4 Dynamics of Family

DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines ISO 9001: 2015
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211 QMS-Certified
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URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
Module 4
Dynamics of Family
Family, as defined
Family a household comprising of all the persons who occupy a housing unit (limited only to
structure and legal status).
Family is the basic social institution and the primary group in society. It is defined as a social
group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction.
A group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption, constituting a single
household, interacting and communicating with each other in their respective social roles of
husband and wife, mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister, and creating and
maintaining a common culture.
Connotes quality or nature of the relationships such as:
1. Meaningful sexual relationships
2. Loving parent-child relationships
3. Permanent and long-raising relationships
4. Faithful and loyal relationships
Functions of Family
1. Sexual Controls - The family is the principal societal structure through which
organization and regulation as well as satisfaction of sexual desires are established and
maintained. There are however, some instances when societies provide some
alternative sexual outlets. There is one thing basic and common to all societies.
2. Reproduction - Primary, every society depends upon the family as an institution for the
business of producing children.
3. Emotional Function -most, if not all societies rely entirely upon the family for the
needed affectionate response. This function of the family cannot and will not be
replaced by any machine.
4. Status Placement- At birth, an individual automatically becomes a part of the family
group. In entering the family, he inherits a string of statuses. The family provides its
young several ascribed statuses.
5. Protection - The principal function of the family is to protect the young. It remains the
most effective mechanism for the care and rearing of children.
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6. Economic Function - The family functions as an economic unit, within which nobody is
regularly paid for performing his duties. Its members work together as a team and share
on their products.
7. Functions for Character Building - The family is still the finest center for the maturing
person – both adult and child. It is within the family circle, better than in the best of
schools, that each family member learns the basic human and Christian values.
8. Socialization - Fundamentally, all societies depend on the family for the socialization of
children into adults that they may function successfully in that society. This is so
because family experiences the source of many basic human motivations which play an
important part in the larger social life. By the time he is old enough to enter other
primary groupings outside the family the basic foundation of his personality is already
firmly established.
Theoretical Perspective/Views on Family
1. Functionalism- The family performs several essential functions for society. It socializes
children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, it helps regulate
sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it provides its members with a social
identity. In addition, sudden or far-reaching changes in the family’s structure or
processes threaten its stability and weaken society.
2. Conflict - The family contributes to social inequality by reinforcing economic inequality
and by reinforcing patriarchy. The family can also be a source of conflict, including
physical violence and emotional cruelty, for its own members.
3. Symbolic interactionism - The interaction of family members and intimate couples
involves shared understandings of their situations. Wives and husbands have different
styles of communication, and social class affects the expectations that spouses have of
their marriages and of each other.
Family Structures
Family Structures - referred to as the articulation of units by which the family is composed
namely of the kinship system, social relationships existing among its various family members,
various cultural phenomena implied through the knowledge of the influences of role status,
norms, social patterns, sentiments, social control.
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Based on Internal Organization or Membership

1. Nuclear (primary or elementary family) – is composed of husband and wife and their
children in union recognized by the other members of society.
2. Extended Family – is composed of two or more nuclear families, economically or socially

related to each other. The extensions maybe through the parent-child relationships
when the unmarried children and the married children with their families live with the
parents.
Types of family structures corresponding to the nuclear and extended families:

1. Conjugal Family – which considers the spouses and their offspring as of prime
importance and which has a fringe of comparatively unimportant relatives.
Marriage bond is emphasized.
2. Consanguineal Family – which considers the nucleus of blood relatives as more
important than the spouses. Blood relationship formed during childhood is
emphasized.
3. Single Parent Family - The single parent family consists of one parent raising one or
more children on his own. This family may include a single mother with her children, a
single dad with his kids, or a single person with their kids. Single parent families are
generally close and find ways to work together to solve problems, such as dividing up
household chores.
4. Childless Family - While most people think of family as including children, there are
couples who either cannot or choose not to have children. The childless family is
sometimes the "forgotten family," as it does not meet the traditional standards set by
society. Childless families consist of two partners living and working together.
5. Step/Blended Family - Over half of all marriage separated, and many of these
individuals choose to get remarried. This creates the step or blended family which
involves two separate families merging into one new unit. It consists of a new husband,
wife, or spouse and their children from previous marriages or relationships. Stepfamilies
are about as common as the nuclear family, although they tend to have more problems,
such as adjustment periods and discipline issues.
6. Grandparent Family - Many grandparents today are raising their grandchildren for a
variety of reasons. One in fourteen children is raised by his grandparents, and the
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parents are not present in the child's life. This could be due to parents' death, addiction,
abandonment or being unfit parents. Many grandparents need to go back to work or
find additional sources of income to help raise their grandchildren.
Other Family Internal Organization Pattern:

