Create your assignment in a word document, using APA format to include in-text citations (include few if any direct quotes) and references as well as a cover page. An abstract is not needed. Your paper should be a minimum of 1250words (cover page and references are not included in the word count). You also to support your writing with at least 2 academic sources.
1.Your text briefly discusses six major models or frameworks for discussing marriage and family dynamics.Choose the Family Systems Theory and 2 other frameworks and conduct additional research on the key concepts promoted by each model.Discuss the benefits of having more than one model for discussing family dynamics.
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Family Systems Theory
Everything that happens to you, happens to me.
Nikki DeFrain [speaking to John DeFrain]
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According to family systems theory, everything that happens to any family member has an impact on everyone else in the family (Goldenberg, Stanton, & Goldenberg, 2017; White, Klein, & Adamsons, 2019). Because family members are interconnected and operate as a group, the group is called a family system. This approach to describing the family as a system has become very popular in both theory and practice, particularly with family therapists who work with couples and families having relationship problems.
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A pioneer family therapist Carl Whitaker was fond of saying that in a metaphorical sense there are no individuals in the worldonly fragments of families. In other words, individual human beings are inextricably tied to their family. How people think and behave is deeply influenced by their family background, and people are best understood by understanding their family. From a family therapists standpoint, an individual can most effectively change if his or her family also changes. If a family is in trouble, both parents and children need to become involved in family therapy (Edwards, 2019).
When an individual has a problem, not only the family but also the whole community is often involved in finding a solution, an idea echoed in the popular statement It takes a village to raise a child. A family simply cannot do it all alone. Troubled families often live in troubled communities, and if individuals are to be well, the community must find a way to create health for all its members.
Family systems theory grew out of the general systems theory, a conceptual framework developed in the 1960s by Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968), and family therapists applied these ideas to marriage and family as a system. The general systems theory, a broad-based model used in a variety of fields, is a set of principles and concepts that can be applied to all types of systems, living and nonliving. The dictionary defines a system as (1) a set or arrangement of things so related or connected as to form a unity or organic whole and (2) a whole made of interacting parts.
Family systems theory was created by family therapists because family therapists working with troubled individuals over the years discovered that working with an individual alone did not produce long-term change in a childs behavior. A problem child might make some improvements in her or his functioning by working alone with the therapist, but the child often reverted back to problem behaviors unless the family changed. This is because the family system has such a powerful impact on a childs behavior.
Another important finding by family therapists was that when a child has problems, often there are problems in the family system. For example, family therapists have found that if there is a disturbed child in a two-parent family, there is often a troubled marriage or couple relationship which contributes to the childs difficulties.
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A Hierarchy of Connected Systems
Proponents of the family systems theory have expanded on ideas and terminology developed by general systems theorists, and family therapists use these ideas in their practice. Several concepts of the general systems theory are particularly relevant to family systems. The idea of multiple system levels is that systems are embedded within other systems. Whenever attention is focused on a given system, a suprasystem (a larger system) and a subsystem (a smaller system) are usually also involved. If you are focusing on the couple as the system, the suprasystem is the family and the subsystem consists of the two individuals. If you are focusing on the nuclear family as the system, the suprasystem is the extended family and the subsystem is the couple or any other dyadic (two-person) unit, such as parent and child.
Systems are both connected to and separated from other systems by boundaries. The notion of a boundary also implies a hierarchy of interconnected systems, each system being separated by invisible boundaries from other smaller or larger systems (Goldenberg et al., 2017; White et al., 2019). Considering the family, there is a boundary between the family and the larger kin system and a boundary between parents and their children.
Human systems have many different system levels that can be characterized as a set of concentric circles (Figure 3.1). For example, the smallest circle at the center would be the individual; encircling this in graduated rings would be the couple (a dyad, or two-person human system), the family, the local neighborhood (including businesses, schools, etc.), the town, the nation, the continent, the world, and so on. Families do not function in a vacuum and this is because they are a part of larger systems. So, to better understand a family, you need to understand the larger social systems it is immersed in.
FIGURE 3.1 An Ecological Approach to Human Systems
Thinking about human systems is considered an ecological approach; ecology is the study of how all the organisms in a system are related to each other. As Figure 3.1 illustrates, all the concentric circles are connected to one another and the people in each of the circles influence the people in the other circlescreating a human ecosystem. To really understand a specific family system, you also need to consider the various system levels it influences and that influence it. For these reasons, for example, helping a Black middle-class, suburban family through a crisis would be a very different process from helping a White family living in poverty in the inner city.
