HDFS 2300 - Models of Family Functioning - Ch. #2 Notes

Content type

User Generated

Type

Study Guide

Uploaded By

Pnebyvar G

Pages

Rating

MODELS OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING

• Three of the most widely recognized models in the field of family studies are:

1. Structural

2. Intergenerational

3. Contextual

 Structural Family Functioning

• Three Main Assumptions in Structural Model

1. Operate within social context that defines behavior parameters.

2. Context is organized into a structure.

3. Some structures are better than others.

What is structure?

• According to Minuchin (1974), structure refers to:

• The invisible set of functional demands that organize the way family members interact with

one another over time.

• Two dimensions of structure:

1. Composition – the persons that comprise a family.

2. Organization – unique set of rules governing the patterns of interaction found within the

extended family system.

• The family’s organizational structure encompasses:

1. The manner in which family subsystems are organized.

2. The hierarchical relationships between family subsystems.

3. The clarity of the boundaries within and between subsystems.

Minuchin’s 11 Main Concepts

1. Subsystems – a group within a larger system that shares common functions or other

commonalities (determined by gender, generation, or interest).

2. Hierarchy – clear distinctions between levels.

3. Parentification – imbalance in the family's power and authority.

• Power and control relegated to children – or – parents rely on children.

4. Boundaries – regulate how family members are to interact with one another.

5. Disengaged – rigid boundaries; little involvement.

6. Enmeshment – diffuse boundaries; over-involvement.

7. Alliance

8. Coalition – 1 member of family sides with a second member against a third.

9. Cross-Generational Coalition – inappropriate alliance – one parent and child against the other

parent; undermines executive functions and authority of parental subsystem.

10. Adaptation – how the family reorganizes its structure in response to internal demands and

external social or environmental events.

11. Context – the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, individual,

or family; pertains to the environment in which the family functions.

 INTERGENERATIONAL MODELS

• Generations: Links that connect parents and children as well as ties to others who are connected

to the parents and children.

 Generational Processes

• The connections that people have to traditions, patterns, emotions, values, and ways of relating

that become the heritage and determine the lifestyle of each family.

• Influence how we think, feel, believe, and relate to others.

• Whether we think the world is a friendly or unfriendly place.

• Influence what is important to us.

• How we use the environment to help us learn and cope.

• Our aspirations, values, struggles, resourcefulness, and the attitudes that we have toward other

people, property, religion, and education.

• Dictate how we handle conflict, intimacy, anger, love, hate, and life in general.

• Every aspect of family life grows out of and builds upon these processes.

• INFLUENTIAL BECAUSE:

 Some parts of the processes are permanent.

 Difficult to change processes.

 Processes begin early (before birth).

 Generational Processes Principle

• Healthy generational processes tend to create many productive and enabling outcomes in

family systems, and unhealthy generational processes tend to create serious problems in

families.

1. Generational Alliances

• The connections and boundaries between subsystems in a family system; changing the

boundaries.

• Occur when two or more individuals in a family become unusually close and align themselves

as a unit in the family.

• Generational alliance principle:

 Clear boundaries between generations help the adults and children develop in healthy

ways.

 When cross-generational alliances and coalitions occur it tends to lead to emotional and

interpersonal difficulties for the adults and children.

Examples of Coalitions:

o When a parent persuades a child to side with him or her against the other parent.

o When a wife or husband sides with their own parent against their spouse.

o Subsystems cannot execute the tasks they need to and boundaries are no longer clear.

2. Generational Transmission

o The process of transmission from one generation to the next – ways of behaving, feeling,

defining reality, and coping with intimacy and distance.

o Parents can serve as role models for behavior.

• Generational transmission principle:

 Families tend to transmit their lifestyle to each new generation.

Examples: Abuse, alcohol, stubbornness, parenting styles, ways to nurture and maintain

relationships, religious views.

• Unhealthy Transmission – Levels of differentiation and parents' unresolved emotional

attachments are reenacted in future relationships and passed along to succeeding generations.

• Tend to select a spouse at the same level of differentiation as self.

End of Preview - Want to read all 4 pages?

Access Now

Unformatted Attachment Preview

MODELS OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING Three of the most widely recognized models in the field of family studies are: 1. Structural 2. Intergenerational 3. Contextual Structural Family Functioning Three Main Assumptions in Structural Model 1. Operate within social context that defines behavior parameters. 2. Context is organized into a structure. 3. Some structures are better than others. ? What is structure? According to?Minuchin?(1974), structure refers to: The invisible set of functional demands that organize the way family members interact with one another over time. Two dimensions of structure: 1. Composition - the persons that comprise a family. 2. Organization - unique set of rules governing the patterns of interaction found within the extended family system. The family's organizational structure encompasses: 1. The manner in which family subsystems are organized. 2. The hierarchical relationships between family subsystems. 3. The clarity of the boundaries within and between subsystems. ? Minuchin's?11 Main Concepts 1. Subsystems - a group within a larger system that shares common functions or other commonalities (determined by gender, generation, or interest).? 2. Hierarchy - clear ...
Purchase document to see full attachment