Abstract
Systems theory and its offspring family systems theory have evolved and matured over the course of some 4 decades. The developmental history of family systems theory has been rich. If a theory is judged by its utility, or as Kuhn (1962) proposed, by the number of adherents it wins in the scientific community, then family systems theory has accomplished much. It has informed theorists, researchers, educators, and clinical practitioners from a variety of disciplines including education (Eppler & Weir, 2009), nursing (Bell, 2009), social work (Dunst & Trivette, 2009), psychiatry (Schweitzer, Zwack, Weber, Nicolai, & Hirschenberger, 2007), medicine (Steinglass, 2006), public health (Novilla, Barnes, De La Cruz, Williams, & Rogers, 2006), religion (Richardson, 2005), and marriage and family therapy (Bartle-Haring & Slesnick, 2012).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adler, H. M. (2007). Toward a biopsychosocial understanding of the patient-physician relationship: An emerging dialogue. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22, 280–285.
Aldous, J. (1970). Strategies for developing family theory. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 32, 250–257.
Aldous, J. (1978). Family careers: Developmental change in families. New York: Wiley.
Allen, K. R. (2001). Feminist visions for transforming families: Desire and equality then and now. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 791–809.
Anderson, H. (2003). Postmodern social construction therapies. In T. L. Sexton, G. R. Weeks, & M. S. Robbins (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Anderson, S. A. (2001). Clinical evaluation of violence in couples: The role of assessment instruments. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 12(1), 1–18.
Anderson, S. A., & Sabatelli, R. M. (2007). Family interaction: A multigenerational developmental perspective (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Anderson, S. A., Sabatelli, R. M., & Kosutic, I. (2007). Families, urban neighborhood youth centers, and peers as contexts for development. Family Relations, 56, 346–357.
Anderson, S. A., & Schlossberg, M. (1999). Systems perspectives on wife battering: The importance of pattern and context. In M. Harway & J. O’Neil (Eds.), What causes men’s violence against women? Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Avis, J. M. (1992). Where are all the family therapists? Abuse and violence within families and family therapy’s response. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 18(3), 225–232.
Bartle-Haring, S., & Slesnick, N. (2012). Family therapy: An “emerging field”. In G. W. Peterson & K. R. Bush (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.
Bateson, G. (2000). Steps to an ecology of mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. H. (1956). Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1, 251–264.
Beavers, W. R., & Hampson, R. B. (1990). Successful families: Assessment and intervention. New York: Norton.
Beavers, W. R., & Hampson, R. B. (1993). Measuring family competence: The Beavers Systems Model. In F. Walsh (Ed.) Normal Family Processes (2nd edition). New York: Guilford Press.
Beavers, W. R., & Hampson, R. B. (2000). The Beavers systems model of family functioning. Journal of Family Therapy, 22, 128–143.
Beavers, W. R., & Hampson, R. B. (2003). Measuring family competence: The Beavers systems model. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (3rd ed., pp. 549–580). New York: Guilford Press.
Becvar, D. S., & Becvar, R. J. (1999). Systems theory and family therapy: A primer. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Bell, J. M. (2009). Family systems nursing re-examined. Journal of Family Nursing, 15, 123–129.
von Bertalanffy, L. (1969). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications. New York: George Braziller.
von Bertalanffy, L. (1975). Perspectives on general systems theory: Scientific-philosophical studies. New York: George Braziller.
Bograd, M. (1984). Family systems approaches to wife battering: A feminist critique. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54, 558–568.
Borrell-Carrio, F., Suchman, A. L., & Epstein, R. M. (2004). The biopsychosocial model 25 years later: Principles, practice and scientific inquiry. Annals of Family Medicine, 2, 576–582.
Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Aronson.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss (Separation, Vol. II). New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss (Loss, sadness, and depression, Vol. III). New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.
Broderick, C. B. (1971). Beyond the five conceptual frameworks: A decade of development in family theory. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 33, 139–159.
Broderick, C. B. (1993). Understanding family process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Broderick, C., & Smith, J. (1979). The general systems approach to the family. In W. R. Burr, R. Hill, F. I. Nye, & I. L. Reiss (Eds.), Contemporary theories about the family (Vol. II). New York: The Free Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. The American Psychologist, 32, 513–531.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Evans, G. W. (2000). Developmental science in the 21st century: Emerging questions, theoretical models, research designs and empirical findings. Social Development, 9(1), 115–125.
Buckley, W. (1967). Sociology and modern systems theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Burman, E. (2005). Engendering culture in psychology. Theory and Psychology, 15, 527–548.
