...FAMILY THEORIES (HDFS 865) Fall 2010 Tuesdays, 2:25-4:55 pm 1339 Sterling Professor Lynet Uttal Office: 338 Old Middleton Building, 1305 Linden Drive luttal@wisc.edu 306 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive (corner of Charter) 608-263-4026 Office hours: By appointment. Send me an email with 2-3 times you are available. Course Overview HDFS 865 Family Theories is a survey course that examines the interdisciplinary study of families. The course content is organized into two sections: a) theories, ideologies and definitions of families and b) applications of family theories in practice, family programs, and policies. This course will examine “what is theorizing in family studies?” Family theories are explanatory frameworks for different ways of understanding families. Theorizing about families involves conceptualizing the lived experiences of people in relation to their own families as well as developing explanations of the social role of families in society, tracking demographic changes over time, and identifying ideologies and social forces that influence and are influenced by family life. Some theories look at how individuals develop over the life span in the context of families; others define the forms and functions of families as a social unit in society. Some look at “the family” as a unit and focus in on the internal dynamics of relationships between family members, while others look at “the family” as a subsystem or institution in the larger scope of...
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...Family Tradition and Theories Author’s Name Institution Family Tradition and Theories My family lives in the middle East and it consists of my grandfather Mansour, grandmother Fahiama, my father Amer, my mother Nada, my 17 years old sister Mariyah, my 23 years old brother Abdullah, my aunt, uncle and I. Our family tradition is taking breakfast together every Friday. Every member of the family ought to be present at the breakfast table no matter the time he or she slept last night. Even if one member of the family is mad at the other, he or she must be present at the table at 10 a.m. and none is supposed to leave the table until all the family members are through with their breakfast and said our prayers. This is because most of my family members are preoccupied and so they are always busy and do not find time to sit together with the rest of us who are not busy and have meals together. This makes connecting as a family very difficult and that is why the Friday meeting is compulsory for all of us. When we take breakfast together as a family, we share more than just food. Taking breakfast together is a way of building protective assets that strengthen our health and development. When we take breakfast together, we catch up with one another and spend time together even if it is for two hours only. We chat, ask one another how they spent their night, week, how they are faring in their jobs and about their plans for the day. Therefore, when we take Friday breakfast...
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...The Family Structure Theory Assignment. Introduction: Family systems theory describes patterns of interaction between the individuals that make up the family systems. Family members’ behaviors and attributes influences patterns of living in systems theory. Each family has its unique history, traditions, culture, and value systems. The family’s patterns of behavior separate each family from the others. Nurses utilize the family systems perspectives to learn about the family composition, interpersonal relationships, norms, value systems, interactions, effective communication skills as well as family decision making strategies and coping mechanisms. The family structural theory also assists the nurses to predict overall family patterns. In order to use the family structural theory to access the impact of second marriages on the children, we have to understand some basic concepts about families. Families evolve through many developmental stages due to many activities ranging from marriages (heterosexual, homosexual), childbirth, separations, divorces, or remarriages to adolescents springing into young adulthood, moving out of the home and living independent lives; to the aging years. Every developmental stage presents peculiar challenges that require mastery and adaptation. Family developmental stages can apply to the traditional nuclear families and extended family structures as well as nontraditional family networks such as remarriages. In situations when couples bring...
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...sociological theories. Sociological theories are statements on how and why certain facts about the social world are related. A few sociological theories include the, functionalist theory, conflict theory, and interactionism. Family happens to be a social institution that can be applied to all these fundamental sociological approaches. Most of the time when we think of what a family is , we will think of a nuclear family. This “nuclear family” would normally consist of a married couple, man and women, with one or a few children. This is not the most common form of family these days. Today we have gay and lesbian families, single parent families, multi-cultural families, and even cohabiting families. Another common thing we see today is the blended family created by remarriage including step parents and siblings. These types of families were once ignored or even considered a failed family many years ago. This is not the case today in the society we now live in. All the above and more of these varieties of families are now being acknowledged as legitimate alternatives to what once was the “nuclear family”. We will take a look at the different theoretical views that sociologist use to view family. The first theoretical view would be the functionalist theory. Functionalism addresses society in terms of its elements as a family. All the different functions a family will typically perform. This goes for any type of family as well. This family can be the nuclear family, or the...
