The Conner’s
Maria Gonzalez CSUSM NURS480 Family Assessment Visual Report
Introduction: The Conner’s The 2018 Roseanne spinoff, The Conners, showcases the Conner family. They are a low-income extended family living in Lanford, Illinois. Their family consists of two parents, three children, two grandchildren, and an aunt. The parents Dan and Roseanne were high school sweethearts. Dan was a drywall worker and Roseanne was an uber driver. Their children, Becky, Darlene, and D.J. had all moved out and were living their own lives. Darlene then moved back in with her two children, Harris and Mark. They moved in because Darlene had lost her job and to assist her parents. This placed a strain on the Conner family financially. Roseanne’s sister Jackie was often at the Conner household and helped the family as well. Roseanne was suffering from a bad knee and they were unable to afford surgery. As a result, she relied on narcotics to manage her pain. Overtime, she began abusing the medication and became addicted. She was taking medications from other people and hiding them around the house. Dan noticed that Roseanne had a problem and confronted her about it. She revealed that it was the only solution for her pain because of their financial issues. They eventually were able to gather enough money to pay for her surgery. However, this did not stop her addiction. Following surgery, she passed away from an opioid overdose. Her death left a large impact on the family. To help, Becky moved back in and Jackie continued frequently visiting.
Roseanne Conner was a 65 year old woman who was very loving, loud, and opinionated. She was married to Dan and had three children: Becky, Darlene, and D.J. At the time of her death, she was in the Integrity vs. Despair stage of her life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. She had a bad knee and became addicted to narcotics, which eventually led to her overdose.
Dan Conner is a 70 year old widow who was once married to Roseanne. He is caring, funny, and easygoing. Dan is currently in the Integrity vs. Despair stage of his life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. He is dealing with the loss of his wife and trying to provide for his family.
Jackie Harris is a 65 year old woman who was Roseanne’s younger sister. She is a warm and loving aunt to Dan and Roseanne’s children. She is currently in the Integrity vs. Despair stage of her life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. She is frequently at the Conner household to be there for the family after Roseanne’s death.
Becky Conner is 47 years old and is the eldest daughter of Dan and Roseanne. She is an overachieving and intelligent single mother. She is also an alcoholic widow. She is in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage of her life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Following her mother’s death, she moved back home to help her family.
Darlene Conner is 44 years old and is the middle child of Dan and Roseanne. She is a sarcastic divorcee. She is a single mother raising two children: Harris and Mark. Darlene is currently in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage of her life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Due to financial struggles, she and her children moved back with her parents. Along with her older sister, she also helps support her family after her mother’s death.
D.J. Conner is 40 years old and the youngest child of Dan and Roseanne. He is naive and is often overshadowed by his older sisters. He is married with a daughter. D.J. is currently in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage of his life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Unlike his sisters, he didn’t move back in with his parents. However, he still continues to frequently visit and help after the loss of his mother.
Harris Conner Healy is 18 years old and is Darlene’s oldest child. She is moody, sarcastic, and often rebellious. She is in the Identity vs. Confusion stage of her life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. She was originally reluctant to move in with her grandparents because of the loss of her social life. However, she later accepted the move. Harris’ relationship with her mother is often strained, but they are always there for each other.
Mark Conner Healy II is 14 years old and is Darlene’s youngest child. He is the opposite of his older sister. He is polite, sensitive, and intelligent. Mark is in the Industry vs. Inferiority stage of his life according to Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. He has his own unique sense of style and doesn’t care what others think. He too had a tough time moving with his grandparents, but he didn’t rebel as his sister did. He has adjusted to his new life after the move and has a stable relationship with his mother.
Roseanne’s Addiction Roseanne was suffering from a painful bad knee. Her family couldn’t afford the surgery, so she often had to ice her knee. She also would consume opioids to manage the pain. Opioids “work by lowering the number of pain signals [the] body sends to [the] brain” (Patel, 2021). These pills can become addicting if they are misused. This is what happened to Roseanne. In addition to her own, she was taking other people’s pain medication. She was hiding them around the house. According to Patel (2021), two clear signs of addiction are not being able to stop using or using more than prescribed. Dan confronted her about her addiction and made it his motive to afford the surgery. They eventually gathered enough money for it, but her addiction didn’t stop. Instead, she ended up passing away and her autopsy revealed opioid overdose.
Strengths/Challenges Strengths ● ● ●
Roseanne’s death brought the family closer together. The family has a strong support system. They were all comforting each other after the death. The family has strong communication skills. Everyone was free to express their opinions and their emotions.
Challenges ●
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Prior to Roseanne’s death, the family was financially unstable. Her death created more of a strain on the family financially. Roseanne was the main matriarch of the family. She did most of the household work; for example, cooking and cleaning. Her family had to adjust to their new life without her.
Family Functions Verbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication
The Conner family has strong communication skills. They’re very open with one another. They feel comfortable expressing their emotions. Following Roseanne’s death, many of them would often get into arguments. They would always make up afterwards by communicating with each other.
After Roseanne’s death, the Conner family was very upset. They would all provide comfort through the use of hugging and putting a hand on the shoulder.
