Chapter 4

Question 1

Single-parent families

Answer 1

headed by a sole parent responsible for taking care of herself/himself and a child/children

There is no prototype of a single-parent family.

1. divorce
2. death,
3. abandonment
4. unwed pregnancy
5. imprisonment
6. adoption
7. uncontrollable circumstances

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 81). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 2

“Five” Phases of Divorce

Answer 2

1. DECIDING to divorce
2. PLANNING breakup of the system
3. SEPARATING
4. DIVORCING
5. BECOMING a. Becoming a single parent (custodial) OR b. Becoming a single parent (noncustodial)

Question 3

Three Single Parenthood Family Developmental Stages, Tasks, Results

Answer 3

1. MOURNING: takes time and cannot be forced. Stage for surviving family members to release both positive and negative feelings about the deceased.
   * Task: Emotional catharsis
   * Resolution of the past relationship
2. READJUSTMENT: learning to do new tasks, dropping old tasks, and reassigning duties previously done by the former spouse to other members of the family.
   * Task: Learning and dropping of duties
   * Result: Performance of essential duties
3. RENEWAL & ACCOMPLISHMENT: family members can concentrate on finding and engaging in new growth opportunities. This last stage, which may not be achieved, results in new collective and individual identities and relationships.
   * Task: Personal and family development
   * Acquisition of new skills & interests

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 82). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 4

Three Stages of Single Parent Families Created by Intention

Answer 4

1. PLANNING
   Task: Prep for child arrival
   Result; Marshalling of results
2. ARRIVAL
   Task: Creating a parent/child relationship
   Result: physical & emotional bonding
3. ADJUSTMENT & ACHIEVEMENT
   Task: Resolving needs
   Result: Growth of family and individual

Question 5

4 Strengths of Single-Parent Families

Answer 5

1. DEMOCRATIC in structure
2. FLEXIBLE in roles and rules
3. CHILDREN learn to take RESPONSIBILTY early
4. CREATIVE in locating and utilizing RESOURCES

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 85). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 6

Challenges of Single-Parent Families

Answer 6

1. DEFINING boundaries and roles so as to not experience role reversal or role overload
2. Achieving EDUCATION
3. Establishing clear and strong IDENTITY and experiencing childhood to the fullest
4. Experiencing POVERTY
5. Dealing with FEELINGS, not getting stuck emotionally in the past

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 87). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 7

Educational & Behavioral Approaches to Working with Single-Parent Families

Answer 7

1. COMMUNICATE clearly and frequently. Clear family communication patterns are associated with the well-being of single-parent families (Hanson, 1986). A forum that can be used in this way is the Adlerian concept of a weekly family conference (Sweeney, 2009), in which all members are present and talk about their concerns, including problems and plans for the future.
2. LINKING family members to needed sources of social support.
3. RESOLVING FINANCIAL matters.
4. BIBLIOTHERAPY: the reading of specific texts by a family or members of a family and the processing of the reading experience with the therapist.

Question 8

Therapists Role & Single Parent Families

Answer 8

1. The therapist lays aside prejudices and BIASES
2. ADDRESS EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY emotional volatility
3. Help to tap into INNER RESOURCES AND SUPPORT GROUPS

Question 9

FOUR Outcomes of Single Parent Family Therapy.

Answer 9

1. As a result of therapeutic interventions, manifest more CONFIDENCE and competence in themselves
2. Members helped to have clear and functional BOUNDARIES
3. The third area of improvement involves the ability to make INFORMED DECISIONS regarding REMARRIAGE.
4. Finally, families can utilize RESOURCES in the community better and make use of their own resources to the fullest.

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 90).

Question 10

Parentified children

Answer 10

children are forced to give up their childhoods and act like adult parents even though they lack the necessary knowledge and skills

Question 11

Blended families

Answer 11

Consist of two adults & step, adoptive, or foster children

Known by a variety of names: stepfamilies, reconstituted families, recoupled families, merged families, patched families, and remarried families.

