A fortunate addition to the original concepts of Bowen family systems theory, sibling position can be quite informative in understanding human behavior in general and one’s own behavior in particular. How does your best thinking affect your propensity to live out the characteristics of your sibling position?

Sibling Position – A Personality Indicator That is Both Static and Dynamic
In the 1960’s, Dr. Walter Toman became well known for his pioneering studies in family member positioning. He created a picture, if you will, of basic types of sibling profiles that gave an impression of how each sibling was apt to behave and their potential — all things being equal — of a successful life course.

With regard to being static, it differs from other types of personality indicators such as the Myers-Briggs or Riso-Hudson in that one’s sibling position never changes. One can take the Myers-Briggs three times at three different junctures in one’s life, and score three different ways. Your sibling position remains static and yet affects your life and the lives of others in a dynamic way.

Bringing Your Birth Order Position to the Marital Relationship
Toman’s belief was that marital partners have complimentary, partially complimentary, or non-complimentary sibling positions.

Those with non-complimentary sibling positions (such as a wife and husband who are both youngest siblings) have more marital difficulty than do those with complimentary (a youngest brother of sisters married to an oldest sister of brothers) or partially complimentary sibling positions (an oldest brother of brothers paired with a youngest sister of sisters).

Personality Characteristics Based on Years of Research
Dr. Murray Bowen wrote, “Based on my research and therapy, I believe that no single piece of data is more important than knowing the sibling position of people in the present and past generations.”

The Multigenerational Transmission Process speaks to what families look like over the span of at least three generations, and much can be gained by examining generational patterns while considering one’s sibling position.

Doctors Toman and Bowen shared a great deal in their thinking with respect to sibling position, yet one of Bowen’s departures was that of how anxiety plays a role in sibling position profiles.

Brothers, Sisters, and the Anxious Presence
Your birth order says a lot about you. Yet it is propensity and not destiny. There is no superior sibling position, although envy of the other positions seems common! When you are anxious, your tendency to fulfill your sibling position characteristics grows.

For example, the youngest brother of sisters will, when under pressure, be more apt to play the “needy” card, gaining the attention and affection of older women.
It’s been known to come in handy, but ultimately it is an abdication of personal responsibility. How is anxiety affecting your propensity to typify your sibling position?

With many American military servicemen residing in Japan to help rebuild the country, unwanted pregnancies between American men and Japanese women were not unusual. However, racially mixed children, particularly of American decent, were viewed as shameful. A culture of shame created an extraordinary influence on Japanese society to marginalize these orphans.
Miki Sawada, having the Japanese Zaibatsu (Big Business Conglomerates) family background (Mitsubishi), used her accumulated resources to provide a safe home for the orphans. She would trade her clothes to obtain food and lost much sleep in order to change countless diapers. Sawada received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for her outstanding dedication to humanity in 1960.

Ambassador’s Wife
At age 20, Sawada married a Japanese ambassador and converted to Christianity (her husband was Christian). She traveled to several foreign countries with her husband where she met influential people who would affect her later life. One of them was Josephine Baker, an African American entertainer and political activist, who later adopted a dozen orphans from a mixture of racial backgrounds; Baker later adopted two of Sawada’s children. Sawada also befriended a French painter, Marie Laurencin, and an American Nobel Prize novelist, Pearl Buck, who took care of several orphans.

Sawada’s Mission
The war had caused countless families to face death of their love ones, Sawada also had lost one of her youngest sons in the war.
By 1947, her children already being grown adults, her life takes a turn towards a mission she dedicated the rest of her life to. A coincidental incident has changed her life forever – she was accused of abandoning a racially mixed infant on a train; the curly-haired infant was found dead.