Culture/Religion Family is extremely important to the Conner’s. They would spend quality time together. This would take place during dinner or watching television. They were also very protective of each other and would defend one another. Religion didn’t have a strong role in the family’s lives. Although, there were some subtle religious moments. For instance, Dan was struggling with his faith after his wife’s death.
Family Assessment & Intervention Model The Family Assessment & Intervention Model views the family “as a dynamic, open system interacting with their environment” (Kaakinen et al., 2018, pg. 91). This model reveals that “one of the roles for families is to buffer their members, or protect the family as a whole, from perceived threats to the family system” (Kaakinen et al., 2015, pg. 91). Roseanne’s bad knee impacted not only her life, but also her families. They couldn’t afford surgery to resolve the issue, so she heavily relied on opioids to manage her pain. She then began misusing the medication, so her husband stepped in. He promised her that they would find the finances for the surgery because he didn’t want to lose her. This model describes that “family systems are vulnerable to tensions produced when stressors in the form of problems or concerns penetrate the family’s lines of defenses” (Kaakinen et al., 2015, pg. 91). In this case, the stressor was Roseanne’s addiction. She was the main matriarch of the Conner family. Everyone relied on her to perform the traditional mothering tasks; for instance, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the family. The family did acquire the funds, so Roseanne was able to have her surgery. However, her opioid addiction continued. This ended up resulting in her death due to an opioid overdose. This model explains that “families are subject to imbalance from normal homeostasis when stressors penetrate families’ flexible and normal lines of defense” (Kaakinen et al., 2015, pg. 91). Roseanne’s death largely affected her family because they had to adjust to life without her. This model also revealed that family members have different responses to the stressors and the way they cope (Kaakinen et al., 2015, pg. 91). As mentioned before, everyone was affected by Roseanne’s death. Dan took her death the worst and didn’t know how to cope. He simply wanted to find someone to blame. An additional aspect of this theory is the “restoration of family stability and family functioning at levels of prevention and intervention” (Kaakinen et al., 2018, pg. 92). The Conner family was working together to function without Roseanne. For example, Becky and Darlene moved back home to help their father with his financial struggles.
Nursing Outcomes 1.
2.
3.
The Conner family should discuss the meaning of the loss of Roseanne to their lives and the functioning of the family (Ackley et al., 2020). Dan Conner should “accept assistance in meeting the needs of the family from friends and/or extended family” (Ackley et al., 2020). The Conner family should be able to identify ways to support one another during their grieving (Ackley et al., 2020).
Nursing Interventions 1.
“Help the client use a method to give voice to his or her unique story of loss” (Ackley et al., 2020). Reference: “The act of writing about the facts and emotions of what has and who has been lost, allow the bereaved to evoke the beloved in a way that reintegrates them into the life story” (McClocklin & Lengelle, 2018).
2.
“Ask family members about having adequate resources to care for themselves” (Ackley et al., 2020). Reference: “Many older widows and widowers are often in poor health themselves, particularly if they have been caregivers, necessitating the use of health and social care services” (Collins, 2018).
3.
“Be present and attentive, use active empathetic listening” (Ackley et al., 2020). Reference: “Participants across gender and kinship mentioned opportunities to express their feelings and to share memories of the deceased as being helpful in adapting to their loss” (Palmer & Yuen, 2020).
References Ackley, B. J., Ladwig, G. B., Makic, M. B., Martinez-Kratz, M. R., & Zanotti, M. (2020). Nursing diagnoses handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care. St. Louis: Elsevier. Andrews-Dyer, H. (2018, May 16). 'Roseanne' gets caught up in the opioid crisis. Concord Monitor. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.concordmonitor.com/-Roseanne-gets-caught-up-in-the-opioid-crisis-17553821#lg=1&slide=0 Becky Conner. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Becky_Conner Collins, T. (2018). The personal communities of men experiencing later life widowhood. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(3), e422–e430. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csusm.edu/10.1111/hsc.12542 Dan Conner. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Dan_Conner Darlene Conner. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Darlene_Conner
References D.J. Conner. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/D.J._Conner Harris Healy. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Harris_Healy Jackie Harris. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Jackie_Harris Kaakinen, J., Duff-Gedaly, V., Hanson, S. & Coelho, D. (2015) Family health Care nursing: Theory, practice and research (5th ed.). F.A. Davis: Philadelphia. Mark Healy II. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Mark_Healy_II McClocklin, P. A., & Lengelle, R. (2018). Cures for the heart: a poetic approach to healing after loss. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(3), 326–339. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csusm.edu/10.1080/03069885.2017.1381665 Palmer, W. W., & Yuen, F. K. (2020). Ears to Listen, Hearts to Understand: Bereavement Adaptation and Its Relationship to Kinship and Gender. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 25(3), 278–297. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csusm.edu/10.1080/15325024.2019.1675017
References Patel, D. S. (2021, April 30). Opioid addiction - pain relief - signs of addiction. familydoctor.org. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://familydoctor.org/condition/opioid-addiction/ Roseanne Conner. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Roseanne_Conner Season 10. Roseanne & The Conners Wiki. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://roseanne.fandom.com/wiki/Season_10