Chapter 3 | Family Dynamics and Communicating With Children and Families 43
FIGURE 39 Biking together as a family helps to develop a sense of belonging.
FIGURE 38 Family members sharing activities together form healthy bonds.
Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation
FAMILY THEORY
The resiliency model assesses a family’s ability to adjust dur- ing times of stress and crisis, function effectively, and adapt to stressful hospitalizations and disease processes. This model also determines a family’s ability to adjust to members who are physically or mentally disabled and focuses on family strengths and capabilities (Bindman et al, 2015; McCubbin, Thompson, & McCubbin, 1996; Phillips & Prezio, 2017). This model also describes how family stress, adjustment, and adaptation affect all members of the family.
When a group of individuals comes together as a family unit, they go through a series of developmental stages, as described in Tuckman’s (1966) group theory. ● Forming stage—marriage or cohabitation, birth or adoption of children ● Storming stage—two or more personalities realize their differ- ences, such as emotional clashes with teenagers ● Norming stage—adjustment to individual members and rules; parental rules are imposed; children agree to obey rules ● Performing stage—family or group accomplishes goals and produces results ● Adjourning stage—death, divorce, or children leave to form their own families Family Systems Theory Family systems theory is focused on the family as an emotional unit. This theory describes how triangulation occurs when a third individual is introduced to a relationship that began with two individuals. The relationship created by this triangulation requires de-triangulation, in which the third individual begins to differentiate himself or herself (Bowen Center, 2017). ● Changes that occur in aspects of one family member’s life affect the entire family. ● The family shares a unique identity. ● The family is characterized by the concepts of wholeness and the interdependence of its parts (Fig. 3–9). ● The family is dynamic. ● Interactions with work, church, school, and friends are encouraged, but family boundaries remain intact. ● Subsystems within a family may form, such as alliances between siblings or with one parent. ● Families strive to maintain balance during a crisis.
Murray Bowen and Family System Theory
Psychiatrist Murray Bowen developed the family system theory based on human behavior. According to Bowen, the family is a unit in which members are emotionally connected and inter- dependent; thus, a change in one member’s role or function- ing will affect the functioning and roles of the other members. This interdependence assists in promoting cohesiveness and cooperation of the family members (Bowen Center, 2017). The theory helps to identify family problems that result from failure to communicate and allows parents to teach values that are important to the family. Bowen’s theory includes eight in- terrelated concepts: 1. Triangles—a three-person relationship is the smallest stable relationship 2. Differentiation of self—whether good or bad, feelings of self
will influence family relationships 3. Nuclear family emotional system 4. Marital conflict 5. Dysfunction in one spouse 6. Impairment of one or more children 7. Emotional distance (Bowen Center, 2017)
8. Multigenerational transmission process—small differences between parent and sibling transfer over generations;
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