a. Co-Custody Family – an arrangement where divorced/annulled parents but legal
responsibility for their children.
b. Conditionally Separated Family – OFW, soldier parent
c. Adoptive Parents
d. Bi - / Multi – Racial Parents
e. Foster Family
f. Gay / Lesbian family
Based on Descent
– implies cultural norms, which affiliates a person with a particular group of kinsfolk for certain
social purposes and services such as mutual assistance.
1. Patrilineal Descent – affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or her
father. The child has also well-defined relationships with the mother’s kin, but when the
child finds it is necessary to seek aid, the child turns to his or her father’s kin.
2. Matrilineal Descent – which affiliates a person with a group of relatives related through
his or her mother.
3. Bilateral Descent – which affiliates a person with a group of relatives related through
both his and her parents.
Based on Form of Marriage:

1. Monogamy - the union between two individuals, is the most common form of marriage.
While monogamy traditionally referred to the union of one man and one woman, there
are some countries that recognize same-sex unions. In other countries, the debate
continues over whether to legalize same-sex marriage or guarantee rights to
homosexuals.
Serial monogamy, where an individual has multiple spouses over their lifetime,
but only one at a time, is quite common in industrial societies.
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2. Polygamy - the union between three or more individuals is the second most common
form of marriage. Generally, when polygamy is mentioned by the media, a marriage
between a man and multiple women is being referenced; however, the term is being
misused.
a. Polygyny
- is the correct term for a marriage between a man and multiple women.
b. Polyandry
-refers to a marriage between a woman and multiple men. Polyandry mostly
occurs between a woman and brothers, a system referred to as fraternal
polyandry.
- One reason that polyandry might be the preferred marriage pattern for a group
is if there is a shortage of women or land is scarce.
Types of Norms Regarding Selection of Marriage

1. Endogamy – refers to the norm that dictates that one should marry within one’s clan
or ethnic group.
2. Exogamy – prescribes that one marries outside one’s clan or ethnic group.
3. Levirate – prescribes that a widow marries the brother or nearest kin of the
deceased husband.
4. Sororate – prescribes that a widower marries the sister or nearest kin of the
deceased wife.
Based on Residence:
1. Patrilocal - In this residence pattern the newlyweds live with or near the husband’s
family. It is common in societies where solidarity of the male group is important.
2. Matrilocal - is found in societies where the newly married couple moves in with or near
the bride’s family. This is found in gardening societies (horticulturalists) or groups where
warfare occurs with distant peoples and not near neighbors.
3. Bilocal (ambilocal): In this practice the bride and groom pick which family to go live with
or nearby. It is found in societies were extended kin networks important.
4. Neolocal - newlyweds live separate from both the bride and groom’s parents. They are
economically independent from their parents.
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On the Basis of Authority:

1. Patriarchal Family – also known as Traditional Family. Is one in which the authority is
vested in the oldest male in the family, often the father. This type of family is further
characterized by family solidarity and ancestor worship.
2. Matriarchal Family – is one in which the authority is vested in the mother or the
mother’s kin.
3. Egalitarian Family – is one in which the husband and the wife exercise a more or less
equal amount of authority.
4. Matricentric Family – usually found in the suburbs of the United States. It attributes to
the emergence to the fact that in suburban families, the father commutes and is absent
for the greater part of the day. His prolonged absence gives the mother a dominant
position in the family, although the father may also share with the mother in decision-
making.
On the basis of structure:

