An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work Essay

An Analysis Of Family Structure And Dynamics Social Work EssayThe concept of family identity can be defined as a familys intrinsic understanding of reality based on shared beliefs and experiences that determine how individual constituents interact and relate to each other and the world outside the family (Bennett, Wolin, McAvity, 1988). Throughout my puerility my family had two identities a blossom forth identity that was shaped by societal expectations and norms, and a private identity that was governed by the unique needs and issues that plagued our family life. From a public perspective we were a conventional snapper class family complete with a married couple, three tiddlerren, and two dogs. We lived in a modest but comely home in a suburban community, my sisters and I attended private schools, and we were financially secure. However, few people were aware of the contest, chaos, and ab determination that occurred behind closed doors deep d throw our home. Our private i dentity, characterized by dysfunctional behaviors and interactions that occurred between various members of the family, told a very different story.The construction or organization of my family based on normals of interactions, subsystems, and boundaries is important in understanding the dynamics deep down my family of origin (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). The genogram, or family diagram, provided in the appendix illustrates a multigenerational view of structure and relationships within my extended family (Bowen, 1978 Nichols, 2011). However, for the purpose of this paper I will focus on the structure of my family of origin. My family consists of my father, Gerald, my acquire, Alma, and three children Michelle, the eldest, Jennifer, the middle child, and myself the youngest child. Our family structure was governed by familial roles, rules, and expectations (Nichols, 2011). My father held the role of financial provider within the family. His responsibility was to ensure that th e family had financial security. My mother maintained the role of caregiver and leader. She was the matriarch of the family and was charged with the task of maintaining each aspect of the home and family. My oldest sister was the scapegoat and guardian within the family. Family issues were often projected onto her forcing her to take responsibility and blame for family dysfunction (Shulman, 2006). She also held the role of protector within the sibling subsystem, and frequently shielded my middle sister and I from danger and harm within and outside the home. My middle sister was the secrecy member and model child of the family. She is passive and rarely verbalized opinions regarding family issues, and always make an attempt to satisfy familial expectations and demands (Shulman, 2006). As the youngest child, I played the role of gatekeeper within the family. My goal as the gatekeeper was to use my wit and humor to help the family return to a state of homeostasis by easing tension a nd restoring calm and peace within the family (Shulman, 2006). My family was also governed by a set of explicit and implicit rules and expectations (Nichols, 2011). Explicit rules and expectations consisted of good behavior, high academic achievement, and the completion of various chores and duties within the household. Implicit rules helped fortify family secrets and included keeping family issues private, and sick family members to discuss or acknowledge the dysfunction within the family. Additionally, my family operated as a closed system with rigid boundaries limiting input from outside sources (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). We were not open or welcoming to outside influences and assume rather, we internalized familial issues and problems.My mothers mental illness perplex family dynamics and contributed to the pathology within the home. My mother has Borderline Personality Disorder which made her a polarizing presence within our home due to her frequent fits of rage and unst able mental wellness (Nichols, 2011). Thus, the familys attention and energy was primarily focused on my mother and her needs (Nichols, 2011). My mother would frequently displace her anger and rage onto my sisters and I in the form of physical and emotional abuse. Her behavior affected relationships, boundaries, and fond regard patterns within the family as illustrated in the family genogram. My mother exhibited an anxious-ambivalent chemical bond to my father due to her imminent fear of abandonment (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). She desperately want my fathers love and attention, but would expect in ways that created conflict and chaos within the marital subsystem (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). As a result, my father developed an anxious-avoidant attachment to my mother, which resulted in him creating a rigid spring within the marital subsystem in order to protect and distance himself from my mothers anger and concomitant feelings of helpless and frustration (Bowlby, 1988 Minu chin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). My parents were involved in a cyclical pursuer-distancer pattern of interaction that resulted in my fathers disengagement within the marital subsystem (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011).The dynamics, boundaries, and attachments between the parental and child subsystems were equally complicated. The relationship between my mother and my oldest sister was filled with conflict and tension. My mother was exceptionally abusive to my oldest sister which resulted in the establishment of disorganized attachment (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). My