Family Communication

April 2, 2007

Overview

Definition of family Family Interaction and Communication Meanings and Messages Circumplex Model of Marital and Family

Systems Family Networks

Definition of family

Families are “networks of people who share their lives over long periods of time bound by ties of marriage, blood or commitment, legal or otherwise, who consider themselves as family and who share a significant history and anticipated future of function in a family relationship.”

Inclusive of multiple types of “family” Traditional blood ties Blended families - adoption, step, grandparents raising

grandchildren Fictive kin

Communication in the family

“The family is a system constituted, defined, and managed through its communication. Family members regulate cohesion and adaptability to develop collective identity through the flow of patterned, meaningful messages within the network of evolving interdependent relationships located within a cultural context.”

Role of communication in family interaction

Families co-create meanings Relational world-view that characterizes the family Context of race, religion, culture, gender, etc

These meanings are shared and created through communication

From the things that are said: family stories From the things that are not said: family secrets

Families socialize their members Families are part of multigenerational

communication patterns

Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems

Model to describe overall family function according to two features: Cohesion

Emotional bonding of the family members Independence vs. Dependence

Flexibility Amount of change in leadership, role relationships,

and relations by rules How family relationships manage change

Circumplex Model (cont.)

Family Networks

Determines the “flow” of information/ messages among family members

“Centralized Interaction Networks” Typically 1 person who acts as hub/gatekeeper “Y” “Wheel”

“Decentralized” “Chain” “All channel”

Use of networks

Most families use a combination of these networks Most functional families use more than one network

Move from wheel to all channel to wheel

Extended Networks Networks can change as people change and include new

people, e.g. grandparent Combinations are more elaborate as more extended

family members are included