Chapter 2 Family Interaction

Sharing Their Story The Lindauer family is representative of what “systems” are when studying family interactions. Whatever happens to one of them happens to all of them. Luke’s disability affects many of the family functions that all families engage in. Christine and Eric have been through changes (college, workplaces, cities they have lived in).

Sharing Their Story Now they are experiencing changes in Luke’s life (his disability, his transitions). Throughout the family’s life cycle, how they handle changes will depend on how they relate to each other. Think of the Lindauer family as a system with a subsystems.

Think About It What are the subsystems within a family and how does a child’s disability influence them? How can family-professional partnerships support marital, parental, sibling, and extended family subsystems? How can teachers increase the likelihood that families will have a balanced level of cohesion and adaptability?

Family System Framework

Assumptions of Family Systems Theory Boundaries: Boundaries exist between family subsystems resulting from the interaction of family members with each other and from the family unit in its interactions with outside influences. Boundaries within a family define members’ roles across four subsystems. Families vary in the degree to which their boundaries are open or closed to nonmembers (including educators).

Assumptions of Family Systems Theory Wholeness/Subsystems: A family system must be understood as a whole entity; it cannot be understood by examining only its component parts or by understanding only one of its members. Families consist of subsystems: Marital, parental, sibling, and extended. A child with a disability may have a negative, positive, or mixed impact on each subsystem

Family Subsystems Marital: Interactions between husband and wife or same-sex partners. Parental: Interactions among parents and their children. Sibling: Interactions among the children in a family. Extended Family: Interactions among members of the nuclear family, relatives, and others who are regarded as relatives.

Marital Subsystem The presence of a child with a disability may have a positive, negative, or neutral impact on the marital system. It is important to remember that while a child with a disability may influence the marital relationship, other cultural characteristics also constitute inputs into the subsystem.

Parental Subsystem Parental subsystems are configured in different ways, with each member of the parental unit having different strengths and needs Foster parents Adoptive parents Gay or lesbian parents Fathers Mothers Teenage mothers and fathers

Sibling Subsystem The presence of a child with a disability may have a positive, negative or neutral impact on the sibling system; Positive and negative reactions often occur simultaneously with impact depending on individual and family characteristics (e.g., size of the family, birth order, gender, nature of the exceptionality, and coping styles).

Sibling Subsystems Ways in which persons may benefit from having a sibling with a disability: Enhanced maturity Self-esteem Social competence Insight Tolerance Pride Vocational opportunities Advocacy and loyalty Potential negative experiences related to having a sibling with a disability : Embarrassment Guilt Isolation Resentment Increased responsibility Pressure to achieve

Extended Family Subsystem Assistance from and relationships with grandparents and other extended family members; Increasingly, grandparents are assuming the parenting role for their grandchildren, occurring most frequently in African American and Latino families.

Rules of Interaction: “Cohesion and Adaptability” The degrees of cohesion and adaptability in a family describe: The ways that members of family subsystems interact; The nature of the boundaries among family subsystems and among family members and non-members.

Cohesion Family cohesion refers to the close emotional bonding with each other and to the level of independence they feel within the family system Cohesion exists across a continuum ---------------------------------------- high disengagement high enmeshment Most families operate in the center of the cohesion continuum

Cohesion Outcomes for families who are highly enmeshed: Blurring of family subsystems, roles, and responsibilities; Excessive interaction; Over involvement in the lives of family members. Outcomes for families who are highly disengaged: Limited interaction; Limited emotional support and friendships; Under involvement in the lives of family members.

Adaptability Family adaptability refers to the family’s ability to change in response to situational and developmental stress. Adaptability exists across a continuum ----------------------------------------- Low control & structure High control & structure Well functioning families typically strike a balance in the middle.

Adaptability Indicators of families who are highly controlled and structured: Strictly enforced rules; Hierarchy of authority and power; Negotiating authority and roles is rare and may be intolerable. Indicators of families who have minimal control and structure: Few rules present in the family; Rules are seldom enforced and may continually change; Promises and commitments are often unkept; Roles are undefined and often changing.

Revisiting Luke, Christine, and Eric Lindauer The Lindauer family has several subsystems. Christine and Eric each have different characteristics and levels of adaptability, flexibility, and cohesion. They are flexible when parenting, sharing household responsibilities and using outside sources. Their extended family and relatives are involved in their lives and play defined roles. Many changes have taken place and will continue to take place.

Summary Family Systems Theory and Subsystems Marital Parental Sibling Extended

Linking Content to Your Life All families will have their own style of interaction. Families with whom you develop partnerships will have their own style of interaction. The reflection tasks on p. 45 provides opportunity to learn about family interaction as you enter into new partnerships with families.