IRENE ZEN P.

CORPUS Family dynamics can be divided into two broad categories- healthy and
toxic family dynamics.
NCM 117 – WEEK 2
1. Healthy Family Dynamics
CONCEPTS AND PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR
◦ A strong family will always understand the importance of
1. Family Dynamics nurturing healthy dynamics coupled with a safe family
2. Patterns of Behavior environment. Additionally, in such families, there is an
3. Concepts of Human Behavior abundance of love and respect for each other.

◦ It must be noted that to shape up a positive environment, several

I. What is Family Dynamics
 A family is a space where different individuals depend on each
other for physical, emotional, and economic support, thus,
making each member the key source of relationship security or
stress.
 A family with a positive environment consists of secure and
supportive relationships defined by advice, love, and care.
 On the contrary, a family with a negative environment is defined
by stressful relationships defined by excessive demands,
arguments, toxic communication, and constant critical feedback.
Types Of Family Structures
A family is a space where different individuals depend on each other
thus, making each member the key source of relationship security or
stress.
1. Nuclear Family
 Consists of husband and wife along with children.
 Traditional structure consisting of husband and wife (two
parents) along with children (biological or adopted.
2. Single Parent Family
 Consists of a single parent raising one or more children.
 Thus resulting in unique family dynamics.
3. Extended Family
 Consists of two or more people, either related by blood or
marriage.
 With positive family dynamics. Such families consist of
several members, such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, or
close family and friends.
4. Childless Family
 Consists of couples who do not have children.
 But wish to have children.
5. Grandparent Family
 Consists of grandparents raising children while parents stay
busy.
 It is the least common family structure
6. Stepfamily
Consists of a new husband or wife and children from their previous
relationships.
times, parents or elder members of the family set boundaries or
restrictions. Even though it may sound easy, building up a
perfect family needs regular practice and commitment.
A. Signs of Healthy Family Dynamics
1. Communication is key to building up a strong, unshaken
bond, in a healthy family, there is an understanding level.
2. Healthy families accept each other, they have zero
tolerance for physical abuse or toxic behavior.
3. In a healthy family, rebuilding a damaged relationship is
top-notch priority.
4. In a healthy family, every member gets involved, works,
and plays together.
B. Impact of Healthy Family Dynamics
 The social support yielded by family affects an individual
positively. A close-knit family offers unshaken support for
an individual in various aspects of his/her life.
Additionally, it also provides emotional as well as
financial support.
 According to a study, 3 children who live with their
biological parents enjoy better emotional as well as
academic well-being. They also prosper better if they
witness that parents are working to resolve their marital
problems. Furthermore, having close family and friends
around helps in maintaining good health.
2. Toxic Family Dynamics
◦ It is not necessary for every family to follow a healthy system.
Families that practice toxic dynamics are devoid of love and
respect. Instead, they face toxic relationships filled with
discrimination, abuse, or even manipulation. Thus, a toxic
family dynamic tends to harm the family members by pushing
them into depression or mental illness.
◦ According to a study 4 , family dynamics determine the health
outcome of the family members, and thus, unhealthy dynamics
can throw the children into experiencing trauma and stress as
they grow up. It is known adverse childhood experiences
(ACEs) and the condition is associated with an increased risk of
developing physical and mental health problems.
◦ Unhealthy family dynamics also promote an increased risk of
substance use and addiction among adolescents.
A. Signs of A Toxic Family
1. A toxic family member will provide zero emotional
support to any other member or children.
2. An unhealthy control within toxic parents is exercised for
selfish motives, such as emotional blackmailing.
3. There is an environment of dominance in toxic families.
4. There is no room for privacy while there is a lack of
empathy.

