Part 2: Family Form
A Conscious and Inclusive Family Studies; Family Vitality
Advanced Psychology Seminar
Self-Consciousness in Family Studies
Objectivity is not objective
"By denying or ignoring ourselves in the research process, we sanitize research
reports."
"I engage the practice of self-conscious research to generate an inclusive
family studies so that the process of creating knowledge is more sensible and
relevant to the families we study."
Practicing reflexivity
"I am not arguing for simple declaration of our situatedness…rather, I ask
family scholars directly to be explicit about who we are and what we assume."
A note about methods
Family scholars should learn some of the skills and sensitivities to lived
experience that qualitative researchers from other disciplines have developed.
Full discussion should be made of biases that infuse the entire research
process.
Strategies
Expanding our science to include ourselves: A critical reflection
If our goal is to study social structures and processes related to families, we
need ways to include more realistic understandings of the diversity of people’s
lives in our investigations…to be more accountable to families who have been
ignored or marginalized, we must be willing to risk stating what we really
believe and what really motivates our work.
Integrating critical reflection and personal narrative into family studies
Example: speech proposing heterosexual marriage is the best solution to
children’s problems
When a researcher informs her scholarship with critical reflection about the
influence of her private experience and ideological commitments, vitality and
validity infuse the work.
Example: discussion group on the race and gender link
Becoming more inclusive of diversity in family studies
Family studies originated from trends that share concern with understanding
social problems and easing family tensions.
Contemporary research still relies on rationalist discourse that privileges a
White male and his family.
By discouraging subjectivity and inclusivity, we deny the reality of family
complexity and diversity and thereby stigmatize difference.
Becoming More Inclusive
Family scholars must recognize the relative forces of privilege and oppression
operating in family life.
2. We must insist on complex, inclusive perspectives that examine the
intersections of race, class, and gender without reducing them to stereotype.
3. We must be more modest in our truth claims.
4. A critical consciousness requires collective social action to create
knowledge that moves people to make necessary change in how they treat others.
Conclusion
A family studies informed by critical consciousness is more accountable to the
people we study, the students we teach, and the readers we engage.
Family Vitality (Pistole & Marson, 2005)
We propose that the traditional family is not available to nor appropriate for
all people; that a variety of family structures, including the traditional
family, can be normative and functional for development and that the diversity
of family structures reflects the family’s vitality
Introduction
TV media reflects and transmits information about the culture of family
1950s: urban/suburban 2-parent family with children organized around
breadwinner/homemaker roles with adults in their only marriage
Series of cultural variations to present-day:
Extended 3 and 4 generation families
Foster families
Adoptive families that may be bi-racial or multicultural
Commuter families
Single-parent families headed primarily by mother or father
Gay or lesbian without or with children
Remarried/step families
Groups of people living together with no legal ties but with
strong commitment to one another
TV Shows:
Golden girls: the aging family
Friends: the urban tribe
Frasier: intergenerational family
Seventh Heaven: non-traditional gender parental roles
Reflections
All shows demonstrate normative development and vitality of the family in the
wake of changing environmental.
All depict:
Family as a source of meaning, identity, and bondedness
Effective individual and family functioning across ages and phases of life
Educational/Practical Issues
Ameliorating idealization of traditional family:
Increased awareness of how tradition is reinforced
Dramatic change in historical context
Professionals and clients can respond better to family issues if they know how
diverse families adapt in the 21st century.
Important to recognize that family structure does not equate automatically to
processes that support development.
Embedded assumptions about traditional family can impede the processes in
counseling.
Developmental Counseling Issues
Issues that emerge from the context of more recent challenges reflecting the
many dimensions of current dominant culture may be normalized through discussion
with counselor.
Relevant research on findings that reflect the adaptability of families to these
new challenges can facilitate discussion and growth in counseling setting.
Conclusion
Recognizing and appreciating diverse family structures is an inclusive stance
that accommodates cultural and individual differences and all of society,
including children and single adults.
Research finds that diversity in family values, particularly among different
cultures, is normative.
If only the traditional family is accepted as healthy, many persons will feel
invisible, disenfranchised, marginalized, and ignored.
“Non-traditional” families do not characterize less commitment and weaker
emotional ties, but do promote healthy and happy children.
Discussion Questions
How do you believe God intended family to be structured?
What do you believe is the best family form for children?
How does the first article challenge the way you see family life? Do you agree
or disagree with the premise of the article? Why or why not?
Do you believe the recent changes in family forms, as well as the risen divorce
rate to 50%, reflect a downward spiral (destruction) of families? Why or why
not?
How might (or might not) the perspectives of the authors be incorporated into
a Christian perspective?