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Critical Thinking #2 9 points Analyzing Family Structure After reviewing chapter 4, you are to address the topics below based from the information in Chapter 4

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Critical Thinking #2

9 points

Analyzing Family Structure

After reviewing chapter 4, you are to address the topics below based from the information in Chapter 4. “Social Development in Infancy and Childhood”

APA formatting required

Did you know that…

 

“Because children’s lives are centered initially within their families, the family environment becomes the primary agent of socialization” (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, and Hessenauer. pg. 161).

 

“[And] as children become socialized, they learn and assimilate various behaviors. Because learning is a complicated process, sometimes the behaviors they learn are not those that their parents would prefer. Parents have various ways of responding to a child’s behavior. At any point, an individual can follow alternate plans of action. For each alternative, there are consequences. The critical task is to evaluate each alternative and select the one with the most advantageous results.” (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, and Hessenauer. pg. 182).

 

 

What you do…

 

This APA critical thinking assignment requires you to interview a family and gather information that addresses particular topics. This family can be your own, or you may select another family to interview.

 

 

Review chapter 4 to ensure your understanding of topic information

 

“Today’s families are more likely to reflect a varied medley of structures and configurations. The term family is now identified as “two or more individuals living together who are related by birth, marriage, partnership agreement, or adoption”” (pg. 161).

 

1. Introduction paragraph:

 

• Address /explain/describe the interviewed family’s structure as outlined in Chapter 4, on page162. (Family Constellation, Primary Group, Single-Parent Family, Stepfamilies, Blended Families, etc.) (1 point)

 

 

2. “In view of the vast range of family configurations, it is extremely difficult to define a “healthy” family. However, at least two concepts are important when assessing the effectiveness of a family. These include how well family functions are undertaken and how well family members communicate with each other” (pg. 163).

 

• Address/explain the evidence of Positive Family Functioning within this family as described on pages 163 and164. At least two examples required.

      (1 point)

 

• Address/explain how the interviewed family members engage with one another when experiencing conflict. At least two examples required.  (1 point)

 

• Address/explain what strategies (successful and/or unsuccessful), the interviewed family has used when attempting to improve their relationships with one another. You may include past, present or forthcoming goals. Do not overlook growth span and how age influences appropriate strategies. (1 point)

 

3. After reviewing this family’s systems dynamics, and after reviewing Chapter 4, you will be providing 2 recommendations/strategies that you plan to incorporate in your practice as you work with this family. The recommendations/strategies are required to come from Chapter 4. You are required to provide the page number of your selected strategies.  If you are using e-book, then you must state this, or deductions will occur.

 

• Address/explain: Why you feel that the two topics that you selected need to be addressed in the first place. (ex: disrespect, divorce, unsuccessful parenting style, unsuccessful blended relationships, empty nest syndrome, abuse, surrogate parenting issues, losses, death, etc. ...). Provide examples. (1 point)

 

 

•  Address/explain: What 2 Practice recommendations/strategies you would incorporate from Chapter 4. You are to provide two quotes from Chapter 4 that address your two practice recommendations. Page numbers or e-book notation required, or deductions will occur.

 

(ex: boundaries, feedback, modeling, reinforcement, shaping behavior, tokens, time-out, etc.….) Do not overlook growth span and how age should influence appropriate strategies. (1 point)

 

• Address/explain: What the goals are for the two recommendations/strategies that you selected. How could they potentially assist in making relationships within your interviewed family’s system more successful?  (1 point)

 

4. Did you know…

“We have established that families provide an immediate, intimate social environment for children as they develop. However, families do not exist in a vacuum. They are in constant interaction with numerous other systems permeating the macro social environment. Families can provide care and nurturance only to the extent that other macro systems in the environment, including communities and organizations, provide support and empower them” (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, and Hessenauer. pg. 164).

 

“In order to understand family functioning, it’s helpful to view the family within a systems perspective. Systems theory helps to conceptualize how a family works” (pg. 165).

