megastudy HDFS 315 final

ABC-X Model

A-factor

stressor event

disruption to normal family functioning

examples: drugs, death, alcoholism, job loss

B-factor

resources

resources exist within or outside the family

social capital increases access to resources

c-factor

perceptions

family’s subjective interpretation and meaning of the stressful event

need to honor the sense they make of the experience

x-factor

outcome: coping or crisis

serious stressor events

family not able to adjust quickly

old ways of solving problems do not work

1. acute phase → roller coaster pattern

2. reorganization phase

roller coaster model of family stress

stress helps us…

grow, develop, learn, and become stronger

two kinds of coping strategies

enabling and disabling

rituals

set of symbolic/sacred actions that are different from the ordinary

routines

ordinary; often repeated on a daily basis

commonalities of rituals & routines

• more than 1 family members

• overt behavior/action

• repetition

• morphostasis/morphogenesis

What makes routines unique from rituals?

• functional communication styles

• little commitment or thought

• can change with little fanfare

• little emotion

• little or no symbolism

• usual ways of behaving

• not as much preparation/follow-up

What makes rituals unique from routines?

• communication related to identity (who we are as a family)

• ideal of commitment

• not easily changed

• great emotion

• highly symbolic

• unique, unusual, extraordinary behavior

• preparation, experience, reintegration

creation of rituals

• cultural traditions handed down through generations

• creation or inventions of new ones

rituals and developmental processes

• rituals are created and evolve over time in families

• new couple might ritualize celebrating different anniversaries

• holidays may center on children

meeting family goals…

• rituals help families acquire meaning and purpose

• sense of being in control of life

• provide feeling of predictability in life

• create memories

goals, rituals, and routines help achieve…

• healthy emotional ties

• ease/facilitate membership changes

• identity formation and reformation

managing rituals

• not inherently healthy and facilitating

• can be unhealthy or destructive if not carried out wisely by families

moderate ritualization is the balance betwee…

• underritualization: few or no rituals

• overritualization: incorporating too many rituals

balance and stability in change

• repetition

• room for change

• appeal to all family members

guidelines for creating/changing rituals

• goals

• form

• content

differentiation

“to separate and become unique”

“ability to maintain appropriate emotional distance from other family members”

individuality

• overcome adversity

• increase family strength

poor differentiation

• lack of uniqueness

• anxiety

• boundary issues

• intrusive

problems with poor differentiation

• emotional problems

• failure to thrive

• low tolerance for intimacy

family fusion

patterns, rules, rule sequences, and family paradigm conspire together to negate family members’ individuality

chronic family anxiety

• more common in highly fused families

• family members feel they were unjustly treated

• destructive emotional climate

• lessened ability to cope with minor problems

successful differentiation

• essential for health of family/individual

• launching of offspring

• transition to adulthood

• strong relationships with others

• fewer alcohol problems

• less difficulty with peers

• lower likelihood of engaging in illegal activities

• fewer problems with families of origin

know the differentiation—-fusion scale

Successful
Differentiation

Children raised in
non-intrusive, non-
fused families
encouraged
to become
independent and
self- directed

Fusion
Children are expected to become part
of the collective, surrender personal
identity, think and act like parents and
other family members, conform, and
become absorbed into the family
collective
(Day, 2010)

emotional triangles

coping with fusion

• genogram

• resolve invisible loyalties

• generate benign assumption

• emotional cutoff

The most frequent activity we do with friends and family member is…

talk

overt communication

verbal; obvious

covert communication

body language, nonobvious

4 kinds of messages

• small talk

• competition and control talk

• meta-communication

• cooperative/straight talk

small talk

purpose is to build trust and establish communication

shop talk

form of small talk that occurs at or about the workplace

competitive & control talk

using force for influence and change

types of competitive & control talk

• interrupting

• non sequitur

• correcting/lecturing

• superlatives

• sarcasm/cutting humor

• distancing

• martyring

meta-communication

talking about how we talk about things

cooperative or straight talk

• straight from the heart

• non-competitive in intent

• tends to build relationship strength

types of cooperative or straight talk

• seeking meaning

• seeking clarification

• reinforcing

• seeking congruence

• appropriate self-disclosure

gender in communication

men tend to approach life from a competitive angle, and women are more cooperative. men are solutional and women are emotional. women build connections, men build hierarchies

conflict resolution in marriage

• validating style

• conflict-avoiding marriage

• volatile marriages

the four horseman of communication

• criticism

• contempt

• defense

• stonewalling

What is ideology?