oldest sister perceived my mother as frightening yet, she desperately desired nurturance from my mother and fluctuated between distancing herself from my mother and desperately seeking console and security (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). My oldest sister and my mother were psychologically and emotionally entwined or fused with one other despite years of abuse (Bowen, 1978 Nichols, 2011). My middle sister established an anxious-a voidant attachment with my mother (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). As a child, my middle sister rarely sought help, guidance, or comfort from my mother as a result of the abuse she endured and my mothers in major power to adequately address her needs for safety and comfort (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). I established an anxious-ambivalent attachment to my mother in which I desperately depended on her for emotional support and encouragement despite her abuse, but rarely received adequate comfort and nurturance (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). My sisters and I have an anxious-avoidant attachment with my father as a result of his inability to consistently provide us with comfort and safety in response to my mothers abuse (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). The family dynamics, however, strengthened the sibling subsystem. My sisters and I have a secure attachment and are able to rely on each other for support, comfort, and nurturance in the governing body of adversity (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011).C ulture and ethnicity also played an integral role in my family identity and dynamics. My parents are first generation Mexican-Americans and were raised in families that emphasized conventional Mexican cultural values and beliefs including a strong commitment to family, respect, trust, and religion (Rothman, Gant, Hnat, 1985). However, my parents raised my sisters and I in a bi-cultural environment that incorporated various aspects of American and Mexican culture and traditions. My parents emphasized trust, respect, and commitment within the family, but they also introduced American language, food, celebrations, and values including a focus on individuality, privacy, and achievement (Rothman et al., 1985 Beane, 2011). Additionally, contrary to traditional Mexican culture, there was a stronger focus on immediate rather than extended family (Rothman et al., 1985). Religion was also an important cultural aspect of our lives. My family is Catholic and position a strong emphasis on rel igious beliefs and rituals such as praying before meals and attending church together every Sunday.Family Crisis/TransitionIn June of 1992 my family, as we knew it, changed forever. My father left our home without any prior notice or discussion and filed for divorce from my mother. His abrupt and unanticipated deviation from our home left every family member struggling with feelings of shock, confusion, disdain, anger, and anxiety. The initial phase of the divorce process is identified as the most stressful time for a family due to the changes in family structure as a result of the absence of a parent, and subsequent pressures and demands for family members to take on new roles and responsibilities (Cooper, McLanahan, Meadows, Brooks-Gunn, 2009 Kelly Emery, 2003). Additionally, families often experience significant changes in socioeconomic, social, and health resources as the result of a divorce that often increases the level of stress within a family and complicates the coping an d adaptation process (Cooper et al., 2009, p. 559 Kelly Emery, 2003). According to the ABC-X Model of Family Crisis, a familys ability to adjust and heading with transitions and crises is based on the interaction of the following variables A-the situation or stressor answer, B-available resources, C-the familys knowledge of the event, and X-the degree of stress or crisis experienced by a family (McKenry Price, 1994). Let us now apply the ABC-X Model of Family Crisis to analyze my familys initial response to the stressful transition of my parents divorce.The stressor facing my family was the separation, and subsequent divorce, of my parents which left the family in a state of distress and significantly altered our family identity, structure, dynamics, and functioning. My fathers absence resulted in significant financial hardship for the family, which forced my mother to enter the workforce and take on the new and unfamiliar role of financial provider. The responsibility and dema nds of this new role affected my mothers ability to maintain her caregiver role within the family. As a result, my sisters and I had to take on many of her responsibilities within the home. Initially, my oldest sister took on the role of caregiver in my mothers absence. However, my oldest sister left for college shortly after my fathers departure which resulted in significant changes to the sibling subsystem and further complicated our familys ability to adapt and cope. My middle sister was forced to abandon her usual role as the quiet member, and assume the role of protector and caregiver. This new role placed a great deal of pressure on my middle sister and changed the dynamic within the new sibling dyad by increasing tension. Additionally, I was no longer able to successfully ease family tension and chaos as the gatekeeper, and mistaken the new role of helping my middle sister maintain the household.The divorce also affected family attachment needs, boundaries, and relationships . After the divorce, my father was physically and emotionally cut-off from my mother and the rest of the family (Bowen, 1978 Nichols, 2011). My sisters and I