FAMILY CONFLICT
&
CRISES
Compiled by
Elizabeth
Bogumil
Outlined by
Professor
Wonser
LESSON OUTLINE
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Socialization
Crisis
Conflict
Emotion Work
Roles, Status and Conflict
Family Violence
 Domestic Violence
 Verbal Abuse
 Non-verbal Abuse
 Elder & Child Abuse
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Af fects on Children
Applying Theory
Take Away Points
Student Evaluations
SOCIALIZATION
 Socialization: the process of learning and internalizing the
values, beliefs and norms of our social group by which we
become functioning members of society
 Begins in infancy
 Most productive once a child begins to understand the use of
language
 Families: are the single most significant agent of socialization
in all societies and teaches us the basic values and norms
that shape our identity
 In the teen years, peers become the primary socializers
CONFLICT VS. CRISIS
 Conflict: friction, disagreement, or discord arising internally
or within a group when the beliefs or actions of yourself, one
or more members of the group or outside groups members
find those beliefs or actions unacceptable
 Crisis: any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable
and dangerous situation af fecting an individual or group with
little to no warning
CRISES: T YPES & COPING
 Caused by:
 Drastic changes in courses of events (good or bad)
 Turning point that changes the future
 Types:
 External: floods, fires, war
 Internal: divorce, alcoholism, death of family member, family
violence
 Coping mechanisms:
 Spirituality
 Family support
 Sense of humor
CRISIS: PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT
CONFLICT
Family Functions are the tasks and goals that
support and sustain the family
Family Dysfunctions are failures in the
family to accomplish these tasks and goals
This leads to stressors which can build up
Failure to address the stressors before they
pile up too much leads to conflict
CONFLICT
 Stressors: are “root” causes of conflict:
 Normative Stressors: expected life events and processes that bring
stress by virtue of their nature
 Acute Stressors: typically unexpected, sudden, and demand
tremendous resources to cope with them
Examples of normative stressors?
Examples of acute stressors
CONFLICT: T YPES
 Intrapsychic / Personal Cause of Conflict
 Originates within the individual
 Centers on inner drives, instincts, and values pulling against each other
 These conflicts come from family of origin issues and early childhood
 Can be:
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Unrealistic fears and anxieties
Neurotic needs
Emotional illness
Depression
Mood Swings
 Solution: resolve personal issues first then address the relationship
issues
What are some examples of this type of conflict?
CONFLICT: T YPES
 Intrasomatic / Physical Causes of Conflict
 Originates from an individuals physical state
 Can be:
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Fatigue
Hunger
Overwork
Headaches
Low blood sugar
Medications
 Cause of Conflict:
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Irritability
Impatience
Disordered reasoning
Low tolerance for frustration
 Solution: relax, better care for your physical health and recognize
physical limits
What are some examples of this type of conflict?
Do you think there is a class component to this type of conflict?
CONFLICT: T YPES
 Interpsychic / Interpersonal Causes of Conflict
 Originates and based in intimate interactions
 Can be:
 Rebellion
 Methods of care
 Handing situations
 Cause of conflict:
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Misunderstanding
Emotional withdrawal
Miscommunication
Difficulty resolving differences
 Solution: communicate, utilize the win-win conflict resolution model,
come to common understandings
What are some examples of this type of conflict?
CONFLICT: T YPES
 Situational / Environmental Causes of Conflict
 Originates from external situations which can trigger personal or
interpersonal sources of conflict
 Can be:
 Living conditions in household
 Societal or cultural strains
 Unexpected events
 Solution: Addressing the external pressure, changing the
environment, working together to overcome unexpected events and
communication
What are some examples of this type of conflict?
EMOTION WORK: HOCHSCHILD
 Emotion Work: the management of one’s own feelings in an
ef fort to maintain the well being of a relationship. Also
involves the orientation of self to others to fit with accepted
norms of emotional expression.
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Types
 Evoking emotion
 Suppressing emotion
Techniques
 Cognitive
 Bodily
 Emotion
 Feeling Rules:
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“fake it till you make it”
Men need to be strong, brave and macho
Women need to be happy and perky
You know you have the correct or incorrect emotions by how others react to you
Do you do emotion work? What are some feeling rules within the
family you are familiar with?
EMOTION WORK: HOCHSCHILD
What types of emotion work do these represent?
If emotion work is not performed correctly can this lead to conflict? How?
EMOTION WORK
 Role-taking Emotions: are emotions like sympathy,
embarrassment, or shame, which require that we assume
the perspective of another person and respond from that
person’s point of view
 Feeling Rules: are socially constructed norms regarding the
expression and display of emotions and include expectations
about the acceptable or desirable feelings in a given
situation
How can not utilizing this sort of emotion work correctly lead to
possible conflict?
ROLES, STATUS & CONFLICT
 Status: is a position in society that comes with a set of
expectations
 Roles: are the behaviors expected from a particular status
 Types of Conflict
 Role Conflict: occurs when the roles associated with one status clash
with the roles associated with a different status
 Role Strain: occurs when roles associated with a single status clash
 Role Exit: is the disengagement from a role that is central to ones
identity, may occur because of role conflict or role strain
How can these types of conflict relate to conflict within intimate
relationships and family?
