Abstract This paper is a personal case study. The paper describes the writer's observations of familydynamics while an exchange student living in another family's house. The paper discusses the methodology that the writer used in observing the family and collecting data for the case report, including the writer's focus on culture and history and the ways that it can affect familydynamics.
From the Paper "Every family is, in essence, a small society that functions through interpersonal exchanges and a mutual reliance on the various members included in the family. As such, families can, and should be studied. Families should be studied, even in their smallest forms, in order to gain a greater understanding of how families function. Studying families can also allow for a comparison of how families change over time, or as a function of other differentiating characteristics. There are a variety of ways to study families, such as through the use of surveys where different families may be asked to complete a number of surveys over time, and then the results between families can be compared. Other methods may include observing families in particular settings, such as church groups or community organizations. In this paper, I propose that in order to truly grasp the uniqueness of a single family and how they function on a day to day basis, observation must be continuous and as non-obtrusive to the family functioning as possible. At the same time, studying one's own family could lead to a multitude of biases or oversights, as it is impossible not to influence something that you are inherently a part of. Thus, I propose that the best way to study the uniqueness of an individual family is through the process of acting as an exchange student, whereby I will live with a "host" family for a period no less than six months."
Abstract The paper addresses the familydynamics of the Griswold family in National Lampoon's classic parody of Christmas films, "Christmas Vacation," using Dorthea Orem's model of universal self-care. The paper provides an experiment into the functionality of a fictional family through exploring the characters of Clark Griswold (husband and father), Ellen Griswold (wife and mother), Audrey Griswold (teenage daughter), Rusty Griswold (son in early adolescence) and Eddie Johnson (cousin-in-law).
Outline:
Introduction
Cultural Assessment of Family Structure
Universal Self-Care Requisites
Developmental Self-Care Requisites
Nursing Systems Used to Meet These Issues
Conclusion
From the Paper "The Griswold family is a traditional nuclear family consisting of father, mother, and two siblings (male and female). Typically, all interaction within this family is expressed between the four primary members. In the film, circumstances are altered so that the immediate family is changed and multiple members of the extended family are brought into stay within the same household. This affects the dynamics of the immediate family and impedes normal behavior. According to Orem's theories, it is now no longer possible for the Griswold family to engage in their conventional stable roles within this setting. However, the actions of the immediate Griswold family indicate that their roles are highly defined and that they are attempting to conform to them. This is especially evident in the actions of Clark and Ellen."
Abstract This in-depth literature review focuses on family communication and its consequences. The literature review provides information on research pertaining to the following areas: parent-infant communication, parent and early and middle age children communication, parent and adolescent communication, and elderly parents and children/grandchildren communication.
From the Paper "Family communication represents the way that parents and children exchange verbal and non-verbal information. Healthy family communication leads to positive family dynamics and promotes the development of ..."
Abstract This paper studies blended and step families, exploring their potential benefits and unique obstacles. The paper stresses the importance of counseling prior to remarriage, particularly when children are involved.
From the Paper "From adoption and surrogate parenting to increasing rates of remarriage and same-sex parents, the number of diverse family constellations in United States society continues to grow. Such constellations offer enormous benefits as well as ..."
Abstract This paper looks at the adult child of an alcoholic. It includes the familydynamics and roles each member plays in the family of the alcoholic. The paper also includes definitive personality traits which extensive research has found in most adults who grew up on homes with alcoholic parents. The paper includes a personal perspective.
Paper Outline:
Family Rules
Rigidity
Silence
Denial
Isolation
Family Roles
The Family Hero
The Scapegoat
The Lost Child
The Mascot
Characteristics of the AcoA
References
From the Paper "Denial is an unconscious rejection of an unacceptable reality. Denial plays a central role in the life of every alcoholic family. The first and most basic lie is the family's denial of the problem. For CoAs, accepting their parents' denial is the path to peace and openly rejecting it is the gravest of offenses (Deutsch, 1982). Children are taught to ignore the behavior of the alcoholic and pretend that nothing is wrong; they are taught to pretend they are 'normal'. Inside feelings rarely match what family members are feeling on the inside. Denial becomes embedded in the CoA. Denial continues on into adulthood. AcoAs denial stems from an internal preoccupation with avoiding pain. Once the real source of feelings is denied, pain becomes source less, and therefore all the more difficult to acknowledge (Cermak, 1988). For children, denial becomes extremely important."
