A dysfunctional family is a group of people usually related by some means, not always necessarily by blood, in which conflict, misbehavior, maltreatment and neglecting create a hostile life for its members. To explain this idea better we will see the definition of family, the differences between a healthy and a dysfunctional family; their characteristics and behavioral patterns. Some examples will help us examine this issue better, taking us to discuss the different factors that contribute to the formation of such families, along with its consequences in today’s society.
According to the Dictionary of Contemporary English, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, formed by a father, a mother and children. On the other
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A family dysfunction can be any condition that impedes its proper rhythm. Most families have some periods of time when functioning is impaired by stressful circumstances, for instance: death, illness, unemployment, finances, stress, work, school, etc. Moreover, healthy families tend to return to normal functioning after the crisis passes. In dysfunctional families, however, problems tend to be chronic.
A healthy family is not perfect; there may be misunderstandings, tensions, conflicts, yelling, hurt and anger, but not always. Emotional expression is allowed; and it’s acceptable to get mad sometimes, as long as it’s not all the time. The Holy Bible teaches on Ephesians 4-23 “Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath”. Also, in a healthy family, rules tend to be explicit and are consistent, but with some flexibility to adapt to individual needs and particular situations. Ephesians 6-4 exemplifies this idea with the following verse: “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath”.
Children are treated with respect, and do not fear emotional, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. On the contrary, they feel safe, as they know that their parents are there to protect them and to look after their well-being. These children are given responsibilities appropriate to their age and are not expected to
Dysfunctional Relationships are relationships that do not perform their appropriate function; that is, they do not emotionally support the participants, foster communication among them, appropriately challenge them, or prepare or fortify them for life in the larger world. (Tessina 1)
Every family has its quirks and odd traditions. Quite often there are conflicts or emergencies in families that can leave awkwardness behind. There can be a troubled child or an alcoholic parent, which causes other members of the family to act out. Many forms of abuse can also be classified as dysfunction in a family. In William Faulkner’s
The significant of the problem is important to identify for the important of everyone involve in the family. If the problem continues it will be leading to the family disintegration, making even it harder for us to one day come together. Even though we might not notes right know but little by little the family will falling apart. Once the family falls apart and something meager happens we will not know what to do and might even start a bigger problem leading for the family to stop talking to each
Dysfunctional families are chaotic and rigidity is an attempt to manage that chaos, both inwardly and outwardly. Adults will tighten up on rules and routines in an attempt to counteract or ward off the feeling of falling apart inwardly and outwardly. Family members tighten up on their own ways of managing becoming both controlled and controlling. When there is an issue there is no middle ground where strong feelings can be talked over in order to achieve some resolution.
Destruction of families all across the world is becoming more recognizable to society due to a families falling in on their selves. Everyone can see the realm of their own world cracked in some manner leading to functioning parts of the society slowing to a halt. Either this falling apart of oneself comes on by divorce or some type of dysfunctional family situation. Only the ones who express these faults to the open public are deemed as social problem. This could cause status to be formed and to put down these people. Families are supposed to be the nurturing source of life which protects its own members from harm, but not all family housing is perfect, let alone normal, considered under these
The use of mezzo-perspective is to focus on the group or family unit as a whole. Although the mezzo-perspective mainly focuses on a group or family unit, this type of perspective can also benefit an individual because it affects many different individuals at once. Research has shown that family units that are dysfunctional can benefit from structural family therapy. This type of therapy breaks down the family dynamics into subsystems. Each of these subsystems work within groups forming alliances, triangulations and boundaries with one another and others outside of the family. Furthermore, this type of subsystem analysis will be visible in the case study of the Clark family. Bob and Marie are parents of three children that appear to have a breakdown of boundaries both enmeshed and disengaged. Additionally, the parental alliance has fallen apart due to the discord around discipline of the children, over-bearing actions by Marie with her children, and intimacy issues. Lastly, triangulations appear to be repeating through generations, Bob and Marie actions display similarly to their own parents, that they wanted to avoid when having their own family.