The body or group of ideas that exist in a group, society, or social movement.

what greek word do we get the work “ideology” from?

ide

When we focus on family ideology, we are focusing on the…

cognitive or intellectual aspect of family systems that is reflected in their beliefs, thoughts, myths, symbols, ideals, aspirations, values, worldviews, philosophy of life, or doctrines

what is the continuum of abstraction?

Highly abstract (philosophy, idea, ideal, thought) ←———→ concrete (specific, measurable, tangible, observable)

What are first order processes?

not very abstract but may be indicative of complicated and fundamental ideas that underline their actions. center on patterns of daily living (problem solving, decision making, cleaning, preparing meals, transportation)

What are second order processes?

identify deeper patterns and beliefs held collectively by the family. represent at a higher level the themes that bind and unify a family, such as faith, politics, the way that patterns of daily life should go. much more abstract than first order processes and involve negotiation and subscribing to key beliefs and ideologies. second order processes inform first order processes

schemata

• understanding of how things are organized, shaped and linked

• build schemata about personal world

• abstract ideas influence behavior

paradigm

• shared by members of a given group

• beyond schemata

paradigm shift

when belief systems change

family paradigms

• deeply held family ideology

• rarely explicit or conscious to families

• increased awareness in times of stress, crisis, or transition

construction of family paradigms

• assimilation and accommodation

• new couples bring aspects from families of orientation into their new relationship

• family paradigms can change in severe crises

role of family paradigms

• manage family processes - helps or detracts from attaining family goals

• provides a “North Star” to help family navigate complex world

• Family’s construction used to govern itself

Types of Family Paradigms

Closed, open, random, synchronousc

closed family paradigms

stability through tradition and loyalty

key word: structure

open family paradigm

ideas and info come and go pretty freely

key word: negotiation

random family paradigm

variety through innovation and individuality

key word: flexible (or improvisational)

synchronous family paradigm

harmony through perfection and identification

key word: harmony

how does a closed family paradigm deal with stress/exaggeration principle?

“Fall in! Toe the line”

how does an open family paradigm deal with stress/exaggeration principle?

“We’ve got to work this out. We’ll talk it through again and consider it more thoroughly”

how does a random family paradigm deal with stress/exaggeration principle?

“Be more creative. Find something new”

how does a synchronous family paradigm deal with stress/exaggeration principle?

There is no real problem. As always, we are really in agreement about this.

emotional and generational processes impact…

family ideologies/paradigms

assimilation

adopting new beliefs

accomodation

reordering beliefs

what 5 things do rules do?

• regulate and direct family life

• emerge with little fanfare

• powerful

• influential for families

• can change

rules as social norms

• rooted in culture

• communicated by people with whom we share daily interactions

• range from serious to less serious

folkways

behavior directed by mores

mores

ideals

how do rules emerge?

copied, created, adapted from the culture, negotiation, emerge through trial and error

explicit rules

spoken, obvious, known

implicit rules

unspoken, implied

in a smoothly running family, rules do not often have to be ____

stated

is implicitness or explicitness desired?

implicitness

why do we care about rules?

• accountability

• boundaries

• distance and connectedness

• resources

• responsibility

rule sequences

Patterns of behavior in family systems
that are repeated so regularly that
they are a governing or regulating part
of the structure of the family systems.

managing rules in family life

adaptability is key
-developmentally appropriate rules
-rule rigidity
-disabling rules

metarules

“rules about rules”

governs the creation/modification of family rules

“sometimes there are rules against seeing the rules, and hence against seeing all the issues that arise from complying with or breaking them”

usually based on authority and negotiation

how to help families (Summary)

• think sequences and cycles…not causes

• be adaptable… the worst thing is to increase the level of rigidity

• rethink inappropriate rules and rule sequences