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the dynamics of the family and the multifaceted nature of it provide the opportunity for a multidisciplinary approach to it. Further, the writer discusses that biology, anthropology, history, literature and psychology can all provide at least a limited view, that, if put together, create a more holistic vision of the family, as it has changed and evolved through time. The writer points out that each discipline has strengths and weaknesses with regard to identifying familydynamic and status. This work briefly addresses how the information from the sources can be integrated, or is incongruent. The writer also discusses what still needs to be learned to have a complete picture of the nature of families.
From the Paper "This observation could be explained by communication differences or many environmental cues that are present in the human world but are not in the primate world, but many years of scientific observation of both primate and human lends credence to Smith's claim. Additionally, the literature piece 'A Long Days Journey into Night', as well as many other pieces of literature that discuss human maltreatment of children seem to effectively prove Smith's point. Smith's work is focused mainly on the biological and psychological aspects of child rearing but does not always have a great deal to say about the family in general, though one could apply some of the basics in the work to a broader understanding of how these elements, of great import interact to alter the nature of the family in a more general sense."
"In 'Our Babies, Ourselves Small' also focuses on the child rearing aspect of family, as is suggested by the name, but she does so from a multicultural perspective (ethnopediatrics), combining anthropology, pediatrics and child development disciplines to review extensive cross cultural research on child-rearing."
Abstract Analyzes the familydynamics (parent-children and sibling-sibling) of the play. Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is a play about an incomplete family in which each character is expected in some way to take the place of the missing member in order to make the family function.
From the Paper "Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is a play about an incomplete family in which each character is expected in some way to take the place of the missing member in order to make the family function. The play is about Amanda Wingfield, whose husband abandoned her long ago, and her two adult children, Tom and Laura. The play centers on Tom's guilt as he looks back at the last time he was together with his family. Following the visit of a "gentleman caller," who was the family's last possible hope of replacing the father, Tom abandoned his mother and sister--although he had no idea how they could care for themselves. Tom feels guilt and sorrow but he never says that he had any other choice. There was no way that he--any more than Laura or the visitor--could take the missing father's place and the audience is left to conclude that Amanda probably had to do ..."
Abstract The parable of, "A Man Had Two Sons" is the longest parable in the Bible. This paper examines the familydynamics in the parable. It explains the concept of Transitional Analysis, a method used in psychoanalysis to understand human communication. The paper then contends that by using Transitional Analysis, we can uncover the dynamics of personality development in the parable, ?A Man Had Two Sons.?
From the Paper "Simply put, when we communicate, we are constantly exchanging strokes, and how we send, receive, and interpret the strokes determine how we interpret the data. Therefore, from the first conversation the younger son has with his father, until the older brother and father speak about the older brother attending the feast, there is a barrage of verbal and non verbal communication taking place."
Abstract The author states that O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a poignant story of the cold-blooded murder of a Georgian family. The paper outlines the plot segments: Familydynamic, comedy of travel and tragedy. The author discusses the writing technique of the O'Connor's story as a competition between "Situational Irony" and "Tragic Irony".
From the Paper "Flannery O?Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a poignant story of the cold-blooded murder of a family of a Georgian man Bailey, his wife, a new born baby, and two children: John-Wesley and June Star; and, Bailey's mother. The killers are: a possible serial killer known as the Misfit, and two accomplices, Bobby Lee and Hiram?all three escaped convicts. What deepens the poignancy is that as each member of the family is shot, the others are aware of the tragedy slowly befalling them."
A comparison and contrast of the characters and familydynamics seen in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" and William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury".
Abstract This paper presents a detailed examination of two classic pieces of literature. The writer explores the primary texts, and secondary sources to develop a critical analysis of the characters and their dysfunction and how escapism is used in both situations. "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams and "The Sound and the Fury" are compared and contrasted while at the same time being individually analyzed for the purpose of exploring dysfunction, escapism and how it affects the familydynamic. The writer details several examples of each from each story and discusses why they are important to the story development and plot analysis. In the end the paper concludes that escapism for the purpose of these two stories is a product of the family dysfunction.
