Auntie OT: A System Approach to Family Roles in Occupational Therapy

Introduction

This is why my role as an Aunt has been so important to me. It has had a significant impact on my occupations and responsibilities through life. My self-understanding of my role as an aunt has developed significantly through the study of Occupational Therapy – specifically the principles, concepts, and constructs of the system theory approach. This confluence of personal with theoretical is what I discuss in this paper.

The Role of an Aunt

Aunts in American families often have close bonds with their nieces and nephews, having an identity that blends characteristics that resemble those of a parent, mentor, and close friend. Aunts and Uncles are among the first adults that children meet in addition to parents and grandparents (Langer & Ribarich, 2007). According to a study by Pashos and McBurney (2008), nieces and nephews reported that aunts, particularly maternal aunts, had a statistically significant emotional role in their childhood. Aunts, even more so than uncles, are held to gender and social expectations to be warm, nurturing, and trustworthy. They are involved with nieces’ and nephews’ lives intimately, listening to their passions, playing with them, and giving them special attention and affirmation. In addition, they are free from the usual conflicts that children have with their parents and mundane, trying, responsibilities of being the primary caretakers. Research shows that aunts commonly take on an ‘alloparent’ role, meaning that they take on certain roles of parenting to help the family successfully raise children (Pashos & McBurney, 2008).

Being an aunt can be an important role in women’s cognitive, social, and physical development across the lifespan. Pashos and McBurney (2008) discovered that the parents’ younger or last-born sister is reported to take on more of a caretaking responsibility for nieces and nephews than other aunts and uncles. Evolutionary theorists claim this reflects the biological and reproductive interests of the younger aunt, who in most cases does not already have children because she learns mothering behavior (Pashos & McBurney, 2008). Researchers who studied aunts across the lifespan noted that being an aunt is beneficial to their health because nieces and nephews are often expected to take care of their aunts in the old age (Langer & Ribarich, 2008). It is often seen as a repayment for the care that the aunt gave to the niece and nephew in their childhood (Langer & Ribarich, 2008).

In both of these studies, researchers found that the proximity of the aunt did not affect the emotional closeness between the family members. In Langer & Ribarich’s (2008) work, the authors specifically explain that technology today makes it easier for aunts to maintain a strong bond with their nephews and nieces. The environment that aunts and their siblings’ children bond in varies from family to family. More importantly, it varies among cultures. African Americans are significantly more likely to live with extended family members due to employment and educational opportunities or other hardships (Langer & Ribarich, 2008). Due to this, the kinship between aunts and siblings’ offspring may be greater. According to Langer & Ribarich (2008), “The higher incidence of extended households among black elderly is one reason why older blacks are less likely than older whites to enter nursing homes” (p. 82).

Being an aunt is both rewarding and challenging. It is rewarding to be a close mentor and friend to the children of your siblings. Being in solidarity with family gives all aunts and their family members support, mutual aid, and security in times of hardship (Langer & Ribarich, 2008). The solidarity of the family, especially between the aunt and siblings, has a positive correlation with the emotional closeness of the aunt, nieces and nephews. At the same time, being an aunt comes with responsibility, like being a strong support in times of crisis

Development of the Aunt Role from the Systems Theory

According to the Systems Theory, a system is referred to as “a whole consisting of two parts whose elements continually affect each other over time as they operate toward a common purpose” (Bierema, 2003, p. 527). Therefore, one type of system is a family. Because an aunt has a unique and valuable role in a family, she is a vital part in the upkeep of a healthy system. According to Bierema (2003), “Systems cannot be understood through fragmented analysis because once you dismantle a system, it loses its essential properties. This is why attempts to fix part of a system often fail to fix the system as a whole” (p. 528). According to professionals who adopt a systems perspective, it is an injustice to look at a recipient of service without considering the system that the individual is a part of. Humans do not exist in isolation. They exist in the family dynamic and social structures. It takes a special type of learning, called ‘double-loop’ learning to be able to think with a systems mindset (Bierema, 2003). Double-loop learning takes introspection, the ability to question assumptions, and the ability to consider unique and new possibilities (Bierema, 2003). Because Aunts are not typically considered as the primary caretakers in most families, it can be easy to assume they are not an integral part of one’s life. However, it takes a double-loop learner to reassess this assumption if necessary.

Interpretations from an Occupation and Systems Perspective

It is necessary for a practitioner to have a holistic perspective of a recipient of service before assigning her a treatment plan. Though this article on Systems Theory mostly focuses on physicians’ treatment of the physical body, occupational therapists are concerned about the total well being of a recipient of service, including socio-psychological health. Occupational therapy practitioners believe that all humans have biological, psychological, cultural, socioeconomic, and spiritual aspects of their lives and no part can be ignored because they all interact to form a whole being. This being said, it is necessary for occupational therapy practitioners to consider their recipient of services’ system, which may include an aunt.

It is important to ask a recipient of service about her family situation and values because a proper therapy treatment plan will consider the recipient of the service’s culture, values, safety in the home, and support systems. An occupational therapist cannot make appropriate treatment plans without considering what a client’s daily life looks like and what environment she is in because this directs her goals what occupation she will enjoy and benefit from as therapy. More so, an aunt can play a vital role in a recipient of the service’s recovery if she is already a significant caregiver.

It is also important to consider what roles a recipient of service holds and if she is an aunt herself. A large part of her daily activities may include caring for nieces and nephews. It is the responsibility of the occupational therapy practitioner to consider not only a client’s support system but also whom the client gives care and support to herself. Because an aunt is in large part a mentor and caretaker to others, it can be of utmost importance for aunts to engage in occupational therapy to be able to care for individuals who depend on her.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Clearly, there are many things to consider when an occupational therapy practitioner is assessing a recipient of service, such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and roles. If the aunt is elderly and without children of her own, the occupational therapist needs to consider who is responsible for taking care of her. This is why it is necessary for occupational therapists to work on a team. It is necessary for the occupational therapy practitioner to discuss services for the client with social workers, family members, doctors, community workers, mental health practitioners, and more. It is unrealistic to expect an occupational therapist to be fully able to meet all of a client’s needs from a systems approach without utilizing their own system, a team of professionals, for support.

References

Bierema, L. (2003). Systems thinking: A new lens for old problems. The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 23, 527-533.

Langer, N., & Ribarich, M. (2007). Aunts, uncles – nieces, nephews: Kinship relations over the lifespan. Educational Gerontology, 33, 75-83.

Pashos, A., & McBurney, D. (2008). Kin relationships and the caregiving biases of grandparents, aunts, and uncles: A two-generational questionnaire study. Hum Nat, 19, 311-330.