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...Family Systems Theory LaTova Quattlebaum Simmons College Family Theory September 24, 2015 Family Systems Theory The family systems theory has many strengths, one being that it “encourages nurses to see individual clients as participating members of a larger family system” (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015, p. 76). That being said working labor and delivery this concept holds true as the birth of an infant affects everyone in the family not just the woman, all roles within the family system are switched and everyone has to adapt. That adaptation could be adaptive or maladaptive in order to maintain stability (Kaakinen et al, 2015, p. 76). A weakness is that the theory maybe too “abstract for beginners” (Kaakinen et al, 2015, p. 79). Healthcare facilities appear to focus on the individual rather than the family, with that happening it makes it harder for new nurses to recognize the importance of “a family as a whole, is greater than the members of the family” ( Kaakinen et al, 2015, p.79). Looking at the family as a whole, during the laboring and birthing process, it is essential to take care of the mom laboring, but as equally as important to care for those attending the labor (i.e. dad, grandparents, and siblings) as their negative experiences could ruin the entire labor experience for the family as a whole. References Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., Tabacco, A., & Hanson, S. H. (2015). Family health care nursing: Theory...
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...Family Counseling Theory Family therapy in a nutshell is a form of therapy in which the counselor works with the entire family at once instead of individual members. Often, a family therapist will even reschedule a session if one or more members of the family aren't present. The essential theory behind family therapy is that a family is a system made up of parts and a problem with one of the parts affects the entire system. Families try to maintain stability, if one member of the family does anything out of the "norm" for that particular family; the other members of that family will fight against him or her to bring things back the way they used to be. This is problematic, especially if one member of the family is in therapy and learns new coping styles, yet the family is fighting their healthy changes. The theory that will be addressed is that of Virginia Satir. Virginia Satir was considered the Mother of Family Therapy. (Wikipedia) Satir is a Wisconsin native raised on a farm in Neillsville. At an early age, Satir was intrigued by the family and she knew intuitively that there was more that went on in families than was apparent to the naked eye. Her family moved to Milwaukee, WI in order for her to attend high school. Later she attended the Milwaukee State Teachers College, which is now called University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Satir went on to publish Conjoint Family Therapy, Peoplemaking and The New Peoplemaking (Margarita Suarez/Virginia Satir Global Network) just...
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...The foundation of Family Systems theory are these eight components. The differentiation of self, the triangle, the nuclear family emotional process, the family projection process, the multi-generational transmission process, sibling position, the emotional cutoff, and the emotional processes in society. The differentiation of self is a concept on a continuum from 0 to 100 with 100 being complete self differentiation. The concept is simply being able to differentiate between one’s emotions and one’s thoughts. Someone with high levels of self differentiation are able to make more rationale decisions under considerable amounts of stress while someone on the opposite end of the spectrum may react more impulsive. Multi-generational transmission...
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...Bowen Family Systems Theory I have quite a large family. My nuclear family consists of my mom, dad, brother and myself. My mom’s side of the family equates for that majority of our family. My mother is the youngest of nine! As one could guess, I have many aunts and many cousins. Because there are so many people of all different ages there are many patterns of interaction and diversity issues that affect the family dynamics. The nature of my parent’s relationship is extremely loving, affectionate and kind. My parents were strict in many aspects but lenient in other aspects. Luckily my nuclear family and extended family have not had to face issues with substance abuse, violence or disabilities. However we did have to face two major losses in the family, both of my grandmothers. When thinking about interaction patterns, family rituals and celebrations come to mind. Our celebrations particularly Christmas and birthdays were rituals, which bring us together. Christmas is important because my family is Catholic, so this connects us all in a special way. When it comes to diversity issues, issues arise between the young individuals and the older individuals pertaining to beliefs. Even though most of the family is Catholic, everyone is unique and has their own personal beliefs that sometimes can be cause for arguments. This can affect family dynamics. Overall, though there is a mutual respect for everyone. Bowen’s approach has eight major concepts. One of them, Triangles/...
