Family Systems Theory Essay

Family systems are a relatively modern theory of modern development. Beginning in the early 1960’s the social science fields began integrating a new theory into how the worked with families and the interactions between the operations of a family structure and its effect on child development. Over the next ten years this new idea formed into what we call today Family Systems Theory (Broderick, 1993). The idea was that the inner workings of a family structure have a significant impact on the mental, emotional and physical development of the children in the home. This follows the socio-cultural theory set forth by Lev Vygotsky that proposes that the way cognitive development proceeds is contingent on the social interaction between members of a
Every interaction between members of a family effects how the other members view the world in general. This is especially true of a child witnessing the interactions of adult members of the family as they learn what is expected of them and how they are to behave in this all important mini culture.
A healthy family system teaches the growing child safe and healthy boundaries, how to communicate effectively to get their needs met and how to resolve any conflicts between individuals. This family creates an atmosphere that is nurturing and stimulating to allow a child to safely explore their world. The end result is a productive member who is securely attached (Feldman, 2014), self-confident and compassion of
A child who has been effected by dysfunctional family systems often grows into an adult that cannot function effectively in our society and therefore ends up on its’ fringes. These children often become societies outcasts; vagrants, chronically mentally ill, criminally insane, predators, psychopaths, or even mass murders to name a few. These individuals make poor choices in their lives based on a faulty outlook on social interactions, through no real fault of their own. Yet we cannot allow their neural dysfunction and poor choices to cause harm to others around them. This is how we have become a nation of over-populated jails and prisons, stressed public mental health agencies, and ever increasing prevalence of self-harm and suicide (Malcolm,