Instead of feeling relieved that she was able to prove her innocence, Sawada felt strong mission to save as many innocent lives as she could. Soon after that she convinced herself that it was her mission to raise these children. Many Japanese and Americans viewed her negatively. Some said that it was going to be just a fickle activity by a woman from a wealthy family. However, Sawada kept taking on child after child; she was determined to become a mother to them all. Sawada became a mother for a total of two thousand children

Establishment of Elizabeth Thunders Home
Since the Japanese government was not supportive of Sawada, she used her own resources and solicited for donations overseas. Due to Zaibatsu kaitai (order to dissolve Zaibatsu under the U.S. command), her father was not able to offer her full support. However, in 1948, she was able to gather enough support to buy back one of the family properties and was able to build a school for the orphans. She named the school, “Elizabeth Thunder’s Home”, which was named after a British woman who was the first significant donor for the school.

Moving to Brazil
Sawada spent all her time trying to nurture and protect children from the harsh realities of prejudice in society. However, she realized that as her children grew older, that Japanese society would not accept them as member of society when they matured to adults. Moreover, after leaving her home, some of them would get into trouble and Sawada was often asked to pick them up from police custody.
Realizing that the obstacles her children would face seem indefinite in Japan, she decided to purchase land in Brazil and went with her children to establish a farm and independence. While some had rebelled against her and left, others stayed. Without much success, the farm was finally shut down after 16 years.

Sawada’s Death in Spain
Sawada had always tried to make sure that she remained available to support her children even after they left her home; she kept in contact with as many of them as possible. Although she started out as the mother for the children, she faced many separations as many were adopted out overseas. Sawada often traveled outside Japan to see her children, and dedicated herself to continue her social work for children’s’ welfare.

At age 78, Sawada suffered a heart attack while visiting Spain, and left her legacy behind as a mother of two thousand children.
Look up and Keep Walking

Sawada had often encouraged her children to “look up and keep walking”. She was not only kind but also strict towards her children because she thought it was important for them to be strong to stand against social prejudice. One of her children who was interviewed after her death commented that he was not angry at his birth parents because after all, it was his responsibility to keep walking on his own, regardless of his birth parents. Not all Sawada’s children led a stereotypical happy life, however, they were blessed enough to have Sawada in their life telling them to be proud and keep walking.

They assist patients, families and caregivers with short term and long term planning. They can also provide counseling services to assist with such issues as loss and grief or coping with lifestyle changes and other issues involving health status.

The MSW (Master’s in Social Work) assesses for the social, physical, financial and psychological needs of the patients and assist them in attaining these. For instance, they can assist the elderly to find care in their own homes or an appropriate level of care in assisted living or total care environments. They can assist parents with their needs and issues in caring for infants and children with birth defects and chronic illnesses.

MSWs also help patients and families to cope with the challenges of hospice care and the bereavement issues after the death.

Education and Training
For social workers, the minimum level of education is a bachelor of science in social work (BSW). However, for reimbursement purposes, a master’s degree is usually required (MSW). For those who wish to teach social work, a PhD in social work is most often required.

Course work beyond general education requirements includes classes in behavioral sciences, human growth and development, social sciences, basic psychology, social environment studies, social welfare policies and methods of social work.

License/Certification
All states in the U.S require that social workers be either licensed, certified or registered. Certification is offered to MSWs with two years of experience who are members of the National Association of Social workers and pass a written examination. Most states require 3,000 hours/2 years of supervision to become a licensed social worker (LCSW).

There are a variety of other credentials which can be earned through specific areas of study for social workers to advance in their particular career path.

Work Environment and Salary
Many social workers are employed by hospitals, skilled nursing facilities or the public health department. They also work for home health agencies and hospices, crisis centers, mental health facilities, schools, and substance abuse facilities. Some work in private practice.

Median salaries vary depending upon the nature of the work, but ranged between $35,000 to $43,000 in May, 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall salaries ranged from $24,480 to slightly over $68,000 per year according to these statistics.

Job Outlook
The job outlook for social workers is expected to grow faster than most other occupations well into the next decade. The health workforce is growing due to the demands of an aging and growing population which will continue to require sophisticated care. Social workers provide a necessary dimension to this field.

March is designated as National Professional Social Work month to honor social workers and the contributions they make in improving the quality of life for patients and their families.