CONTENT:
Cross-Cultural Health Perspectives Case StudyNameInstitutionCross-Cultural Health Perspectives Case StudyCulturally speaking, it is not unusual that Grandmother Marietta is the primary caregiver for Lanesha Johnson. Coming from an African-American family, Grandmother Marietta is a victim of the social and cultural factors that affect low-income and dysfunctional families. Marietta’s family is evidently dysfunctional because she is raising two kids who were abandoned by their mother, and is also taking care of her own aging mother. The absence of a father or mother figure in this family is characteristic of majority of African-American families, in which 12 percent of the children are raised by their grandparents (Horky, 2014). At the same time, African-American families tend to lead a communal whereby family responsibilities, such as taking care of children, are shared. Even in normal functioning families, children may continue to stay in the same household with their parents after marriage. The parents take care of their children’s kids, while the children work and provide for the whole family. In Marietta’s case, however, the situation could be as a result of negligence of parental responsibilities by Lanesha’s parents, perhaps due to financial problems, incarceration, or substance abuse. Given that over 70% of African-American families earn less than $20, 000 per year and 35% earn less than $10, 000.