Byng-Hall, J. (2002). Relieving parentified children’s burdens in families with insecure attachment patterns. Family Process, 41, 375–388.
Chafetz, J. S. (2004). Building feminist theory and research methodology. Journal of Family Issues, 25, 963–977.
Collins, F. S., Green, E., Guttmacher, A. E., & Guyer, M. S. (2003). A vision for the future of genomic research. Nature, 422, 835–847.
Craddock, A. E. (2001). Family system and family functioning: Circumplex model and FACESIV. Journal of Family Studies, 7, 29–39.
Crittenden, P. M., & Dallos, R. (2009). All in the family: Integrating attachment and family systems theories. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 14, 389–409.
Cummings, E. M., & Keller, P. S. (2007). How interparental conflict affects children. Directions in Mental Health Counseling, 17(8), 85–96.
Dell, P. F. (1982). Beyond homeostasis: Toward a concept of coherence. Family Process, 21, 21–41.
Doherty, W. J. (1999). Postmodernism and family theory. In M. B. Sussman, S. K. Steinmetz, & G. W. Peterson (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (2nd ed.). New York: Plenum.
Doherty, W. J., & Baptiste, D. A. (1993). Theories emerging from family therapy. In P. G. Boss, W. J. Doherty, R. Larossa, W. R. Schumm, & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 505–524). New York: Plenum.
Dunst, C. J., & Trivette, C. M. (2009). Capacity-building family systems intervention practices. Journal of Family Social Work, 12, 119–143.
Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196, 129–136.
Eppler, C., & Weir, S. (2009). Family assessment in K-12 settings: Understanding family systems to provide effective, collaborative services. Psychology in the Schools, 46, 501–514.
Epstein, N., Baldwin, L., Bishop, D., & Keitner, G. (1983). The McMaster family assessment device. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 9, 171–180.
Epstein, N., Ryan, C. E., Bishop, D. S., Miller, I. W., & Keitner, G. I. (2003). The McMaster model: A view of healthy family functioning. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (3rd ed., pp. 581–607). New York: Guilford Press.
Fields, M. D. (2008). Getting beyond “what did she do to provoke him?”. Violence Against Women, 14(1), 93–99.
Franklin, C., Streeter, C. L., & Springer, D. W. (2001). Validity of the FACES IV family assessment measure. Research on Social Work Practice, 11, 576–596.
Gergen, K. J. (2001). Psychological science in a postmodern context. The American Psychologist, 56(10), 803–813.
Gottman, J. M., & Notarius, C. I. (2002). Marital research in the 20th century and a research agenda for the 21st century. Family Process, 41(2), 159–197.
Hepworth, J., & Cushman, R. A. (2005). Biopsychosocial: Essential but not sufficient. Families, Systems & Health, 23, 406–409.
Hess, R. D., & Handel, G. (1985). The family as a psychosocial organization. In G. Handel (Ed.), The psychosocial interior of the family (3rd ed., pp. 33–46). New York: Aldine.
Hill, R. (1966). Contemporary developments in family theory. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 28(1), 10–26.
Hill, R. (1971). Modern systems theory and the family: A confrontation. Social Science Information, 10, 7–27.
Hill, J., Fonagy, P., Safier, E., & Sargent, J. (2003). The ecology of attachment in the family. Family Process, 42, 205–221.
Holman, T. B., & Burr, W. R. (1980). Beyond the beyond: The growth of family theories in the 1970s. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 729–741.
Hooper, L. M. (2007). The application of attachment theory and family systems theory to the phenomenon of parentification. The Family Journal, 15, 217–223.
Johnson, M. P. (1995). Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 283.
Johnson, M. P. (2006). Conflict and control: Gender symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12(11), 1003–1018.
Kantor, D., & Lehr, W. (1975). Toward a theory of family process. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kendrick, K. M. (2004). The neurobiology of social bonds. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 16, 1007–1008.
Kretchmar, M. D., & Jacobvitz, D. B. (2002). Observing mother-child relationships across generations: Boundary patterns, attachment, and the transmission of caregiving. Family Process, 41, 351–374.
Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kvale, S. (1992). Psychology and postmodernism. London: Sage.
Lawson, D. M., & Brossart, D. F. (2001). Intergenerational transmission: Individuation and intimacy across three generations. Family Process, 40, 429–442.
McDowell, T., & Fang, S.-R. S. (2007). Feminist-informed critical multiculturalism. Journal of Family Issues, 28(4), 549–566.
McGoldrick, M. (2003). Culture: A challenge to concepts of normality. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (3rd ed., pp. 235–259). New York: Guilford Press.
