Chapter Five
Family Characteristics
Family Systems
• No individual can be understood without
looking at how he or she fits into the whole
of the family.
• Families need both rules for structure and
rules for change.
• Interaction of the family with the school,
community, extended family and friends is
essential to the life of the nuclear family.
Typical Family Life Cycle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Newly married couple
Families with young children
Child rearing families
Families with adolescents
Families launching children
Families in later life
Lambie & Daniels-Mohring (1993)
Newly Married Couple
• Primary theme: attachments
• Primary tasks: realignment of relationships
with friends and family to include spouse
and spouse’s family; commitment; goal
sharing
• Stressors: work-family, balancing changes
with extended family, dealing with in-laws,
developing dual career goals
Families with Young Children
• Primary theme: developing strategies for
getting things done
• Primary tasks: realignment of marital
system to include children, develop
parenting style
• Stressors: financial strains, making
decisions about both careers and child care
options
Child Rearing Families
• Primary theme: bringing others into the
family boundaries, consolidating
accomplishments of family members
• Primary tasks: establishing sibling roles,
division of family responsibilities
• Stressors: intrafamily strains, dealing with
involvement in school activities and
families of children’s peer group
Families with Adolescents
• Primary theme: decentralization, loosening
boundaries
• Primary tasks: managing children’s
increasing independence, midlife career and
marital issues, increasing flexibility of roles
• Stressors: financial-handling demands of
feeding, clothing and entertaining
adolescents
Families Launching Children
• Primary theme: differentiation, detachment
• Primary tasks: Negotiating to become a
couple again, renegotiating roles with adult
children
• Stessors: Financial strains: dealing with
paying for college, wedding, or helping
children begin their own nuclear families
Families in Later Life
• Primary themes: letting go, dissolving ties
• Primary tasks: Redefinition of roles
between aging spouses; dealing with the
death of friends and family
• Stressors: financial strains: planning for
the loss of income following retirement,
paying for health care costs
Areas for Major Life Problems
Families with Special Needs Go Through the
Same Family Life Cycle but Often Face
Additional Issues
1. Myths
2. Pile-up
3. Added financial burdens
Stages of Grief
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shock
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Individual Variations
• People do not experience each of these
feelings in a set order with resolve or
closure at the end
– Grief is idiosyncratic
– People may vacillate between stages at various
points in their lives
– People may “regress” to earlier stages
Characteristics of Coping
1. Ability to identify the stressor.
2. Viewing the situation as a family problem
rather than the problem of one member.
3. Adopting a solution-oriented approach
rather than blaming.
4. Showing tolerance for other family
members.
Characteristics of Coping
5. Commitment/ affection for other family members
6. Evidence of high family cohesion.
7. Evidence of considerable role flexibility.
8. Open and clear communication.
9. Use of resources in and outside family.
10. Lack of physical violence.
11. Lack of substance abuse.
Figley and McCubbin (1983)
Survival During Hard Times
1.
2.
3.
4.
Know when you are in hard times.
Face hard times together.
Take your time.
Ask for outside help when your
family is stuck.
McFadden & Doub (1983)
Chapter Six
Family Interactions
Nontraditional Families
1. Separation and divorce
a. Impact on children
b. Impact on parents
c. Financial problems
d. Family management problems
e. Personal problems
Nontraditional Families
2. Blended families
a. Clarifying lines of authority
b. Financial issues
c. Loyalty issues
d. Needs for effective communication
3. Other nontraditional families
a. Grandparents or other extended family
b. Adoptive
c. Same sex
Role of Educational Conferencer in
Working with Nontraditional Families
1. Be aware of priority concerns
2. Be able to suggest resources and services
3. Be aware of severe time, energy and
financial restrictions
4. Include noncustodial parents in
conferences and programs
5. Listen
Role of Educational Conferencer in
Working with Nontraditional Families
6. Become familiar with your own family-related
values
7. Be able to apprise parents and family members of
potential impact of factors on family structure
8. Aid parents in becoming effective in various roles
9. Anticipate atypical behavior in parents and
children experiencing turmoil and change
Multicultural Issues
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Over-representation in special classes
Assessment
Suspensions/ zero tolerance
Poverty
Awareness and acceptance of cultural
diversity and individual differences
6. Likenesses vs differences
Discussion: School and Culture
1. In what ways do middle-class teachers,
reflecting the school’s values, single out for
criticism differences in children’s behavior
and values?
2. What changes should take place for the
structure of the school to be flexible enough
to accommodate the diverse abilities and
interests of a heterogeneous student body?