Dysfunction is a universal component in most family units in varying degrees. Individuals are raised in families that have their strengths and weaknesses, these factors play a vital role in teaching us how to cope with each other. While growing up it is natural to assume that all families function in the same manner, when we see a family that functions differently than our own we are let confused. Perhaps this family is pretending to function in a different way; we may even see them as completely wrong. As we all grow and learn from our peers and our own personal experiences, we begin to question the functionality of our own family unit. In our teens and twenties when faced with this inconsistency, the majority of individuals do not have the capability to navigate and interpret these differences. This can leave individuals to feel a void, without the ability to cope with these voids, self-soothing, or self-medicating becomes an easy way to cope. Food, alcohol and drugs will temporarily ease the discomfort of these voids; however, regret paired with the reality of the original void simply perpetuates the use of their addiction of choice to cope. Therefore, perpetuating their own dysfunctional coping
In the modern era, there are many definitions of family. These definitions can range from a
If these needs are not met within the family structure according the structural functional theory the family is said to be dysfunctional. The Family is our back bone it is the foundation of how we as individuals will go
According to Salvador Minuchin’s family structural theory, a family can be functional or dysfunctional based on its ability to adapt to stressful or crisis situation, which includes extra-familial, idiosyncratic, and developmental (psychotherapy pdf). In this model, the healthy or functional families are considered to follow the hierarchy of power, typically with the parental subsystem on top, and the children subsystem at the bottom (psychotherapy pdf). When this subsystem boundaries are challenged or broken, it can lead to a dysfunctional family.
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, bad behaviors and even child neglect or abuse happen on a regular and continuing
As defined by the textbook Cultural Anthropology A Global Perspective, the family is defined as a social grouping that consists of two plus people that are of the same kin, which signifies relations by blood, marriage, and or by adoption. This socially attached group lives together for an extended period of time. The grouped kin share their financial resources to care for their young or any member of kin they may be living with (Scupin). When doing research on the topic of the family, I found it interesting how frequently, the family was defined as a group consisting of two parents and children, all living within one home. This would make sense to those who 's families may consist of these members, but to those who live in a different structurally formed family, they may disagree with that definition. Families may
A Family breakdown may provoke mental disturbances in the partner and their children. Marital crises do not only affect the spouses but usually have a negative impact on the functioning of the whole family. A conflict situation may lead to psychosomatic and psychological illness, behavior and personality disturbances, sexual dysfunctions or addictions. The reason why a problem emerges among spouses is usually a problem caused by one of the partners nearly always affects also the other and requires conflict solving strategies on both sides. The following factors can influence the quality and stability of relationships: Personality traits (eg: unsolved psychological conflicts, depression, and lack of self-esteem), style of emotional ties (closeness versus distance), biographical experience (eg. age and maturity, divorce of parents), educational and professional resources, and demographic facts (eg. age at which marriage is contracted). A spouse’s high expectations to the respective other and unrealistic ideas about marriage and sharing life together are often the reason
Broken families is a trend that began to increase in the early 1930s. A family that has been broken from divorce, death of a parent/spouse, and legal separation or families due to court decisions can have a great impact on the children that are in these families. Data will show that children coming from broken families suffer depression at great rates, their families economic statuses are greatly impacted, and socially the supports that are needed to be able to cope with those life changes aren’t present. The children’s grades may begin to suffer and they don’t get the supports at home that they need to be successful at school. Unwed single mother households’ numbers are staggering. It’s increasing steadily and some supports should be put in place to help these families. When broken families come about the mothers go seek welfare benefits so they could sustain the necessities in the household. These group of children are severely ousted and have to go through many hurdles just so they can be successful. Social, economic, and psychological issues faced by children of divorce makes them the most disadvantaged group in America. This is supported by plenty of statistics that researchers put together during experiments and studies that were made to find the effects of depression on school age children. In conclusion, researchers will discuss the many disadvantages children from broken families encounter throughout life and how their behavior is impacted.
A dysfunctional family can be caused by deficient and inferior parents who lack basic care taking skills that are needed to raise a healthy and functional family. These kinds of parents tend to teach their children the wrong