 

 

Read: “The Influence of Environment”

 

“Researchers have described three primary models for thinking about how economic factors influence families: the family stress model, the investment model, and the interactionist model. Research on the family stress model goes back to the 1930s, Conger said, and has since been well replicated using many samples from diverse backgrounds. It is based on evidence from both human and animal studies that punishing experiences, such as economic pressure,¹exacerbate negative affect, which can take many forms, such as despondency, depression, anger, or aggression (Berkowitz, 1969). These sorts of emotions can disrupt family relationships. The effect of the hardship depends on the way it affects daily life—in other words, the emotional response of the family and the individual are what determines the psychological effect of the event. When parents become depressed, angry, and sullen with one another and have increased conflict, the result is often harsh and inconsistent parenting or withdrawal. For adolescents, that can mean increases in risky behavior and less development of the sorts of competencies that protect them from those risks. Conger observed that other sorts of distress may also affect families in the same way. That is, when stress and challenge are high for parents, they generally have an increase in emotional and behavioral problems, which in turn affect family functioning and increase risks for children.

 

Many social risk factors have been shown to increase the likelihood that adolescents will engage in risk behaviors as well as to disrupt parenting and family processes. Thus, parenting and family processes are the most common targets of interventions for families experiencing adversity, such as economic hardship; parental divorce, death, or mental illness; or parental criminal activity.

 

 

Prevention researchers distinguish among universal interventions (delivered to all members of a population), selective interventions (delivered to segments of a population identified as being at high risk for a particular outcome) and indicated interventions (delivered to individuals already showing signs of a particular risk). Some interventions operate across these levels, depending on need and risk. Interventions may also focus on a range of ages. Those that focus on young children tend to have comparatively stronger effects, Gonzales observed, because younger children are more malleable. It is often possible to have broader impact on a range of risks with early intervention. Home visits to new mothers, designed to instill positive parent-child interactions from the beginning, is an early intervention that has shown promise. Effects for this approach include reduced physical abuse, aggression, and harsh parenting, as well as reduced antisocial behavior (a precursor to many problem behaviors) in children. The effects are strongest for families in the greatest adversity. Research to document the long-term effects on adolescent behavior, however, has been limited”.

 

Institute of Medicine (US) and National Research Council (US) Committee on the Science of Adolescence. Washington(DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011.The Influence of Environment Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53409/ 

 

 

 

Read:

 

 “Macro Systems, Families, and the Pursuit of Social and Economic Justice”, page 164.

 

As noted in the previous article, as well as in Chapter 4, families face challenges for a multitude of reasons that can be associated with internal, as well as external factors. External factors have the power to influence a family’s internal structure and recognition of such factors can fuel both positive and negative outcomes. Prevention methods are strategies in place that will assist with preventing a negative outcome. Intervention strategies are in place to assist with the negative outcome.

 

5. Conclusion paragraph:

 

• Address/explain:

 

How the family that you are working with has been positively or negatively impacted by social and/or economic factors discussed in the article, or in the section titled “Macro Systems, Families, and the Pursuit of Social and Economic Justice”, Page 164.

 

You must explain the situation and the positive or negative outcome in this conclusion paragraph. (2 points)

 

 

You need to be aware that…

 

You will have several topics to address in this APA formatted assignment. (Review the directions more than once!

You are to use the book as one reference but may incorporate other references as well.

The title and reference pages must be APA and topic subtitles are required.

APA formatting examples and guidelines are provided in Module #3.

 

The interview submission should be no less than two pages. (Excluding APA title and reference pages.)

 

 

Deductions:

Title page not APA - .25 deduction

Reference page not APA - .25 deduction

APA requires page numbers (-.25) and topic subtitles (-.25) 

Less than at least two pages – 1-point deduction for every page short.

Grammatical errors. - .5 deduction per every 3 (Contractions are grammatical errors in this course.)

Late = 1-point deduction per day.

Deductions are at the discretion of this instructor. Lazy work will result in deductions