From the Paper "Laura also displays signs of escapism. She has a glass menagerie of figurines that she coddles, cares for and actually believes care for her in return. Her escapism is so deeply imbedded in her mind that she does not come back to reality like the other two do, and realize it is not possible. Tom knows he is watching movies, and Amanda is aware the newsletter does not reflect the real lives of her children, but Laura, because of her emotional and mental issues is not aware that the menagerie presents an escape for her and is not real."
Abstract This paper examines the above book which uncovers various aspects of family structure and familydynamics in relation to the concept of family therapy and group discussions and counseling. It looks at how it provides a clear guide as well as a detailed insightful account of family relationships and how our perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and psychological existence affect our role as friends, family members, spouses and human beings or social animals. It also details how it provides ample material for normal families that undergo change, stress and difference of opinions and how it highlights the various pragmatic techniques involved in family therapy and offers thought-provoking accounts pertaining to the problems within the family structures.
From the Paper "The language, though is kept quite professional throughout the book, sounds not only interesting but remains spell-binding, compelling the reader to go on and on until the magnum opus culminates. The authors have done a great job in selecting words and putting them together in such a manner that with ease, the reader can understand while the writer skillfully manages to put the message across. For instance, when Napier writes on page 2, "Here was that perpetually awkward moment: not knowing whether to shake hands. There is a social component in the beginning of a family therapy, but there is also a professional distance" (Napier & Whitaker, 1988, Chapter 1). With simple words used adequately and artistically, the tone is made effective and what goes on in the mind of therapists or co-therapists and the minor confusions that they face as well as the professional requirements that they are to meet and social responsibility that they have to shoulder, all put in one single sentence."
Abstract During his training, Minuchin began practicing family therapy. Family is the immediate family with whom the individual lives, the extended family of relatives and friends and the community at large. Minuchin's writing included observances of the boundaries within families and between families and outsiders. Family systems therapy provides the family with the ability to distinguish between what is actual and what is a construct of the familydynamic.
Abstract This paper presents a case study of two families who are linked by their children's medical needs. The writer explores the familydynamics, their children and the link between them. The paper relates that support groups are beneficial for the adults, the non-affected children and the affected child. The author concludes that, although the two families have almost nothing in common other than their shared support group, this attendance has proven to reduce family stress and to allow the families to have quality family time together.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Family 1
Family Two
Conclusion
From the Paper "The importance of a support group for families with psychologically affected children was the focus of this case study. It used two families that had little in common other than the fact that they each had a child who is impacted by a psychological issue. The families were chosen specifically because of their differences. One family has a father with an advanced education who travels the nation on business for a powerful computer company while the other family has a father who completed high school, and went into the plumbing field. The first family has a wife who is a registered nurse and works in a children's practice while the second family has a wife who chooses to stay home full time."
Tags: autism, attention deficit disorder, non affected, parents, safe haven
Abstract This paper offers an in-depth review of how the family has been depicted in TV sit-coms and the like over the past 50 years. It examines dozens of shows and discusses how the roles of the husband and wife, and the values within the family has evolved. Also looks at racial issues.
From the Paper "In the fifty years between the first season of I Love Lucy to the first season of The Osbournes, the ethics, mores and socio-economic configuration of the TV-viewing audience has changed greatly. Closely aligned to the revaluated morals of contemporary society have been the representations of family on television. Of particular significance is the way in which the sitcom family is depicted on American TV. Throughout the history of the sitcom, the mother and father and children have adhered to a consistent and perpetuated set of stereotypes informing the way they act. Largely, these representations are dictated by the social class and economic situation of the characters. From their beginnings in a pleasant romp in suburban middle class existence, the members of the sitcom family have become edgier and more prone to throw insults at each other. Conflict has always threatened the family, but with a new age comes transformed values and new forms of danger to the family unit. Issues of sexuality, violence and substance abuse have increasingly played a major role in the lives of TV families over the past three decades. Though the troubles they face may be more serious than the fifties sitcom predicament, and they have changed greatly from the respectable ideals of the fifties sitcom, the family, as will be demonstrated, is perhaps as strong, if not stronger than ever."
