Family Development Theory

Family Development

according to Rogers and White, transitioning between four stages:
individual family member, family relationships, family group, institution of family

Stages

periods of "relative equilibrium which consensus about the allocation of roles and rules of producer is high

Family

what constitutes a family

Transitions

processes that form a bridge between the different, such as shifts in roles and identities

Change

relationships are not static but rather change overtime

Developmental Tasks

occurs at particular points over the life course in response to either physical maturation or cultural pressures and changes. The individual must respond by developing new abilities, roles, or relationships.

Norms

social definition that governs both group and individual behaviors

Static

regulate behavior and expectations within a particular stage

Process

regulate timing and sequencing of expectations and behaviors over the family life course

Timing

the impact of when something happens

Age Timing

notes the chronological demarcation of beginning event

Event and stage sequencing

order in which events and stages are approached

Ontogenetic time

one's personal awareness of time

Generational Time

how time is experienced within one's social group

Historical time

refers to how time is experienced in the social context or greater historical period

Duvall

said family life cycle has two major stages: expansion and contraction

Rogers

expanded family interaction by focusing on three dynamics
-institutional norms
-expectations from family itself
-expectations from individuals within the family

Joan Aldous

recommended family career (rather than family life cycle) in four stages:
establishment of the marital relationship, parental roles, return to the couple relationship, & aging couple

Wesley Burr

criticized family development theory because it lacked scientific evidence

Stages of Family Life Cycle

married couple, child bearing, preschool age, school age, teenage, launching center, middle age parents, aging family members