Normal Family Processes, Fourth Edition: Growing Diversity and Complexity - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1462502555 ISBN 13: 9781462502554

Verlag: Guilford Publications, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Widely adopted, this valued course text and practitioner guide has expanded the understanding of family normality and healthy functioning in our increasingly diverse society. The editor and contributors are at the forefront of research and clinical training. They describe the challenges facing contemporary families and ways in which clinicians can promote resilience. With consideration of sociocultural and developmental influences, chapters identify key family processes that nurture and sustain strong bonds in couples; dual-earner, divorced, single-parent, remarried, adoptive, and kinship care families; gay and lesbian families; culturally diverse families; and those coping with adversity, such as trauma,  poverty, and chronic illness.

 

New to This Edition

*Reflects important research advances and the changing contexts of family life.

*Additional chapter topics: kinship care, family rituals, evidence-based assessment, and neurobiology.

*All chapters have been fully updated.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Froma Walsh, PhD, MSW, is the Mose and Sylvia Firestone Professor Emerita in the School of Social Service Administration and the Department of Psychiatry at the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. She is also Co-Founder and Co-Director of the University-affiliated Chicago Center for Family Health. Dr. Walsh is a past president of the American Family Therapy Academy and past editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. She has received many honors for her distinguished contributions and leadership in the field of family therapy, including awards from the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, and the Society for Pastoral Care Research. Widely published, she is a frequent speaker and international consultant.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

Widely adopted, this valued course text and practitioner guide has expanded our understanding of the diversity and complexity of “normal” families today. Froma Walsh and her contributing authors are at the forefront of family systems research and clinical training. They describe the challenges facing contemporary families and ways in which clinicians can promote well-being and resilience. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect important research advances and the changing contexts of family life, the fourth edition covers new topics including evidence-based assessment, neurobiology, kinship care, and family rituals.

 

The introductory section by Walsh surveys emerging trends in family life; critically examines views of family normality, health, and dysfunction; and provides a strengths-based framework for clinical practice. Subsequent sections present cutting-edge research on varied family structures and sociocultural and developmental contexts, highlighting implications for assessment and intervention. The book identifies processes that nurture and sustain strong bonds in couples; dual-earner, divorced, single-parent, and remarried families; gay and lesbian families; and adoptive and kinship care families. It discusses how families are influenced  by social and economic constraints, changing gender norms, immigration experiences, and spirituality. It examines the multigenerational family life cycle and describes key family processes for coping and resilience, with attention to the normative strains of childrearing as well as major stressors such as trauma, loss, and chronic illness or disability. Rounding out the volume, the final section reviews the state of the science of family assessment and probes genetic and neurobiological interactions with family processes.

 

Shifting the focus from how families fail to how they can succeed, this book is essential reading for therapists and counselors, as well as instructors and graduate students in family therapy, psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, and related fields. It is a uniquely informative and authoritative text for graduate-level courses.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Normal Family Processes

Growing Diversity and Complexity

By Froma Walsh

The Guilford Press

Copyright © 2012 The Guilford Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4625-0255-4

Contents

PART I. OVERVIEW, 
CHAPTER 1. The New Normal: Diversity and Complexity in 21st-Century Families Froma Walsh, 3, 
CHAPTER 2. Clinical Views of Family Normality, Health, and Dysfunction: From a Deficits to a Strengths Perspective Froma Walsh, 28, 
PART II. VARYING FAMILY FORMS AND CHALLENGES, 
CHAPTER 3. Couple Interaction in Happy and UNHAPPY MARRIAGES: Gottman Laboratory Studies Janice Driver, Amber Tabares, Alyson F. Shapiro, and John M. Gottman, 57, 
CHAPTER 4. Contemporary Two-Parent Families: Navigating Work and Family Challenges Peter Fraenkel and Carrie Capstick, 78, 
CHAPTER 5. Risk and Resilience After Divorce Shannon M. Greene, Edward R. Anderson, Marion S. Forgatch, David S. DeGarmo, and E. Mavis Hetherington, 102, 
CHAPTER 6. The Diversity, Strengths, and Challenges of Single-Parent Households Carol M. Anderson, 128, 
CHAPTER 7. Remarriage and Stepfamily Life Kay Pasley and Chelsea Garneau, 149, 
CHAPTER 8. Gay and Lesbian Family Life: Risk, Resilience, and Rising Expectations Robert-Jay Green, 172, 
CHAPTER 9. Family Processes in Kinship Care Malitta Engstrom, 196, 
CHAPTER 10. Adoptive Families Cheryl Rampage, Marina Eovaldi, Cassandra Ma, Catherine Weigel Foy, Gina Miranda Samuels, and Leah Bloom, 122, 
PART III. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN FAMILY FUNCTIONING, 
CHAPTER 11. Culture: A Challenge to Concepts of Normality Monica McGoldrick and Deidre Ashton, 249, 
CHAPTER 12. Intersections of Race, Class, and Poverty: Challenges and Resilience in African American Families Nancy Boyd-Franklin and Melanie Karger, 273, 
CHAPTER 13. Immigrant Family Processes: A Multidimensional Framework Celia Jaes Falicov, 297, 
CHAPTER 14. Changing Gender Norms in Families and Society: Toward Equality Amid Complexities Carmen Knudson-Martin, 324, 
CHAPTER 15. The Spiritual Dimension of Family Life Froma Walsh, 347, 
PART IV. DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILY FUNCTIONING, 
CHAPTER 16. The Family Life Cycle Monica Mc Goldrick and Tazuko Shibusawa, 375, 
CHAPTER 17. Family Resilience: Strengths Forged Through Adversity Froma Walsh, 399, 
CHAPTER 18. Normative Family Transitions, Couple Relationship Quality, and Healthy Child Development Philip A. Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan, 428, 
CHAPTER 19. Mastering Family Challenges in Serious Illness and Disability John S. Rolland, 452, 
CHAPTER 20. The Value Of Rituals in Family Life Evan Imber-Black, 483, 
PART V. ADVANCING FAMILY SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, 
CHAPTER 21. Assessment of Effective Couple and Family Functioning: Prevailing Models and Instruments Jay Lebow and Catherine B. Stroud, 501, 
CHAPTER 22. Unraveling the Complexity of Gene-Environment Interplay and Family Processes Erica L. Spotts, 529, 
CHAPTER 23. Neurobiology and Family Processes Mona DeKoven Fishbane, 553, 
Index, 575, 

