Medicina Fluminensis, Vol. 46 No. 3, 2010.
Review article
Family dynamics and first concepts
Vlasta Štalekar
; Clinics for psychiatry, CHC Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In the last decades some major changes in the life of the families as a social construct
have been occurring. Those changes include a growing number of working and economicaly
independent women, postponed age of marrying, increased number of families
without offspring, greater number of two-generation families, higher rates of divorce and
single parent families, as well as growing number of extramarital couples, single households,
alternative family communities, etc. However, family as a basic social unit in the traditional
and in the modern societies has an equally important role. This paper argues about
the consequences of the above mentioned changes on the family of today that has lost its
firm points in the changing times. Family definitions, dynamics of family functioning through
life cycles, and dynamics of functional and dysfunctional families in the face of social changes
are discussed. Also, this paper focuses on the marital and family relations which despite
the numerous social and structural changes withhold their basic purpose of mutual satisfaction
of emotional and physical needs and the socio economic security. The level of family
functioning is discussed through the quality of marital relation which is product of continues
creation between partners and is originated in the relation to oneself and influenced by the
early emotional relations.
The first concepts of family development theory are presented in the comparison with contemporary
view of the family dysfunctionality and its consequences on the psychological life
of family members.
Keywords
dysfunctional family; family; family life cycles; functional family; theoretical concept
Hrčak ID:
59246
URI
Publication date:
13.9.2010.
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