had no contact with my father for a year following the divorce, which created a rigid boundary between him and the child subsystem and contributed to our inability to adjudicate our grief and heal (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). Additionally, boundaries between the parental and child subsystems, and within the sibling subsystem, became more diffuse as a result of the new roles and responsibilities of each family member (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). The changes in family structure forced my middle sister to take on more of a parental role within the sibling subsystem. Additionally, my mother was uneffective to spend as much time within the home due to the demands of her new role as financial provider, which created a distance and disengagement between the parent and child subsystems (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). My mothers relationship with my oldest sister was equally affected as a result of the transition. After she left home, my oldest sister was able to emotionally bankrupt or cut-off my mother and the chaos within the home (Bowen, 1978 Nichols, 2011). However, my oldest sister continued to provide emotional support within the sibling subsystem.My mothers mental illness complicated her ability to cope with the transition and adequately address the attachment needs of my sisters and I (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). Despite the complicated and chaotic relationship we each had with my mother we desperately needed and wanted her comfort, guidance, and nurturance in response to the pain, confusion, and anguish we were feeling. However, my mothers own emotional instability rendered her unable to adequately address our needs for attachment. My mother was preoccupied with her own needs for emotional comfort and responded in a cold and rejecting manner to our need for comfort and security. Rather, my mi ddle sister and I were forced to provide comfort and solace to my mother and put our own needs aside. This role reversal further complicated the interactions and boundaries between the parent and child subsystems.Culture also influenced my familys perception of the divorce and ability to cope with the transition. The dissolution of a marriage and family is not well accepted within the Mexican culture due to the strong emphasis on family connection and commitment. In fact, families that experience divorce are often shamed and ostracized by extended family as was the case in our family system. My maternal grandparents convey disdain and disappointment in my mothers inability to salvage her marriage and family, which created more tension within our family. Additionally, divorce was uncommon within our suburban community. We were the first family in our community to experience a divorce and this contributed to my familys feelings of embarrassment and shame. The divorce also altered our familys public identity of the ideal middle class family, and revealed some of the conflict and chaos within our home. Our family identity now reflected marital discord and a broken home. Our religious beliefs also complicated our ability to adapt after the divorce. divide is not supported or condoned within Catholicism which increased our feelings of embarrassment and shame in the Catholic community.My family had limited access to resources following the divorce. As antecedently mentioned, our family operated as a closed system which complicated our ability to attain adequate financial, social, and emotional support and assistance from extraneous systems (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). Our socioeconomic status, financial resources, and normal of living were significantly minimized. We transitioned from being a financially secure middle class family to living below the poverty line in a liaison of months. Our access to social support was also limited as a result of the rigid bou ndaries separating my family from external systems of support such as family friends and mental health professionals (Minuchin, 1974 Nichols, 2011). Rather, each member of the family sought individual resources within and outside the family to help alleviate emotional distress and attain support. For example, my sisters and I sought support from external systems including friends and teachers (Nichols, 2011). We also relied on the secure attachment we had with each other for emotional support and guidance (Bowlby, 1988 Nichols, 2011). My mother sought emotional support from extended family, the child subsystem, and her new co-workers.My parents divorce was an unexpected event that significantly increased the level of stress within my family and contributed to changes in family identity, structure, roles, relationships, and resources. My familys resistance to seek and accept external resources and support further complicated our ability as a system to recover from our loss and adapti vely cope with the transition. Cultural influences also contributed to a forbid appraisal of the situation. My familys negative perception of the divorce resulted in feelings of hopelessness and despair rather than an emphasis on problem-solving and growth (McKenry Price, 1994). This negative perception significantly inhibited our ability to adaptively cope with the transition and associated stressors. My family was able to readjust structure and roles, but lacked cohesion and stability. The culmination of the event, the lack of sufficient resources, and the negative perception of the transition resulted in my familys appraisal of the event as a crisis that disrupted equilibrium, increased pressure and stress within the family system, and negatively affected family functioning (McKenry Price, 1994).