Another concept from general systems theory is wholeness, the concept that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. From a family systems perspective, the whole family is more than the total of all its individual members. This means that you cannot know the family simply by knowing each person as an individual because each individual will behave differently outside the family (Goldenberg et al., 2017; White et al., 2019).
For example, Carla, a student living in an apartment, has a certain identity related to her life at college and another identity back home with her family. If you observe Carla very carefully in her college environment, you get a good understanding of what she is like at college. But when Carla goes home to visit her family for a holiday break, she becomes a different person in many ways. She is transformed into a daughter, a granddaughter, a big sister, a little sister. At home she may return to some of the ways she previously behaved at home, even though she does not continue that pattern at school. This is partly because, although she might have changed in college, the family did not change, and when the family is all together again she fills the role she played in the family to create the wholeness of the family.
A good cook takes individual herbs, spices, and vegetables and combines them to create a wonderful and zesty sauce that has flavors of the individual ingredients but is more than and different from the separate ingredients. The whole family system is also more than the sum of its parts, and the familys behavior cannot be predicted from knowing only the individual persons. Conversely, it is difficult to predict the behavior of the individuals by knowing about the family as a whole.
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Another concept of the general systems theory is the interdependence of parts: The parts or elements of a system are interconnected in such a way that if one part is changed, other parts are also affected (Goldenberg et al., 2017; White et al., 2019). Visualize for a moment a mobile, an artistic creation suspended in midair, made up of many carefully balanced elements. Each element in the mobile is weighted and placed in such a way as to create not only an aesthetic effect but also a delicate system that can be easily set in motion by a slight ripple of wind or a soft touch. Anything stronger might knock it out of balance.
Healthy families, in a sense, are like a mobile: Each member fits into the whole in a unique way and adds to the beauty of the whole. If one individual changesfor better or worsethe total creation is affected. Consider how one event changed the family in the story presented in Box 3.2.
BOX 3.2 Putting It Together
Reorganization of the Family System After a Car Accident
Like other families affected by sudden changes, Julias family will probably never return to the way things were before an accident occurred. But as Julias case shows, the nuclear family, with the help of extended-family members, is capable of establishing a more connected family system.
Julia was a single parent living with her two young children, Camille and Katy. Their life together was a hectic but satisfying round of school, work, family visits, and activities with friends. A year ago, Julia was involved in an auto accident and was seriously injured. She could neither work nor care for her children. Her familys delicate balance was upset until her mother, Eloise, her brother Tim, her sister Allison, and her best friend at work, Sheryl, all stepped in to help create a new sense of family balance.
These four adults spent countless hours at the hospital, reassuring Julia and listening to her express her uncertainty and pain. They also worked out some new arrangements to make up for her absence. Camille and Katy temporarily moved in with Eloise. She took care of them, prepared their meals, made sure they had clean clothes for school, and took over many details of their lives. Tim, who lived nearby, drove Camille and Katy to and from school and took care of them afterward. Allison, who still lived at home, got them to bed at night and took them on outings on the weekends. Camille and Katy took on some new responsibilities themselves, like walking the dog and doing their homework without prompting. Sheryl kept things going at the office by taking on several of Julias responsibilities herself.
After an initial period of confusion and difficulty, all these individuals became familiar with their new roles and proud of their new skills. Julia was hospitalized for several weeks and had physical therapy for several months, but eventually she regained her strength and her courage. When she returned home, the whole family celebrated. In the months that followed, she established a new balance with her children, assimilating the experiences they had all had since the accident. She also had a stronger network of friends and family than she had before the accident.
Flexibility: Balancing Stability and Change
Flexibility is the ability of a system to balance both stability and change. A flexible couple or family is like a flower in the wind because it is able to bend with the wind. General systems theorists use the term open system, or morphogenic system, when referring to a system that is open to growth and change. A closed system, or morphostatic system, is one that has the capacity to maintain the status quo, thus avoiding change (Goldenberg et al., 2017; White et al., 2019).
Family therapists have discovered that many couples and families are highly resistant to change, even though they need to adapt to solve the problems they face. They are likely to want to maintain the status quo out of habit, lack of insight, or fear of something new. A common observation is when one family member changes, there is also change in the other family members. Whether they like it or not.
