ng Aunt Sarah's age and her health status, a family physician likely would recommend that either she not live alone or that, if she lives alone, she should live in a situation where people who care about her will make regular checks on her welfare and where assistance is accessible to her when required (Russell, 1996). Obviously, these conditions are not being met in the existing situation. Such an environment could be provided, however, either within the Arnolds' home or in an assisted living facility for the elderly.
As the introduction of Aunt Sarah into the Arnold household does not appear to be desirable because of the conflicts that likely would ensue between Aunt Sarah and the Arnolds and eventually among the Arnolds themselves, the assisted living option would be the recommendation from the perspective of a family physician.
Advice From the Perspective of A Social Psychologist
The concept of social roles is associated with both structural and interactionist theory (Friedman, 1992, pp. 212). Structuralist theory views role as a manifestation of cultural influences, while interactionist theory views role as a product of social interaction (Myers, 1993). In this case, the interactionist view of role is the most relevant to the situation. Aunt Sarah's lifestyle has been changed by events to the point where she has lost her functional role in a family.
The interactionist paradigm views social life as a process of interactions among individuals. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes connections between shared meanings, or symbols, and actions and communications, or interactions (Myers, 1993). In relation to family studies, social interactionists conceive a family as a social group, and that within the family as a social group, individuals develop both their own self-concept and individual identity through social interactions within the family structure. Identity refers to self-meanings in a role. Roles are shared nor...