1. Nuclear Family
- is the traditional type of family structure. This family type consists of two parents and
children. The nuclear family was long held in esteem by society as being the ideal in
which to raise children. Children in nuclear families receive strength and stability from
the two-parent structure and generally have more opportunities due to the financial
ease of two adults.
2. Single Parent Family - The single parent family consists of one parent raising one or
more children on his own. This family may include a single mother with her children, a
single dad with his kids, or a single person with their kids. The single parent family is the
biggest change society has seen in terms of the changes in family structures. One in four
children is born to a single mother.
3. Extended Family - The extended family structure consists of two or more adults who are
related, either by blood or marriage, living in the same home. This family includes many
relatives living together and working toward common goals, such as raising the children
and keeping up with the household duties.
4. Childless Family - The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten family," as it does not
meet the traditional standards set by society. Childless families consist of two partners
living and working together. Many childless families take on the responsibility of pet
ownership or have extensive contact with their nieces and nephews.
5. Step/Blended Family - Over half of all marriage separated, and many of these
individuals choose to get remarried. This creates the step or blended family which
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involves two separate families merging into one new unit. It consists of a new husband,
wife, or spouse and their children from previous marriages or relationships.
6. Grandparent Family - Many grandparents today are raising their grandchildren for a
variety of reasons. This could be due to parents' death, addiction, abandonment or
being unfit parents. Many grandparents need to go back to work or find additional
sources of income to help raise their grandchildren.
7. Adoptive Parents.
8. Bi - / multi – racial parents
9. Co-custody Family – an arrangement where divorced/annulled parents but legal
responsibility for their children.
10. Conditionally-separated Family – OFW/OCW, soldier
11. Foster family – temporary
12. Gay / Lesbian family
Structural Characteristics of the Filipino Family

1. The basic units of Philippine society are the nuclear family and the bilaterally
extended kinship group
2. The Filipino family is considered also as consanguineal for the fact that dominant to
its characteristics it plays important role on blood kinship.
3. Filipino families usually build alliance as a manifestation to further extended
relationship. This is shown by the “compadre” or “compadrazgo” which is formed to
the rituals of baptism, confirmation, and marriage.
4. Filipino families mostly practice endogamy.
5. The Filipino family is frequently said to be patriarchal in authority. And egalitarian as
revealed by many scholars as attributed to the division of labor.
6. The Filipino family is bilateral in terms of descent.
7. In terms of residence, the Filipino family maybe said to be bilocal and neolocal.
8. In marriage, monogamy is the norm, although polygyny is allowed among the
Muslims and other cultural communities.
Common Marriage Conflicts
- Studies have shown that most marriage conflicts are due to the following factors:
1. Personality adjustment and incompatibility
2. Domestic grievances
3. Temperamental traits
4. Immaturity to the role
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5. Authority and responsibility

6. Relative and in-laws issue
7. Irrational jealousy
8. Sexual relations
Family Disorganization
Family Disorganization is a form of family crisis. A disturbed or non-harmonious functioning
of the family, or temporary disruption of the marriage relations accessioned by conflicts or
tensions between husband and wife. Outward manifestations are: chronic failure to
support, physical violence, frequent and angry quarreling, consistent unfaithfulness,
diversion, etc. Forms of crisis in the family leading to disorganization:
Those experienced by all:
1. Mobility
2. Sudden loss of economic support
3. Death
4. Prolonged illness
5. Separation
Those which carry a social stigma:
1. Disgrace (loss of virginity and extramarital relationship)
2. Crime
3. Alcoholism and drug addiction
Development Life Cycles and Growth Processes of Families and Groups

The Family Life Cycle
The emotional and intellectual stages from
childhood to retirement as a member of a family
are called the family life cycle. In each stage, clients
face challenges in family life that allow the building
or gaining of new skills.
Not everyone passes through these stages

smoothly. Situations such as severe illness,
financial problems, or the death of a loved one can
have an effect. If skills are not learned in one stage,
they can be learned in later stages.
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Stage 1: Family of origin experiences

Main tasks
✔ Maintaining relationships with parents, siblings, and peers
✔ Completing education
✔ Developing the foundations of a family life
Stage 2: Leaving home

Main tasks
✔ Differentiating self from family of origin and parents and developing adult-to-adult
relationships with parents
✔ Developing intimate peer relationships
✔ Beginning work, developing work identity, and financial independence
Stage 3: Pre-marriage stage

Main tasks
✔ Selecting partners
✔ Developing a relationship
✔ Deciding to establish own home with someone
Stage 4: Childless couple stage

Main tasks
✔ Developing a way to live together both practically and emotionally
✔ Adjusting relationships with families of origin and peers to include partner
Stage 5: Family with young children

Main tasks
✔ Realigning family system to make space for children
✔ Adopting and developing parenting roles
✔ Realigning relationships with families of origin to include parenting and grandparenting
roles
✔ Facilitating children to develop peer relationships
Stage 6: Family with adolescents

Main tasks
✔ Adjusting parent–child relationships to allow adolescents more autonomy
✔ Adjusting family relationships to focus on midlife relationship and career issues
✔ Taking on responsibility of caring for families of origin
Stage 7: Launching children

