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Oct 20, 2020 · Family systems theory is one of the major theories in behavioral and social sciences. The foundation of this theory is that all systems, human and mechanical alike, strive toward growth, development, and stability and that individual behavior cannot fully be understood without taking into account the context of the family system (Nichols 2010a).
- Hierarchy
- Boundaries
- Family Types
- Boundary Ambiguity
- Family Rules
- Feedback
- Equilibrium
- Mutual Influence and Interdependence
- Circular Causality Versus Linear Causality
Hierarchy represents the arrangement of individuals and systems according to greater power and authority and occurs in two ways. Within family systems, control hierarchy is evident when members are organized into layers according to power, with the least powerful at the bottom and most powerful at the top (Whitchurch & Constantine, 1993). Miller (1...
Boundaries differentiate the family system from external environments or suprasystems. They identify who is part of the family and who is not. Boundaries also exist between family subsystems, like that which exists between the parental and offspring subsystems. The degree of permeability of boundaries affects the flow of energy and information betw...
Kantor and Lehr (1975) identified three family types that emerge when families attempt to maintain themselves and achieve their goals: closed, open, and random. Families require more open or permeable systems for their viability; they demand interchanges with their environment (Buckley, 1967; Kantor & Lehr, 1975). Families with open boundaries more...
Pauline Boss (2002) coined the concept of boundary ambiguityto describe situations in which families are uncertain as to who is in or out of the family. Boundary ambiguity occurs when there is incongruence between physical presence (actual bodily presence in the home) and psychological presence (cognitive and emotional presence of someone in anothe...
A family rule is “a spoken or unspoken proscription that operates within the family to guide action” (Rosenblatt, 1994, p. 129). Family therapist Don Jackson (1965) first observed that married couples engaged in repetitive behavioral patterns. Family rules evolve over time, sometimes generations, and become “calibrated” or etched into the family sy...
Feedback represents a circular process in which some of the family system’s output is returned to the system as input in order to adjust or correct the system’s functioning and safeguard its viability. There are two possible outcomes depending upon the family’s rules of transformation. Positive feedbackis deviation amplifying and encourages input i...
Systems attempt to balance change (positive feedback loops) and stability (negative feedback loops); they seek equilibrium. Family systems endeavor to maintain the status quo or a steady state when confronted by internal and external threats to that homeostasis (Olson & McCubbin, 1983). When families detect incongruity between individual and system...
Components of systems are interrelated between themselves and the environment (von Bertalanffy, 1975). Systems members are interdependent with each other and, as such, demonstrate mutual influence (Whitchurch & Constantine, 1993). When something happens to one member, all the others are affected. This can be illustrated by imagining three or four p...
Adopting a systems theoretical perspective affected how family therapists examined communication exchanges. It became more productive to pay attention to process rather than content (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013). It was no longer necessary to punctuate behavior in order to identify the person who started something and to place blame or make judgm...
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Mar 1, 2016 · Family systems theory places primary focus on exchanges of behavior that take place in a given moment of interaction between members of the family. The theory maintains that patterns of ...
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- Triangular System. This type of relationship is precariously balanced one. Although better than an unstable two-person relationship, this system is also known to experience friction every now and then.
- Differentiation Of Self. Every person in a family is unique. In spite of being a part of the same unit, people develop their personalities differently based on their own perceptions.
- Nuclear Family Emotional Process. As the name suggests, this system is defined especially for nuclear families. A nuclear family includes single-parent as well as step-parent dynamics.
- Family Projection Process. Parents may have emotional and mental stresses, which they often transmit to their children in some way. This process follows 3 steps
Oct 10, 2022 · Learning Objectives. Describe Family Systems Theory and its key principles. Explain contextual examples. The Family Systems Theory assumes that a family is understood best by examining the family as one whole system. This one system is a complex, deeply-connected changing collection of parts, subsystems, and family members, where each member ...
Jul 15, 2008 · Abstract. This chapter looks at the development of family theory in the United States during the 20th century, culminating in the adaptation of general systems theory in the 1950s and 1960s. It then presents an overview of family systems theory, the dominant contemporary paradigm for informing understanding and interpretation of the ...
