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Family Cohesion and Positive Communication in the Function of Strengthening the Contemporary Family - Contribution to the Research of Pedagogical Aspects of Family Relationships
Jasminka Zloković
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Filozofski fakultet -Odsjek za pedagogiju
Sažetak
Adolescents in a turbulent period of psycho-physical and social changes are extremely vulnerable to external influences of peers and social environment, as well as to reduced authority of parents and teachers, and, therefore, represent suitable ’’objects’’ of numerous social manipulations. Since the cohesive balance of family is disrupted, relationship flexibility and communication skills are required to establish a positive family atmosphere. For optimum family functioning it is necessary to establish balance in order to overcome stress and conflict situations. The results of multidisciplinary studies reveal that interconnection, support, family atmosphere, the manner and level of communication within a family and wider social environment may encourage, but also deny and limit personality development. In our study, conducted during 2010, on the sample of 357 adolescents (sixth and seventh grades) from 20 primary selected units (elementary schools) the conceptual framework of Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems (Olson, Gorrall et al., 2003) was used to measure family systems functioning over three basic dimensions: cohesion, flexibility, forms and skills of communication.
The results have shown unbalanced family relationships — extremely high and extremely low correlation on the scale of family cohesiveness. High scores on emotional connection may indicate a difficult future development of an individual’s independence, and low scores may show chaotic family relationships. Two extreme groups of respondents have been noticed on the scale for parent — child communication testing. On the one side, there were respondents whose answers indicate improper communication in families, and at the opposite end there were respondents who communicate with their parents at a high level, which is one of the assumptions that contribute to cohesion. These results contribute to pedagogical science, in particular family pedagogy, as well as to practice, suggesting the need for longitudinal application of the model with the aim to determining the difference in time series. This research represents a newer approach to the study of family relationships’ complexity.
Ključne riječi
family relationships; cohesion; communication; family functioning; families and children at risk; strengthening families
Hrčak ID:
86891
URI
Datum izdavanja:
10.9.2012.
Posjeta: 4.032 *