Meyers, S. A., Varkey, S., & Aguirre, A. M. (2002). Ecological correlates of family functioning. American Journal of Family Therapy, 30, 257–273.
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (2002). Attachment security in couple relationships: A systemic model and its implications for family dynamics. Family Process, 41, 405–434.
Miller, R. B., Anderson, S., & Keala, D. K. (2004). Is Bowen theory valid? A review of basic research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 30, 453–466.
Miller, I. W., Ryan, C. F., Keitner, G. I., Bishop, D. S., & Epstein, N. B. (2000). The McMaster approach to families: Theory, assessment, treatment and research. Journal of Family Therapy, 22, 168–189.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Ng, K. M., & Smith, S. D. (2006). The relationship between attachment theory and intergenerational family systems theory. The Family Journal, 14, 430–440.
Novilla, M. L. B., Barnes, M. D., De La Cruz, N. G., Williams, P. N., & Rogers, J. (2006). Public health perspectives on the family: An ecological approach to promoting health in the family and community. Family & Community Health, 29(1), 28–42.
Olson, D. H. (2000). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. Journal of Family Therapy, 22, 144–167.
Olson, D. H., & Gorall, D. M. (2003). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (3rd ed., pp. 514–548). New York: Guilford Press.
Olson, D. H., Sprenkle, D., & Russell, C. (1979). Circumplex model of marital and family systems: Cohesion and adaptability dimensions, family types, and clinical applications. Family Process, 18, 3–28.
Richardson, R. W. (2005). Becoming a healthier pastor: Family systems theory and the pastor’s own family. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
Rodman, H. (1980). Are conceptual frameworks necessary for theory building? The case of family Sociology. The Sociological Quarterly, 21, 429–441.
Rohner, R. P., & Britner, P. A. (2002). Worldwide mental health correlates of parental acceptance-rejection: Review of cross-cultural and intracultural evidence. Cross-Cultural Research, 36, 16–47.
Rolland, J. S., & Williams, J. K. (2005). Toward a biopsychosocial model for 21st-century genetics. Family Process, 44, 3–24.
Sabatelli, R. M., & Bartle-Haring, S. (2003). Family of origin experiences and patterns of adjustment within couples. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65, 159–169.
Schweitzer, J., Zwack, J., Weber, G., Nicolai, E., & Hirschenberger, N. (2007). Family systems psychiatry: Principles, good practice guidelines, clinical examples, and challenges. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 77, 377–385.
Shuttleworth, A. (2002). Turning towards a bio-psycho-social way of thinking. European Journal of Psychotherapy, Counselling, and Health, 5, 205–223.
Sloman, L., Atkinson, L., Milligan, K., & Liotti, G. (2002). Attachment, social rank, and affect regulation: Speculations on an ethological approach to family interaction. Family Process, 41, 312–327.
Solomon, J., & George, C. (1999). The measurement of attachment security in infancy and childhood. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 287–316). New York: Guilford Press.
Sprey, J. (1988). Current theorizing on the family: An appraisal. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 875–890.
Stein, D. J., & Vythilingum, B. (2009). Love and attachment: The psychobiology of social bonding. CNS Spectrums: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine, 14, 239–242.
Steinglass, P. (1987). A systems view of family interaction and psychopathology. In T. Jacob (Ed.), Family interaction and psychopathology (pp. 25–65). New York: Plenum.
Steinglass, P. (2006). The future of family systems medicine. Challenges and opportunities. Families, Systems & Health, 24, 396–411.
van Ecke, Y., Chope, R. C., & Emmelkamp, P. M. (2006). Bowlby and Bowen: Attachment theory and family therapy. Counseling and Clinical Psychology Journal, 3, 81–108.
Vetere, A. (2007). Biopsychosocial models and multidisciplinary team working: Can systemic thinking help? Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 12, 5–12.
Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., & Alhersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early childhood: A twenty-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 7, 684–689.
Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. H., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). The pragmatics of human communication. New York: Norton.
Whitchurch, G. G., & Constantine, L. L. (1993). Systems theory. In P. G. Boss, W. J. Doherty, R. LaRossa, W. R. Schumm, & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 325–355). New York: Plenum.
White, J., & Klein, D. (2008). Family theories (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Anderson, S.A., Sabatelli, R.M., Kosutic, I. (2013). Systemic and Ecological Qualities of Families. In: Peterson, G., Bush, K. (eds) Handbook of Marriage and the Family. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3987-5_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3987-5_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-3986-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-3987-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)