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As an example of a morphostatic system, consider the following story. By failing to deal openly and effectively with their relationship problems, Katherine and Ken are beginning a free fall into despair. They are an example of a morphostatic family system, unable or unwilling to change. A morphogenic system, one open to growth and change, might have been able to prevent such a scenario.
Ken and Katherine have been married for 15 years. Ken is an alcoholic, though he manages to hold on to his job as a floor supervisor at a printing plant. Ken has been having an extramarital affair with Winona a coworker at the plant, for 6 months. When Katherine discovers the affair, she tells Ken she is leaving him. He responds by begging for forgiveness and promising to give up the relationship with Winona.
He wants to avoid divorce for a number of reasons: embarrassment at work, shame in his extended family, and severe financial consequences. Besides, although the thrill is gone from the marriage, he and Katherine have a long history together, and she is a good mother to their three children. Katherine is skeptical of Kens promises. She tells him that she wants him to give up drinking as well. He says he can control his drinking and just drink socially. He doesnt really need to go cold turkey, he argues.
Katherine remains skeptical; she has heard such arguments many times before. In spite of her skepticism, however, Katherine decides to forgive Ken, as she has before, and to stay. She genuinely loves him, even though she hates his drinking and, now, his seeing another woman. And he provides a good income for her and the children. Katherine also fears being on her own, both socially and financially. She dreads the thought of going back into the workplace after so many years at home. Whatever she has now, she feels, is better than what she would have as a divorced mother of three.
The family systems framework assumes that systems operate on a continuum from extreme morphostasis to extreme morphogenesis. In a healthy system, there is a balance between these extremes. The couple or family needs to be open to change, but not to the point of being rootless or chaotic. Conversely, it needs to be centered and stable, but not to the point of being rigid.
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Cohesion: Balance of Separateness and Connectedness
Couples and families need to find a balance between their separateness as individuals and their connectedness as a system. The dynamics that help systems maintain this separatenessconnectedness balance are the opposing forces of centrifugal and centripetal interactions. Centrifugal interactions tend to push family members apart, thereby increasing separateness. Centripetal interactions pull family members together and increase family closeness (Goldenberg et al., 2017; White et al., 2019).
Family therapists have found that a family crisis can push families to an extreme of either centripetal or centrifugal interactions. Faced with a death of a family member, one family may pull together and come out stronger as a result of the loss, whereas another family may find itself torn apart by the events. The first family resolves to hold onto each other, communicate about feelings, and help each other. These centripetal interactions strengthen the bonds of love and concern. The members of the second family are afraid, cannot talk with one another, and attempt to deal with the death as individuals. They separate from the family and look for comfort outside it, or they bury themselves in personal despair.
An important aspect of understanding cohesion is whether a family system permits family members to develop their own independence from the family. In the personal account of a young Chicana woman recounted in Box 3.3, you will see that in her close Chicano family, most of the family system is opposed to a female (Julie) getting too much education. However, her mother and her husband are very supportive and enabled Julie to continue graduate school and develop her own independence within a very close family system.
BOX 3.3 Diversity in Families
Cultural Conflicts for a Female Chicana College Student
I am a Chicana graduate student who wants to complete a Ph.D. in family studies so I can teach at the college level and help the family field be more inclusive and up-to-date regarding Chicano families. Fortunately, the choices Ive made are not in conflict with my family of procreation.
It was very difficult for my family of origin initially to understand why I wanted or needed to go to school for so long. Since my grandparents and parents struggled just to provide for adequate housing, food, and clothing, they find it difficult to see why education is so important. They were also somewhat threatened by the fact that I wanted to study families because I might learn too much.
Another conflict was regarding my interest in my own development versus their emphasis on the whole family. They felt I was focusing too much on myself and not giving back enough to the family. Also, they felt this was making me more competitive and less cooperative, which is a quality valued highly. Another issue is the use of the Spanish language and whether I would use both Spanish and English in my home. Since we decided to raise our children using English only, some family members viewed that choice as rejecting our heritage. Also, as my years of college education increased, my relatives tended to distance themselves more from me.
Fortunately, my husband, who is also Chicano, is totally supportive and is a house husband for our two small children. He takes care of the children, and I am the primary wage earner. This is not the traditional family model for most Chicanos, and so it does challenge some of our other family members and kin.
While I was not initially aware of the importance of my mothers support, I have lately become even… [Content truncated to 3000 words]
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