- A toxic family member will provide zero emotional

support to any other member or children, developing a
sense of emotional detachment in the child. There is a hint
of favoritism by focusing only on the oldest child and
neglecting others.
- Unhealthy control within toxic parents is exercised for
selfish motives, such as emotional blackmailing, or over-
controlling.
- According to a study, children with excessively controlling
parents have lower mental wellbeing in their adulthood,
Types Of Family Dynamics which might further hamper their adulthood relationships.
 - When dealing with toxic family dynamics, the role of
children and parents gets reversed. When parents are
absent due to drug or any other substance abuse, the
children have to take care of themselves. Children have to
take up the daily duties of parents like cooking, cleaning,
and so on.
- There is an environment of dominance in toxic families.
This means that one of the family members controls and
decides everything. The opinion and views of other family
members are not taken into consideration. Such a situation
may also occur when there is an older toxic sibling who
likes to rule over the younger ones.
- Violence is the principal highlighter of toxic behavior. It
could be physical, sexual, psychological, financial,
emotional, and abusive relationships, and growing up
amidst domestic violence may also lead to mental illness,
depression, or even drug abuse.
- There is no room for privacy while there is a lack of
empathy.
B. Impact of Toxic Family Dynamics
◦ If a child is witnessing separation between parents, then
that may harm him/her before the actual separation occurs.
◦ They start detaching themselves from both parents and
avoid living with either of them.
◦ Separation may also result in economic uncertainty if a
mother heads the family.
◦ It affects the child as well as mentally disturbs the mother.
◦ The entry of the stepfamily may also harm the child. It
must be noted that children or adults, who get victimized
in such a toxic environment, embrace alcoholism, drugs, or
even self-harm.
II. Patterns of Behavior
 Type A Behavior Patterns – a complex of personality and
behavior characteristics.
 sense of time urgency "hurry sickness"
 quest for numbers (of achievements)
 status insecurity
 aggression & hostility expressed in response to frustration &
conflict
 Personality hardiness - a personality resistant to distress &
characterized by
 commitment (versus alienation)
 control (versus powerlessness)
 challenge (versus threat)
 Transformational coping – a way of managing stressful events
by changing them into less subjectively stressful events (versus
Regressive coping – passive avoidance of events by decreasing
interaction with the environment)
 Self-reliance - a healthy, secure, interdependent pattern of
behavior related to how people form and maintain supportive
attachments with others
 Counter dependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of
behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other
people.
 Overdependence – an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior
that leads to preoccupied attempts to achieve security through
relationships.
III. The Concepts of Human Behavior
◦ Psychologists, on the basis of their scientific knowledge about
human behavior have developed certain ideas about human
behavior. In spite of all human beings being different and
unique, there are considerable amount of common aspects in all
human beings.
◦ On the basis of these common aspects, Psychologists have
developed some important concepts or ideas about human
behavior which most of them share. These concepts provide a
better perspective for managers to understand human nature.
 HUMAN BEINGS ARE BIOLOGICAL CREATURES: and are
influenced greatly by their biological makeup. Our biological
makeup has a great influence on our lives. Although, our biology
sets limits on our behavior, still we can influence our biological
makeup to a certain extend
 EVERY PERSON IS DIFFERENT, YET MUCH THE SAME:
Although human beings are unique creature, still every human
being is unique and different from others in terms of hereditary and
other characteristics. This is also found in case of twins, who may
have the same, hereditary but yet in many psychological traits they
are different.
 CULTURE, ETHNIC IDENTITY, GENDER IDENTITY
HELPS TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE: Culture molds our
values, beliefs, likes, dislikes etc. it has powerful influence on
human lives and their behavior. It shapes our personalities to a
certain extent.
 HUMAN LIVES ARE CONTINUOUS PROCESS: human lives
are always in the process of changes. The change occurs thru
different stages of our lives and it continues till we die. Changes
are not only physical changes, but also are mental changes in the
area of our feelings, our understanding and emotions.
 BEHAVIOUR CAN BE ADAPTIVE OR MAL-ADAPTIVE:
Human beings have an ability to adapt to (get adjusted) their
environment, both, physical (tolerating heat, cold) as well as social
(social environment). The dynamic nature of human beings often
helps them to adapt to their environment. We can face challenges,
pressures, stress, etc. in an adaptive manner.
 BEHAVIOUR IS MOTIVATED: mainly by two important factors
such as internal and external factors. Basic motives such as hunger,
pain, disease etc. are common all human beings although their
intensity differs. However, individual differ with respect to how
they satisfy these motives.
 PEOPLE PLAY ACTIVE PART IN CREATING THEIR
EXPERIENCE: human beings have the potential to create their
own environment and experiences to satisfy their own needs and
desires, thus they do not accept an environment passively
(negatively).
Human Needs: Physiological, Safety & Security, Love and Belonging,
Self-Esteem, Self-Actualization
◦ Human Needs are a State of felt deprivation. The human needs
are derived into three categories like physical, social, and
individual needs.
◦ Physical needs are those which belong to human basic needs.
Without fulfilling these needs, it's difficult for a human to
survive. Basic needs include food, clothes, shelter, life safety
and human sexual needs. These all are the basic and essential
needs. If some of these needs are missing it becomes difficult
for a human to live their life normally.
◦ Individual needs are sometimes known as self-esteem needs. It
means socially acknowledgement is necessary for an individual.
They want recognition based on their work in social circle, in
their family and in their belongings.
Furthermore, if some of these needs are not fulfilled, a human
will not have a positive contribution in the society. On the other
hand, Maslow hierarchy of needs theory categories all these
needs into five categories. These categories are, physiological
needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem and self-
actualization.
Frustration, Anxiety, and Conflict o At the mild level, individuals employ various coping
mechanisms to deal with stress, including:
What makes a person happy is quite different from person to person, but  Eating
what upsets us is a little easier to define.  Drinking
 Sleeping
 Frustration: inability to achieve a goal in a timely manner.  Physical exercise
 Anxiety: Worrying  Smoking
 Conflict: When two sides have dissimilar goals.  Crying
 Laughing
1. Frustration  Talking to people with whom they feel comfortable.