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...Individuals in a Diverse Society February 20, 2013 Theories of the Family Structural Functionalism -Functionalist believe that everything and everybody in society has a role (a function) that makes society to run smoothly -It is a macro theory It focuses on institutions and structures existing in the society as whole Key Terms Function: The different parts of each society contributes positively to the operation or functioning of the system as a whole Institutions: Society is a system of social structures/institutions (economic, legal, education) -Each social systems has needs which are met by the structures and they are interconnected -Individuals and groups are constrained by these structures Interdependence: The roles taken on people, and the institutions and organizations of society are all interdependent and work together to ensure the smooth operation of society as a whole -A change in any one part affects others, requiring other parts to take account of changes, modify its actions, and adapt to any changes necessary Norms and Values: Individual behaviour is governed by social norms (most consistent behaviour in society) or rules that are generally accepted and agreed upon -These norms and values are consistent with the equilibrium state of society, or normal state of affairs -There are aspects of these norms that return the society to a normal state of affairs in the case of a disturbance- for example, sanctions, punishment, social approval and social disapproval ...
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...Sociological theories are usually thought of as statements of how and why particular facts about the social world are related. The conclusions drawn from empirical observation and testing help individuals and society to be improved in the ways they lead their lives. This essay is going to explain three mostly commonly mentioned sociological theories of the family which are Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. | Functionalists believe that each part of society has a function, and they are very positive about society so they always see the good in all things. By looking at society on a large scale they argue that society is based on consensus, meaning that we are socialised to agree on the norms and values in order to survive. Functionalists believe that the family should be seen to perform functions which benefit both its members and society in general. According to Murdock (1949), "the family is a universal institution with universal functions". | In other words, families are found in all societies regardless of for example culture differences. Functions performed universally are reproduction which keeps the human race, primary socialisation which teaches children the norms and values of society, economic where family provides for its members such as food and shelter, and educational where family socialises the young into society’s norms and values which are affected by culture and class. Functionalists believe that the following functions are important for the wellbeing of...
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...Explain how theories of masculinity have transformed the sociology of the family? Finbarr Lawton, University College Cork, Department of Sociology. Student Number: 111310236, Module title/code: Sociology of Family, SC2026, Module Coordinator: Linda Connolly Submission Date: 14/1/13 Throughout my essay I will attempt to look at different theories of masculinity and try to show how these theories have transformed the sociology of family in recent decades. I will start by looking at the sociology of family, giving a brief insight into the main theory’s and how it helps us to understand what the sociology of family is essentially about. Following on from this I will look at masculinity giving the main ideas of it and how it has changed and shifted roles in past decades. Before going into detail about masculinity and how it has changed by looking at theories of fatherhood, work, and unemployment and Hegemonic masculinity. Finally I will finish by looking at the main advantages and disadvantages of this change in masculinity in recent decades looking also at how it has changed the sociology of family. When looking at the sociology of family we see that it is an extremely broad field of study and can really be split into four main theories of which to look at the sociology of family, these being: 1. “Functionalist theory: Looks at the essential tasks provided by the family e.g. Socialisation: Regulation of sexual activity. Social placement: Material and emotional...