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 90). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 12

3 Stages, Attitudes and Developmental Issues of Remarried Families

Answer 12

1. • Steps: ENTER NEW RELATIONSHIP
   • Prerequisite Attitude: Recovering from the loss of first marriage (adequate “emotional divorce”)
   • Developmental Issues: Recommitting to marriage and to forming a family
2. Step: CONCEPTUALIZE NEW MARRIAGE
   * Prerequisite Attitude:
   * Developmental Issues: Working on openness in the new relationships to avoid pseudomutuality
3. • Step: REMARRY & RECONSTITUTE FAMILY
   • Prerequisite Attitude: Achieving final resolution of attachment to previous spouse and ideal of “intact” family;
   • Development Issues: Restructuring family boundaries to allow for the inclusion of new spouse—stepparent

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 92). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 13

Five Strengths of Blended Families

Answer 13

LIFE EXPERIENCE: One of the strongest assets of blended family members is their life experience. Sometimes a stepparent can offer a new spouse or stepchildren something that was not there before, such as a common interest or opportunity unavailable in the previous family

KIN AND QUASI-KIN NETWORKS: A second strength of remarried families lies in the kin and quasi-kin networks that they establishThrough kin and quasi-kin, blended family members can help one another in a variety of ways, such as offering moral support, guidance, or physical comfort.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATIVENESS: A third positive facet of blended families is their creativity and innovation. Sometimes blended family members are able to generate new ideas, perceptions, and possibilities because they realize that what they tried before does not work. As in Gestalt therapy, blended families who develop these abilities are able to see and act on their perceptions of relationships involving present situations and less important present situations or those in the future (Papernow, 1993).

APPRECIATION AND RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES A further strength of blended families is their ability to appreciate and respect differences in people and ways of living (Crohn, Sager, Brown, Rodstein, & Walker, 1982). Children may especially benefit from experiencing stepparents and new siblings.

MAKING THE MOST OF SITUATIONS Another strength of blended families is their ability to make the most of situations and in the process teach other families how to have fulfilling relationships (Martin & Martin, 1992). Not all blended families and their members learn how to cope with difficulties, such as loss or how to promote open communication within a new context. However, in blended families that develop these abilities, the insight they bring to other families in distress can be rewarding and enabling.

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 95). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 14

5 Challenges of Blended Families

Answer 14

LOSS OF IMPORTANT MEMBER: One challenge almost all blended families face is the loss of an important member or members of the former family.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A HIERARCHY: Children may have difficulty in this area because they can lose status in regard to their ordinal position in the family. A sibling can become the middle child instead of the oldest and in the process lose his or her leadership role

BOUNDARY DIFFICULTIES: the structure of a stepfamily is less clear” The result is that children who are a part of two families may experience boundary ambiguity, which results in loyalty conflicts and feelings of guilt about belonging simultaneously to two households. Overall, boundary difficulties include the following issues:

 1. Membership (Who are the “real” members of the family?).  
 2. Space (What space is mine?)
 3. Authority (Who is really in charge? 
 4. Time (Who gets how much of my time)

RESOLVING FEELINGS: In some blended families, emotions remain unresolved. These emotions include guilt, loyalty, and anger.

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS: blended families are less affluent than other family types, except single-parent families.

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 95). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 15

Role of the Therapist (Blended Families)

Answer 15

Hayes and Hayes (1986)

1. Encouraged to RELINQUISH PERSONAL MYTHS they carried into the new family relationship.
2. TEACH effective ways of COMMUNICATION with each other.
3. Family members need structured programs of PARENT TRAINING and reading lists of materials that are germane to their situation in the new family structure.
4. Family members need a FORUM to MOURN loss of previous relationships and develop relationships in the reconstituted family. This may include the use of community support groups.

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 99). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Question 16

4 Approaches for Treating Blended Families

Answer 16

1. HELP families recognize and deal appropriately with OLD loyalties and NEW ties.
2. HELP families become constructively involved with FORMER SPOUSE OR NEW CHILDREN
3. PROVIDE families with ED MATERIALS
4. HELP DEVELOP RITUALS

Gladding, Samuel T.. Family Therapy (p. 104). Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.