structural functional systems theory in crisis management

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS THEORY IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT HOW TO

The human ecology framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) assumes that families interact within multiple environments that mutually influence each other. Resettlement is one example of a large change that a family system could choose or be forced to make. Change occurs as the family system acknowledges that a particular family pattern is dysfunctional and identifies new processes that support their goals. Families are able to examine their own processes and to set deliberate goals.

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS THEORY IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT HOW TO

Systems such as families also have tendencies towards change (morphogenesis) or stability (morphostasis) and for families resettling in a new country and making decisions on what to preserve and how to adapt, there is a balance of the two. General systems theory was the first to address how change occurs within families by acknowledging that although families often seek to maintain homeostasis, they will also promote change away from homeostasis. Previous frameworks (e.g., structural functionalism) assumed that families always sought to maintain homeostasis (or “stick to the status quo”).

This demonstrates one family pattern related to resettlement that can only be understood at the family system level. The researchers found that cultural clashes were linked to parent-child conflict, which in turn was linked to reduced parent-child bonding, both of which increase adolescent behavioral problems (Choi, He, & Harachi, 2008). For example, one study collected data from both parents and children in Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrant families in order to assess the role of family processes in clashes over cultural values. In order to assess patterns of adjustment in immigrant families, we must look both at the structure of the family unit and the processes that occur within that family system. This theory assumes that studying one member is insufficient to understand the family system. Individual members and family subsystems are interdependent and have mutual influence. Each family is more than the sum of its parts the family has characteristics, behavior patterns, and cycles beyond how individual family members might act on their own. General systems theory (Von Bertalanffy, 1950) assumes that a family must be understood as a whole. In this section, we identify several family theories and their application to immigrant families. There are many theories within the family and social science fields that can address the complexities of immigrant families through the resettlement process.

Parents, grandparents, siblings, and children all influence one another in their choices about what to retain from their original culture in individual and family life, as well as what to learn and adapt from the new culture. Falicov (2005) described how family relationships and ethnic identity during resettlement are “not separate experiences, but they interact with and influence each other in adaptive or reactive ways” (p. Processes that occur at the family level have been largely absent from this discussion.Īs we have identified in this textbook, families play a key role in the goals, resources, coping processes, and choices of the resettlement process. The discourse about immigrant experiences has shifted over time from an emphasis on fairly simple group processes, such as a unidimensional model of assimilation from one culture to another, to complex individual processes, such as intersectionality.

9.2 Family Theories: A New Direction for Research with Resettled Populations

Structural functional systems theory in crisis management