into the child’s life living at the residence with her and the child. To further the drama and creation of instability Amy’s life, in the recent episodes, Ben wonders what part he plays in Amy’s new life.”[1](“Askville, 2009).   She does receive a lot of financial and emotional support from her mother and father some support from Ricky, the father of the child, but that does not constitute a nuclear family.  A nuclear family is commonly described as a family unit with a mother and father in relationship within the same household.

The family strengths are that Amy receives financial and emotional support from her mother and father. Her father is the owner of a family furniture store and her mother is a stay at home mother which enables her to help take care of the child, John while Amy is at high school. Ricky, the father of the child provides financially by voluntarily giving Amy $50.00 a week to help out with the expenses for the child. Ricky sits for the child on occasion but this cannot be relied on by Amy. Ben, current boyfriend of Amy would like to marry her, but she and Ben are not old enough to marry without consent. He does not help out with the baby enough to constitute it as a real strength that Amy can rely on at this point. Grace, school friend helped raise money while Amy was pregnant to buy necessities for the child such as crib and other supplies. Amy was very thankful for this contribution.

“Boundaries are very exclusive and important in a nuclear family and it is essential that family problems stay within the family. The number of people in the family and its development has influence on the interaction pattern of the family in relation with efforts to communicate effectively.” [2](Boyd, 2005).  It goes with saying that the role of a single mother will change when she marries a step-parent. If a mother continuously tries to discipline a child and the child refuses but listens to the step-parent, the step-parent will take on the authoritarian role from now on and the real mother will lose control over the child. Subsystems develop when families unite for various activities and reason. “Minuchin views each member as well as dyads and other larger groups that form, a subsystem. Groups are boys and girls as well as other members of the family eg. cousins, sister-in-laws, etc. A mother can be a wife, sister and daughter and often these roles conflict.” [3](Boyd, 2005). Often a person has to behave in one way as a wife and another as a sister to achieve harmony within the nuclear family. Often when established boundaries are not set and children rely on parents’ to make all the decisions boundaries become ‘enmeshed’ and there is a decreased independence of children.

In the Secret Life of an American Teenager the intermediate family was originally depicted as an institution full of love and support for the teenager Amy but they were very disappointed in her pregnancy. The family preferred Amy to put the child for adoption but she instead relied on the support of her friends and family to make her decision to keep her child and raise the child with the help of her family and friends. This is a typical scenario of a middle class nuclear family burdened with a teenager that finds herself pregnant and unwed. The family unit was intact and wanted the best for their daughter yet did not know which decision was best for the long haul. They did not necessarily support abortion or adoption but were attempting to keep their personal feeling out of the decision. Now that the baby is born, of course, they are fully supportive and love the child. The nuclear family was again portrayed as a loving and supportive decision maker in the process because without their guidance and financial and emotional support, Amy would not have had the emotional and financial means to raise this child alone while in high school. Her parents are the key to her and the baby’s success at this point. Though she does not possess a nuclear family, the idea that her mother an father do is the guiding force for her and her child. Her mother and father are her and her baby’s strength. Typical families unconsciously appoint one or several members to keep their home and family systems balanced (“happy”) as personal and environmental changes constantly occur. [4](Gerlack, 2009).

References

[1] Askville (2009) What is the Plot of Secret Life of an American Teenager: Season 2? Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://askville.amazon.com/plot-Secret-Life-American-Teenager-season-episode/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=54773379

[1] Boyd M. (2005) Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practise Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=a-GcGVtBnqQC&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=roles,+boundaries+and+subsystems+of+a+functional+family&source=bl&ots=H5E9Uh-ZWQ&sig=OzVz4imnXL_KIeW2j45yCQ7aOV8&hl=en&ei=r72qSsuKM8altgf_37iaCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=roles%2C%20boundaries%20and%20subsystems%20of%20a%20functional%20family&f=false

[1] Boyd M. (2005) Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practise Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=a-GcGVtBnqQC&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=roles,+boundaries+and+subsystems+of+a+functional+family&source=bl&ots=H5E9Uh-ZWQ&sig=OzVz4imnXL_KIeW2j45yCQ7aOV8&hl=en&ei=r72qSsuKM8altgf_37iaCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=roles%2C%20boundaries%20and%20subsystems%20of%20a%20functional%20family&f=false

[1] Gerlack P. (2009) Break the Cycle Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://sfhelp.org/fam/system.htm

[1] Askville (2009) What is the Plot of Secret Life of an American Teenager: Season 2? Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://askville.amazon.com/plot-Secret-Life-American-Teenager-season-episode/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=54773379

[2] Boyd M. (2005) Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practise Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=a-GcGVtBnqQC&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=roles,+boundaries+and+subsystems+of+a+functional+family&source=bl&ots=H5E9Uh-ZWQ&sig=OzVz4imnXL_KIeW2j45yCQ7aOV8&hl=en&ei=r72qSsuKM8altgf_37iaCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=roles%2C%20boundaries%20and%20subsystems%20of%20a%20functional%20family&f=false

[3] Boyd M. (2005) Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practise Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=a-GcGVtBnqQC&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=roles,+boundaries+and+subsystems+of+a+functional+family&source=bl&ots=H5E9Uh-ZWQ&sig=OzVz4imnXL_KIeW2j45yCQ7aOV8&hl=en&ei=r72qSsuKM8altgf_37iaCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=roles%2C%20boundaries%20and%20subsystems%20of%20a%20functional%20family&f=false

[4] Gerlack P. (2009) Break the Cycle Retrieved September 11, 2009 from, http://sfhelp.org/fam/system.htm