ROLES, STATUS & CONFLICT
Actor
Status
Roles
FAMILY VIOLENCE
 Who:
 Affects every class, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation
 Why:
 To maintain control
 What:
 Violence may or may not lead to physical injury, can be emotional
and psychological too
 How:
 Society legitimizes some forms of violence
 Spanking
 Video games
 Levels of acceptable violence are based off of societal norms
Tattoos as Domestic Violence
FAMILY VIOLENCE
 Factors that contribute to violence in relationships
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Cultural values
Gender roles
Family history of violence
Drug and alcohol abuse
Dependency
Jealously, possessiveness and suspicion
Need to control
Unhappiness and dissatisfaction
Anger and aggressiveness
How do you suppose one, some or many of these factors
contribute to family violence?
Do you think conflict occurs first then violence?
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Domestic Violence: the intentional use of physical or symbolic
force by an individual aimed at hur ting or injuring an individual
intimately involved with
 Also known as Intimate Partner Violence(IPV)
 Is the most common form of family violence. It includes behaviors abusers
use to gain and maintain power over their victims. Abuse can be:
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Physical
Verbal
Financial
Sexual
Psychological
 Mor tification of Self : the most dramatic type of socialization which
can occur in instructions such as the militar y, POW camps, and
mental hospitals.
 Degradation ceremonies are used to resocialize a person into their new role
Consider how domestic violence or abuse can be a type of
degradation ceremony to resocialize a family member into a
certain role within the family?
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Verbal abuse: are words that cause mental or psychological
distress
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Shaming
Threatening
Swearing
Belittling
Humiliation
Excessive jealousy or possessiveness
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Non-verbal Abuse: is the use of symbolic force to overtake
another
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Slamming doors
Destroying objects / property of another
Destroying meaningful objects (ie: tearing up photos)
Silence
Sulking
Isolation (isolating the other from the outside world and others)
Economic deprivation (withholding money)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 33% of females and 4% of males were murdered by current or
former intimate partner. Also, if a family member attacks or
kills it usually done in a more violent and graphic manner
(2002)
 5.9 out of every 1 ,000 and 2.1 out of every 1 ,000 men
experience domestic violence
 60% of of fenses occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the
victim’s home
 In 2005, 1 ,181 women and 329 men were killed by their
intimate partners
 Domestic violence calls are the single largest category of
calls to the police
 Only a very small number of domestic violence incidents are
reported to the police
- National Institute of Justice Special Report (June 2009)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Cycle of Violence in Abusive Relationships
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Stage One: relationship
seems normal
Stage Two: the victim feels
like ‘walking on eggshells’ to
avoid arguments
Stage Three: acute battering
and violence occur, lasting for
seconds, hours or even days.
The abuser blames the victim.
Stage Four: the abuser will
apologize profusely and
promise that it will never
happen again
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
 Why women stay:
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Abuse starts gradually and builds
Childhood history of abuse*
Underestimated the degree of danger
Fear
Accept the blame and think if they do the right things they can stop it
Emotional dependency / low self esteem
Financial dependency
Guilt
Believes the abuse is for legitimate reasons
They “love” their partner
How does this relate to the way in which victims were socialized
to behave and think as a child?
ELDER & CHILD ABUSE
 Children and elderly can also suf fer from abusive family
members
 Elder Abuse: the maltreatment of older family members in
emotional, sexual, physical, financial, neglectful and other
ways, especially where trust was expected and violated
 Child and elder abuse are underreported, due in part to the
relative powerlessness of the victims and the private settings
of the abuse
 Particular types of abuse towards children include:
 Neglect: is the failure to perform necessary duties
 Food, water, medical care
 Incest: is sexual relations between close relatives
What have you heard about elder abuse?
FAMILY VIOLENCE
 Abuse is LESS likely to occur in families where:
 Spouses have an egalitarian relationships
 Spouses share equal decision-making power in regard to finances,
purchases, vacations, etc.
 The marriage is monogamous
 Normal disagreements within the family are resolved peacefully
 And, if someone is abused, there is outside support for the abused
and the abused seeks it after the first incident*
FAMILY VIOLENCE
 Elder abuse is MORE likely to occur when:
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The
The
The
The
elder abused the adult child as a child
elder has decreased functioning (dementia, et al)
abuser may not understand the disability of the elder
abusive adult child may use drugs or alcohol
AFFECTS ON CHILDREN CHILDREN:
CONFLICT & CRISIS
 What family environment is most healthy for children
 Some conflict is inevitable and healthy
 How conflict is handled is critical
 Positive and calm family environments make children feel
 Safe and secure
 Loved and wanted
 When parents fight, children feel:
 Stressed
 Anxious and may withdraw
 Self-Blame*
 Feelings that the fight is about them
 Feelings that they try to make peace and fail
AFFECTS ON CHILDREN: DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE & ABUSE
 Children living in violent households tend to grow up to be
perpetrators or victims
 3-10 million children witness domestic violence annually
 Ef fects of child abuse:
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More aggressive
Behaves negatively
Doesn’t get along well with others
Does poorly in school
Poor problem solving
Long-term adjustment problems
Can children witnessing violence increase the likelihood of them
perpetuate the cycle of violence when they’re adults?
APPLYING THEORY
How do each of these theories relate to conflict, crisis and family violence?
TAKE AWAY POINTS
1. Conflict and crises can be handled in constructive ways
2. Domestic violence comes in many forms
3. Conflict resolution, the handling of crisis and the crime of
domestic violence can be learned by children through
socialization and thus passed down through generations
STUDENT EVALUATIONS
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