Family Systems
A Journal of Natural Systems Theory in Psychiatry and the
Sciences
Back Issues
Contents of Family Systems Volume 1, Number 2
ARTICLES
Family Constellation Theory Revisited
Part 1
Walter Toman, PhD
pp. 101-113
After a brief historical introduction the theory of family constellation is presented in a simple paradigm, followed by a review of the empirical date from our comprehensive research including double and triple checks where possible. Research of others in pertinent aspects of the theory is also reviewed. Basic and more complex sibling positions, their combinations in partnerships and friendships, and their roles in parent-child relations are analyzed. The effects of losses of family members upon the development of individuals and families and family life are also analyzed. Their significance in the conduct of individual and family therapy is outlined.
Intergenerational Attachment and the Family
Robert J. Noone, PhD
pp. 114-126
The family has been observed to function as an interdependent system. The integration of individuals into a more complex self-regulating unit is believed to represent the outcome of an evolutionary process which is not unique to Homo sapiens. This evolutionary process encompasses countless adaptations which extend to the beginning of life. Such adaptations remain central to the regulation of the human family.
The prolonged involvement between parent and offspring and the development of an elaborate brain evolved n relation to one another. An understanding of each is important to understanding not only the depth of the interdependence found in the human family relationship system but the variation in adaptiveness observable in the broader human population as well.
Chronic Anxiety, the Adrenocortical Response, and Differentiation
James E. Jones, PhD
pp. 127-141
Chronic anxiety and differentiation are at the center of Bowen family systems theory. A case can be made that a high baseline of glucocorticoids, a characteristic of an organism with a continually activated adrenocortical axis, is one kind of chronic anxiety in an individual. High basal glucocorticoids can damage the individual in a number of ways. What, then, influences adrenocortical responding? An organisms's learning history and inherited level of readiness to react can influence its interpretation of potential challenges which would trigger the adrenocortical response. Furthermore, the organism's position in the relationship system and the state of the system can affect the reactivity of the individual. Robert Sapolsky, studying male baboons in the wild, learned that not only the individual baboon's position in the relationship system but also his manner of managing interactions has an influence on adrenocortical responding. Some of these behaviors may have some overlap with what would be regarded as differentiated functioning in human beings.
Evolutionary Constraints on the Nonreproductive Sexual Behavior of Wild Apes
Merry Ratliff Muraskin, PhD
pp. 142-163
Nonreproductive sexual behavior is defined here to include nonreproductive copulation, orgasmic same-sex interactions, and sex-derived signals. Each of these behaviors has been observed in wild apes. However, only the bonobo has evolved a relationship system that, to some degree, relies on nonreproductive sex. This paper argues that the lower frequency of nonreproductive sex in ape species other than the bonobo is at least partly the result of evolutionary constraints on the orgasmic same-sex behavior and nonreproductive copulations of males combined with fewer opportunities for intense female/female/e interactions in populations of these other apes. For male apes, any advantage of nonreproductive copulation of orgasmic same-sex behavior must outweigh the advantage of reserving ejaculations for possible impregnation of fertile females. Male apes therefore engage in orgasmic same-sex behavior only when they have no access to fertile females and (except, perhaps, in the case of the bonobo) choose fertile rather than infertile females whenever possible. Even when orgasmic same sex behavior facilitates a male's participation in the relationship system of his particular group, it is most likely maladaptive. Ovulation of female primates is not linked to copulation or orgasm, and the nonreproductive copulation and orgasmic same-sex behaviors of female apes are therefore not as constrained as are those behaviors in males. Female same-sex orgasmic interactions can be adaptive as well as functional. Sex-derived signals, the other type of nonreproductive sexual behavior, are subject to the evolutionary constraints governing communication systems and are unaffected by differences in male and female physiology.
FACULTY CASE CONFERENCE
Marital Conflict in Context
Douglas C. Murphy, MA
pp. 164-177
This clinical case report is based on a presentation at a Faculty Case Conference in February 1994. Identifying data has been altered to ensure confidentiality. This clinical case was presented to summarize the emotional processes within the family and between the family and the therapist and to stimulate thinking about the ongoing course of the consultation to date.
BOOK REVIEWS
Family and Social Network
Elizabeth Bott
reviewed by Roberta B. Holt, DSW
pp.178-185
Primate Social Systems
Robin I. M. Dunbar
reviewed by Patricia A. Comella, JD
pp.186-192
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