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Main tasks
✔ Resolving midlife issues
✔ Negotiating adult-to-adult relationships with children
✔ Adjusting to living as a couple again
✔ Adjusting to including in-laws and grandchildren within the family circle
✔ Dealing with disabilities and death in the family of origin
Stage 8: Later family life

Main tasks
✔ Coping with physiological decline in self and others
✔ Adjusting to children taking a more central role in family maintenance
✔ the wisdom and experience of the elderly
✔ Dealing with loss of spouse and peers
✔ Preparing for death, life review, and reminiscence
Mastering the skills and milestones of each stage allows successful movement from one stage
of development to the next. If not mastered, clients are more likely to have difficulty with
relationships and future transitions.
Family life cycle theory suggests that successful transitioning may also help to prevent disease
and emotional or stress-related disorders. The stress of daily living, coping with a chronic
medical condition, or other life crises can disrupt the normal life cycle. Ongoing stress or a crisis
can delay the transition to the next phase of life.
Family Dynamics and Functioning and the Effects on Individuals, Families, Groups,
Organizations and Communities
Family dynamics - are the patterns of relating or interactions between family members. Each
family system and its dynamics are unique, although there are some common patterns. All
families have some helpful and some unhelpful dynamics.
An understanding of the impact of family dynamics on a client’s self-perception may help social
workers pinpoint and respond to the driving forces behind her or his current needs.
Healthy functioning is characterized by:

✔ Treating each family member as an individual
✔ Having regular routines and structure
✔ Being connected to extended family, friends, and the community
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✔ Having realistic expectations

✔ Spending quality time, which is characterized by fun, relaxed, and
✔ conflict-free interactions
✔ Ensuring that members take care of their own needs and not just the
✔ family needs
✔ Helping one another through example and direct assistance
Family dynamics significantly impact on a client’s biological, psychological, and social

functioning in both positive and negative ways. Having a close-knit and supportive family
provides emotional support, ensures economic well-being, and increases overall health.
However, the opposite is also true. When family life is characterized by stress and conflict, well-
being can be poor.
Social support - is one of the main ways that family positively impacts well-being. Social
relationships, such as those found in close families, have been demonstrated to decrease the
likelihood of negative outcomes, such as chronic disease, disability, mental illness, and death.
Though good familial relations and social support serve as protective factors and improve
overall well-being and health, studies have shown that not all familial relations positively
impact these areas.
Problematic and non-supportive familial interactions have a negative impact. For example,
growing up in an unsupported, neglectful, or violent home is associated with poor physical
health and development.
Models of Family Life Education in Social Work Practice

Family life education aims to strengthen individual and family life through a family perspective.
Social workers are well suited to work with a client within the family context, which is essential
for such a model.
Family life education - is delivered through parenting classes, pre-marriage education, marriage
enrichment programs, and/or family financial planning courses. All these activities focus on
improving a client’s quality of life individually and, equally as important, within his or her family
unit.
Social workers use a strengths perspective, as well as their knowledge of human development,
systems, and social role theories, and ecological or “PIE” influences, when engaging in family
life education. When conducting family life education, a social worker must be aware of his or
her own cultural values and norms with regard to material covered and not impose these
beliefs on others or be judgmental.
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Theories Of Couples Development

Although relationships vary significantly, there are some predictable stages that characterize
intimate relationships. Couples’ interactions follow a developmental model, much like those
that explain individual growth throughout the life course.
Stage 1: Romance
The first stage of couples development begins when individuals are introduced and learn that
they have common interests and are attracted to one another. Much of this stage consists of
conversations and dates to learn more about the other partner. The focus of this stage is
attachment. Like early stages of child development, the infancy of couples development is filled
with passion, nurturing, and selfless attention to the needs of others.
Differences are minimized and partners place few demands on each other. This romantic bond
is the foundation that is critical to the health of the relationship in the future.
In this first stage, members engage in symbiotic or mutualistic relationships—often putting the
needs of others before their own. Individuals who are coupling do not see themselves as unique
—much like babies identifying themselves as part of their mothers or caregivers. Differentiation
and learning to balance and support the separate needs of others happens in later stages but is
not present initially.
Stage 2: Power Struggle