This can occur for many reasons: o At the mild to moderate level, the ego calls on defense
mechanisms for protection, such as:
 Lack of skill
 Compensation
 An achievement is not completed in a timely manner.
 Denial
 You find that the goal that wanted is no longer attainable.  Displacement
 Lack of money limits your freedom.  Identification
 Intellectualization
Frustration in life is normal. When you become so frustrated that you can
 Introjection
no longer function, or that you are so fixed on one goal that you neglect all
 Isolation
others, you are no longer frustrated but have become pathologically fixated.
 Projection

o Anxiety at the moderate to severe level that remains unresolved

2. Anxiety
 Everyone gets worried about something. Most people realize
that there is just so much that you can do to control your world.
Some outcomes are out of our hands.
 The healthy way to deal with anxiety is to turn your attention to
something else to take your mind off of the object or moment.
Once the event passes, usually the worry about it does too.
 Worry becomes pathological when you can't control it or it has
no identifiable source. Pathological worries are also rooted in a
future event: I might die, I might be left alone, Someone might
come to hurt me, the world might end.
over an extended period can contribute to a number of
physiological disorders-for example, migraine headaches,
irritable bowel syndrome, and cardiac arrhythmias.
o Extended periods of repressed severe anxiety can result in
psychoneurotic patterns of behaving - for example, anxiety and
somatoform disorders.
o Extended periods of functioning at the panic level of anxiety
may result in psychotic behavior – for example, schizophrenic,
schizoaffective, delusional disorders.

3. Conflict

 This is generally when two side have some kind of opposing

ideas about something that effects both sides: taxes and welfare,
Time spent together versus time working for economic gain.
 There will always be some kind of conflict in your life. The key
is to find a compromise where both sides can get some of what
they want. It is usually impossible to get all of what you want,
unless you agree to fall on your sword this time hoping for a full
chance next time around.
 Compromise
 Negotiation
 Open communication

4. Stress

This is not one identifiable thing. Stress is a demand that is placed upon
you by the environment.

 Major stress: a single event that is unexpected that causes you

to have to change or postpone your goals.
 Minor stress: an inconvenience that delays work, family time,
income, or some other regularly occurring event.
 Background stress: a recurring event that may not directly
involve you that, nonetheless, inflicts some minor harm to you,
your family, or property.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSES

 ANXIETY
 A diffuse apprehension that is vague in nature and is associated
with feelings of uncertainty and helplessness.
 Extremely common in our society
 Mild anxiety is adaptive and can provide motivation for
survival.

Behavioral adaptation responses to anxiety