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...Head Office 30 Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089 Ph: 02 9904 5600 Fax: 02 9904 5611 Coming to grips with family systems theory in a collaborative, learning environment. info@thefsi.com.au http://www.thefsi.com.au Bowen Family Systems Theory and Practice: Illustration and Critique By Jenny Brown This paper will give an overview of Murray Bowen’s theory of family systems. It will describe the model’s development and outline its core clinical components. The practice of therapy will be described as well as recent developments within the model. Some key criticisms will be raised, followed by a case example which highlights the therapeutic focus of Bowen’s approach. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Australian Academic Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy (ANZJFT) Vol.20 No.2 1999 pp 94-103). Introduction Murray Bowen's family systems theory (shortened to 'Bowen theory' from 1974) was one of the first comprehensive theories of family systems functioning (Bowen, 1966, 1978, Kerr and Bowen, 1988). While it has received sporadic attention in Australia and New Zealand, it continues to be a central influence in the practice of family therapy in North America. It is possible that some local family therapists have been influenced by many of Bowen's ideas without the connection being articulated. For example, the writing of Guerin...
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...Topic4 DQ1 Using the family structural theory how can families created following second marriages learn to function as one? Any break up in the family such as divorce and remarriage is not always easy for children to go through which this transition needs a set of merged beliefs and values must require to happen. This depends on the levels of development of the children, such as their environment support and their frame of mind are components on how they responses. When combining into two separate families, there will be external and internal stressors. Thus, it’s important to the children to have a good support system to aid with the transition of going into two separate families therefore, the adults need to follow the limitations. As an adult, we must set the rules and directions that it’s expected and what we want but need to be accommodating as well and be very supportive to one another in the outcome. The dispensation of power with the adults require to be equal, and the rules need to be recognized by the family members. Study shows that the divorce rate in second marriages is greater at 70% in comparison to first marriages secondary to internal and external stressors so in order for an integrated family to function well and survive, there need to directions, and good support systems established, and anything is doable. T.D. Afifi, S. Keith: A risk and resiliency model of ambiguous loss in post-divorce stepfamilies. http://www.minuchincenter.org Edelman, C., Kudzma...
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...Susie that becoming a caregiver does not mean she no longer has a life of her own. We as nurses should remind Susie that she should accept help from the family, remain active in her activities and pay attention to her physical and emotional being. Her parent is still her parent they just need more help in life and they should still be respected. Susie and her family should be given community resources and class information about caring for the elderly and how to handle certain problems that may come up. With the family development theory the nurse will see that this situation there is a change in family roles. Each member in the house will have different roles now the Mrs. Jones is moving in and it will affect Susie the most because she is now responsible for her mother yet her mother shill has more “status” than her and Susie needs to respect her mother. “Knowing a family's composition, interrelationships, and particular life cycle helps nurses predict overall family pattern” (Edelman, 2010, p. 174). With the family structure theory the nurse will see how well Susie will be able to handle this new task in her life and how Susie will work everything into her life. Not only Susie but the entire family and the nurse will be able to assess the strengths of the family and give them assigned roles that they need to do to help the family with this dynamic...
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...Feminist Family Theory Feminist family theory has its roots in the feminist movement. Feminism can be defined as the search for rights, opportunities, and identities women believe they deserve (Thomas 2000). Feminism in the United States might be said to have begun with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fought for the right to vote, a battle that was not won until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Often we see that several extreme philosophies are presented, and after a time, a middle ground is reached that incorporates elements of each philosophy but is not as extreme as any individual one. This is also the case with feminism. By the 1980s, the distinctions among the feminist branches melted away. Feminists focused on issues related to women’s second-class status in society and in families, reproductive rights, discrimination faced in the workplace, and how a gendered society affects the socialization of women. In the 1960s, one of the dominant theories of the family was structural functionalism. Structural functionalists proposed that roles in families should be divided in a “natural” way, generally based on sex. They proposed that families functioned best when men did the instrumental tasks of earning money and providing for basic needs, and women did expressive tasks of caretaking for family members. In 1972, sociologist Jessie Bernard wrote The Future of Marriage, in which she contradicted...
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