Soon individuals who are engaged in intimate relationships see that they have differences from
their mates. These unique qualities result in unique needs that require an ongoing process of
defining oneself and managing conflict, which threatens intimacy. As the coupled individuals
begin to notice differences and annoyances that were once overlooked, there can be greater
separation and loss of romance resulting from self-expression. This stage differs as individuals
focus on differences rather than similarities, which was the hallmark of the initial romantic
stage.
Time away from each other is often needed for the partners, and the bliss associated with the
initial stage of couples development dissolves. Differentiation, or seeing oneself as distinct
within a relationship, must be managed so that these new feelings do not result in breakups as
the illusion of “being one” fades. Critical effort must be made to balance the desire for self-
discovery with the desire for intimacy. To “survive” this stage, individuals must acknowledge
differences, learn to share power, forfeit fantasies of complete harmony, and accept partners
without the need to change them.
Stage 3: Stability
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This stage in couples’ development is characterized by the redirection of personal attention,

time, and activities away from partners and toward oneself. Individuals focus on personal needs
in a manner that is respectful of others. Autonomy and individuality are key. Relationships are
seen as more mature as disagreements can occur with both parties “winning.”
Margaret Mahler described practicing as a subphase of separation-individuation in infant

development. Practicing occurs when toddlers begin to explore on their own but still see
themselves as part of their mothers/caregivers. The stability stage of couple’s development
mirrors this subphase as partners learn to live independent lives while still identifying as and
seeing the value of being part of an intimate relationship.
Another subphase of separation-individuation identified by Mahler, “rapprochement,” also

relates to the stability stage of couple’s development. Often, partners who have been
successful in achieving a well-defined sense of self in relationships will have crises that will
threaten their identities or separateness. They may rely more heavily on companionship and
intimacy, seeking more comfort and support from each other. Thus, the stability stage is a time
when there is still some back and forth between intimacy and independence with the goal being
intimacy that does not sacrifice separateness.
Stage 4: Commitment
While the commitment stage of couple’s development is when marriage is ideal, it often occurs
earlier in the romance stage, perhaps explaining the high rates of divorce caused by the
inability to resolve power struggles. Individuals who have stabilized are able to embrace the
reality that both partners are human, resulting in shortcomings in all relationships. Partners
acknowledge that they want to be with each other and that the good outweighs the bad.
Although much work has been done in building relationships, there is still more needed to
effectively function in the next and last stage of couple hood.
Stage 5: Co-Creation
Constancy is the hallmark of this last stage. Just like children who can internalize and maintain
images of their mothers/caregivers and use them to soothe in stressful moments, couples in
this stage are able to do something similar. Each partner can value and respect the
separateness of the other. The foundation of the relationship is no longer personal need, but
the appreciation and love of the other and the support and respect for mutual
growth.
This stage aims to contribute beyond the relationship itself. This stage of couple’s development
aims to create or nurture things that are enduring, often by creating positive change that
benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment.
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As with Erikson’s and other theories of development, stages are not linear. Lessons learned
help couples move forward, but couples can revert to prior stages, especially those including
power struggles. Homosexual couples also go through these developmental stages but have
unique challenges that impact relationship formation. For example, heterosexual couples have
a much wider variety of public role models for their partnerships than their homosexual peers.
In addition, there may be heightened concerns by partners about acceptance of their mates or
even the very existence of their intimate relationships by their respective families.

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DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF

Based on Internal Organization or Membership

2. Extended Family – is composed of two or more nuclear families, economically or socially

Types of family structures corresponding to the nuclear and extended families:

Other Family Internal Organization Pattern:

Based on Form of Marriage:

Types of Norms Regarding Selection of Marriage

On the Basis of Authority:

On the basis of structure:

Structural Characteristics of the Filipino Family

5. Authority and responsibility

Development Life Cycles and Growth Processes of Families and Groups

Not everyone passes through these stages

Stage 1: Family of origin experiences

Stage 2: Leaving home

Stage 3: Pre-marriage stage

Stage 4: Childless couple stage

Stage 5: Family with young children

Stage 6: Family with adolescents

Stage 7: Launching children

Stage 8: Later family life

Healthy functioning is characterized by:

✔ Having realistic expectations

Family dynamics significantly impact on a client’s biological, psychological, and social

Models of Family Life Education in Social Work Practice

Theories Of Couples Development

Stage 2: Power Struggle

This stage in couples’ development is characterized by the redirection of personal attention,

Margaret Mahler described practicing as a subphase of separation-individuation in infant

Another subphase of separation-individuation identified by Mahler, “rapprochement,” also

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