CHAPTER 1

The New Normal

Diversity and Complexity in 21st-Century Families

Froma Walsh

All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

— TolsToy

All happy families are more or less dissimilar; all unhappy ones are more or less alike.

— Nabokov

Families and the world around them have changed dramatically over recent decades. Many traditionalists, sharing Tolstoy's view, have contended that families must conform to one model — fitting a cultural standard of "the normal family" — to be happy and raise children well. As families have become increasingly varied over a lengthening life course, our conceptions of normality must be examined and our very definition of "family" must be expanded to encompass a broad spectrum and fluid reshaping of relational and household patterns. This is the "new normal." Supporting Nabokov's view of happy families, a substantial body of research attests to the potential for healthy functioning and well-being in a variety of family arrangements. In our turbulent times, family bonds are more vital than ever. It is important to understand the challenges families face and the family processes that can enable them to thrive.

This overview chapter seeks to advance our knowledge of the diversity and complexity of contemporary families. First, we consider the social construction of family normality and clarify four major perspectives from the clinical field and the social sciences. The value of a systems orientation is highlighted, to understand "normal" family processes in terms of average and optimal family functioning. Next, a sociohistorical lens is used to survey the emerging trends and challenges for today's families. Chapter 2 then examines the influence of assumptions about family normality and dysfunction in clinical training and practice.

WHAT IS A NORMAL FAMILY?

The Social Construction of Normality

Clinicians and family scholars have become increasingly aware that definitions of normality are socially constructed, influenced by subjective worldviews and by the larger culture (Hoffman, 1990). Most influential theory and research on the family were developed by white, middle-class scholars and professionals, predominantly male, and from a Euro-American cultural perspective. Family therapists have become wary of the term "normal," taking to heart Foucault's (1980) criticism that too often in history, theories of normality have been constructed by dominant groups, reified by religion or science, and used to pathologize those who do not fit prescribed standards. Notions of normality sanction and privilege certain family arrangements while stigmatizing and marginalizing others.

The very concept of the family has been undergoing redefinition as profound social, economic, and political changes of recent decades have altered the landscape of family life (Coontz, 1997). Amid the turmoil, individuals and their loved ones have been forging new and varied relationship patterns within and across households as they strive to build caring and committed bonds. These efforts are made more difficult by questions about their normality. Our understanding of family functioning — from healthy to average to dysfunctional — must take into account these challenges and changes in family life in our changing world.

Although some might argue that the growing diversity and complexity of families make it impossible or unwise even to address the topic of normality, the very subjectivity of constructions of "the normal family" makes it all the more imperative. They powerfully influence all clinical theory, practice, research, and policy. It is crucial to be aware of the explicit and implicit assumptions and biases about normal families that are embedded in our cultural, professional, and personal belief systems.

Varied Conceptions of Family Normality

Defining family normality is problematic in that the term "normal" is used to refer to quite different concepts and is influenced by the subjective position of the observer and the surrounding culture. The label may hold quite different meanings to a clinician, a researcher, or a family concerned about its own normality. Our language confounds understanding when such terms as "healthy," "typical," and "functional" are used interchangeably with the label "normal." In an overview of concepts of mental health in the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Guilford Publications
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1462502555
• ISBN 13: 9781462502554
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Auflage: 4
• Anzahl der Seiten: 592
• Herausgeber: Walsh Froma
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: LOGOS EUROPE; contact@logoseurope.eu; ; 9 Rue Nicolas Possin; La Rochelle; 17000; Frankreich