The Causes Of Family Dynamics

Families can be referred to as complex units linked by strong emotional bonding. The way the family members interact and the way the whole family group relate is known as family dynamics. The dynamics among the family members are influenced by the family’s traditions, emotional interdependence, communication style and behavioral patterns. There are different types of families, and different family structures. Examples of families include, nuclear families which have, a father, mother and children and extended family which have the nuclear family, and other family members living together, for

As displayed in these stories, there is not always a mutual agreement within the family about several situations. Even I have faced conflict within my family, while I was growing up a time or two. Whether the issue involved something that you felt wasn’t fair or it was simply because you were told to do something in which you did not want to abide; the fact remains in every culture, family, life, or relationship, there will come a time where a conflict will arise.

Today in America, an estimated 80% of the population has at least one sibling. While it is true that no two families are identical, the relationship between siblings plays a central role in their development and growth. Younger siblings for example, might be prone to mimic the actions of their older siblings, viewing their older siblings as faultless and heroic figures. On the other hand, older siblings are often viewed as authority figures and are seldom questioned. They might develop as friends with an inseparable bond or as bitter rivals seeking supremacy over the others. Regardless of the nature of their relationship, siblings that share a household are forced to interact with each other more than any other friend or family member. Sibling

The film, Precious, is a powerfully charged story that delves into the family dynamics of a 16-year-old girl and her struggles to survive an onslaught of treacherous experiences. Throughout the film, the viewer is enveloped in a dramatic web of extreme situations, experienced by the main character, and those to whom she is close. The themes of domestic violence, rape, incest, drug addiction, gambling, poverty, social justice, social services, housing and education are laced together throughout the story. Particularly poignant attention is paid to various systems that help shape the experiences of the characters. The social services industry, and its associated workers, educators and administrators, set the foundation for the social themes that are highlighted by this film.

In the texts “That That Elusive Birth Order and What it Means for You,” and “How Birth Order Affects Your Personality,” the authors give their interpretation on the importance of birth order in siblings. The author of the first text, Susan Whitbourne, stresses the unimportance of birth order. Conversely, Joshua Hartshorne, the author of the second text, says that birth order is significant to personality, but there just has not been enough evidence until recent studies.

Although families may not always feel this connectedness, it is always there. The emotional climate of the family is interdependent of what is going on in the family as a whole. If one unit of the family is distant emotionally, it can have a great affect on the whole family. These attitudes are reciprocated throughout the entire family. It is important that most family members are able to stay healthy emotionally and have that ability to communicate their feelings to one another. Problems arise when individuals don’t fulfill their roles that are needed from all family members. Michael Kerr, explained this idea in an article he wrote to explain the family system theory. He explained that “heightened tension can intensify these processes that promote that promote unity and teamwork, and this can lead to problems” (Kerr,

Every family has their own individual problems that they deal with; no family is perfect. Children go through abuse, witness their parents abuse alcohol and drugs, and experience abandonment causing them not to feel loved. Unfortunately for the child, experiencing these things puts them more at risk for repeating the cycle, and going down the same path that their parents did. The focus of this literature review is to determine how the cycle of family dysfunction can be broken. As I searched for supporting articles the articles that stuck out to me were the ones that dealt with the causes of family dysfunction and the ways to help break the cycle of family dysfunction.

Sibling rivalry is not the only issue that was triggered by birth order, child’s personality and his or her intelligence is also involved. Some researchers say that first-borns are smarter because they are pressured to set-up the boundary for the younger siblings. They are more enthusiastic in their education for them to be role models of their other siblings. As for the younger ones, life may be or may not be easy, depending on how they will view it. They may view it positively by keeping in mind that since their older sibling get through it, they also can. Otherwise,

3 Understand the nature and extent of changes within the family, with reference to gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships.

From the time a child is born to the age of maturity, they are molded into what society has interpreted as normal. These fragile adolescent years are crucial to the development of the child's behavior, which bares the question of how important a sibling’s role plays in this development. Humans learn their behaviors and morals through the interaction with one another, feeding off of each other’s experiences. This dependency on others is shown through sibling relationships, even more so in the story of "The Rich Brother".

Though, birth order illuminates a majority of our personality traits and decisions such as, career and romantic relationships. Parents get wrapped up in the ‘firstborn haze’ and overlook how much pressure they put on older siblings. By creating a pressure to be the best and ‘in control’ the older sibling takes on the leadership role and often becomes more aligned with doing better in school than younger siblings. Determination and intelligence correspond with higher level of career, and that is just what the older sibling strives for. In fact, “100% of astronauts who’ve gone into space were either eldest children or eldest sons” (State). Relationships work better if partners differ from each other and aren’t in the same birth order. The competition can be detrimental and problematic. Alfred Adler’s birth order theory provides us with useful information to reflect our decisions and explain how you think about things. By becoming aware of it we can become more familiar with ourselves and get out of the all too familiar comfort

Every family has conflict. I believe how a family handles these conflicts determines a lot about the dynamics's of the family. For example, a child who grows up in a home where conflict is handled by violence will mature quite differently than a child who grew up in a home where conflict was handled by compromise and learning. In a real world example, my parents and I got in quite some conflict when I decided SDSU was where I wanted to attend college. The reason? My family lives in Alabama, which is almost two thousand miles away. I did not think there would be any issue when I told them I wanted to go to San Diego

Have you ever wondered if the birth order within your family has impacted the way you are? As important as the environment is for a child’s development, the order in which they were born might just be another significant factor. The dynamic of a family changes with the addition of each child. Behaviors and personalities are determined by the interactions that take place between a child, the parents, and siblings. Alfred Adler was a psychologist and theorist who was well known for his theories, putting forth the theory of birth order. Birth order is defined as a person’s rank by age among his or her siblings. Adler purposes that characteristic traits and behaviors derive from developmental issues, including birth order. It influences personality,

Family is one of the hardest words to define. There are many definitions and thoughts of what a family consists of. When one accepts the definition of the census family given by Statistics Canada then a family becomes “a married couple and the children, if any… a couple living common law and the children, if any… a lone parent with at least one child living in the same dwelling… grandchild living with grandparents but no parents present… Census families can be opposite or same sex and children may be adopted, by birth, or marriage and all members must be living in the same dwelling” (Baker 2014). With family being such a difficult term to agree on, the creation of a complex study of family life emerges. The factors that influence family life are put into three theory categories; Social Structure, Interpersonal Factors, as well as Ideas, Global Culture, and Public Discourse.

Every family has a unique system with a set of rules, mostly unspoken, that govern their behavior and interactions. In dysfunctional families, the symptom of their dysfunction is typically sourced within their family system. The symptom also has a function – it protects family members from uncomfortable conflict. Dysfunctional families and couples often maintain negative patterns of interacting, and are unable to transition into new behavioral patterns without therapeutic intervention. In order to help families develop out of their systematic ways of behaving, it is important to understand the specific family system that is presented. With a keen understanding of the family’s culture, beliefs, etc., the therapist can develop therapeutic rituals, which are prescribed actions aimed at altering behavioral patterns that are responsible for maintaining the symptom. The ritual is not a verbal explanation or criticism of the family system, rather it is a specific set of actions designed to help families create new patterns of interaction and meaning in their relationships. (p, 5).