FOR NJOSH ONLY
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HDFS215_FamilyStrategies.pptxFamily Ideology/Strategies
Family Strategies
Systems view of family requires understanding of interdependence among
Family’s particular composition
Tasks the family must negotiate
Strategies the family employs in meeting these tasks
Families exist in many forms
Assume that all families over the life course must execute similar tasks
Uniqueness is reflected in ways that families go about accomplishing and negotiating necessary tasks
Strategies and rules form unique patterns and dynamics of interaction within each family
Development of Strategies
Family systems are embedded in broader
social,
economic,
Religious,
Educational,
Political systems
Influence the predominant strategies that families adopt
Historical context must be taken into considerations (Chronosystem)
Variability over time occurs when educational, political, or religious philosophies change over time
Legacy of a family also influences strategies established within a family system
Family of origin (FOO) serves as a model or blueprint
Choosing to follow these models when developing our own family units varies considerably based on how they were experienced growing up
Discipline, parenting, religious practice
Good or bad, FOO experiences influence the strategies families establish and pass from on generation to another
Strategies employed result from the dynamic interplay among various cultural, historical, social and family forces
Societal forces constrain and limit family behavior by establishing norms and mores that delineate the limits of appropriate and acceptable family behavior
Uniqueness results from the influence of the FOO and changing the strategies of our own families
Also from the fact that we remain active agents in shaping and changing the strategies of our own families
Identity Strategies
Family themes and images provide family members with a framework of meaning
Framework supplies the information that becomes part of the family’s shared identity as well as each member’s personal identity:
Information about who we are and how we should act with others outside and inside the family unit
Family themes and images also provide members with a set of expectations about how others will act toward them and how they should behave toward others
Family’s framework of meaning significantly influences patterns of interaction by prescribing the expectations that all members are to follow
Choice of family themes is not random but purposeful, intentional
Reasons for specific themes are emphasized in a particular family
Some themes have been passed down from earlier generations as a part of a family’s legacy (intergenerational transmission)
Other themes have ethnic origins
Families tend to enact those behaviors that are congruent with their primary themes
Depending on the theme the accompanying behavioral patterns may be positive or negative
May either foster or interfere with the growth and development of the family and its members
Ex. Theme of mastery and competence may enable family members to remain optimistic when unforeseen events occur (non-normative events)
Ex. Theme of family deprivation may lead to parents to neglect their children just as they themselves were neglected by their own parents
Either situation family’s themes serve an identity function by regulating how members believe they are supposed to behave in response to a variety of situations
Selection of particular themes also represent the family’s strategies for attempting to control how others perceive the family
Gain insight into themes within the family by paying attention to how resources are deployed within the family
Time, energy and money are primary resources managed within the family
Central themes within the family are reflected in how these resources are used
Themes can create an emotional climate that permeates all aspects of family life
Specific themes present within the family
direct the flow of resources
Determine the behavior of family members and
Create an emotional climate at the same time
