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Simulation and Experimentation in Family Research

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Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with two related observational methods: simulation and experimentation. As an introduction, consider the following study. Jacob and his colleagues (Jacob & Krahn, 1988; Jacob & Leonard, 1988) were interested in how alcohol consumption in families of alcoholics might influence family interaction, following two hypotheses raised by Steinglass, Tisenko, and Reiss (1985). Steinglass and co-workers argued (1) that intoxication could facilitate certain family interactions and inhibit others in such a way as to provide temporary solutions to chronic family problems, stabilizing an unstable family system; and (2) that this would differ for families where the alcoholic was a steady drinker and alcohol consumption provided an organizing principle to family life compared to families where the alcoholic member drank episodically and the family did not adjust its interaction to accommodate to drinking.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Family Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., 20037

    George W. Howe & David Reiss

Authors
  1. George W. Howe
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  2. David Reiss
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Pauline Boss  & William J. Doherty  & 

  2. Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA

    Ralph LaRossa

  3. School of Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    Walter R. Schumm

  4. Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Suzanne K. Steinmetz

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Howe, G.W., Reiss, D. (2009). Simulation and Experimentation in Family Research. In: Boss, P., Doherty, W.J., LaRossa, R., Schumm, W.R., Steinmetz, S.K. (eds) Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85764-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-85764-0_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-44264-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-85764-0

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