Family Systems
A Journal of Natural Systems Theory in Psychiatry and the
Sciences
Back Issues
Contents of Family Systems Volume 3, Number 1
ARTICLES
The Effects of Stalin's Purge on Three Generations of Russian Families
Katharine G. Baker, DSW and Julia B. Gippenreiter, PhD
pp. 5-35
This article reports the results of a joint Russian-American research project that studied the multigenerational impact of the 1930s Stalin Purge. It has been estimated that between twenty and forty million people died in the purge. Through in-depth interviews in the winter of 1993-94 with fifty grandchildren of purge victims, the study explored the impact of this historical event on family life. It also examined the functional variation of family members in the third generation in relation to the way families had dealt with the loss of grandparents. The results of the study indicated support for the hypothesis that cutoff from grandparents was significantly inversely associated with aspects of functioning in the grandchild generation. Additionally, a personal research effort into family history and the ability to actively protest political coercion were positively related to social functioning.
The Study of Marriage and Bowen Theory
Phil Klever, MSW
pp. 37-51
Marriage research has provided understanding about factors contributing to marital satisfaction. The unit of study for most marriage research has been the marital dyad and the individuals within the dyad. The effects of the husband's and wife's neuroticism, affect, cognition, behavior, physiology, attachment styles, as well as family developmental changes on their marital satisfaction have been reported in the marriage literature.
Bowen theory makes a contribution to the study of marriage by expanding the unit of study to the family system. New variables are added to the study of marriage to account for the human's emotional interdependence. This theory also provides alternate interpretations of previous research findings. An additional contribution of Bowen theory is seeing the human as a part of the natural world, which extends the knowledge base beyond the social sciences to evolutionary biology.
The purpose of this paper is to present the predominant variables examined in the study of marriage and to discuss some of the contributions Bowen theory makes to the development of knowledge about marital functioning.
COMMENTARY
Gender and Bowen Theory
Roberta B. Holt, DSW
Little has been written about the contribution of Bowen theory to a discussion of gender and gender issues. With its base in the natural sciences, Bowen theory addresses gender from the perspective of emotional process in relationships. This paper selects several of the prevailing themes in the literature about gender and addresses them from the perspective of Bowen theory. It then discusses how the theory can be useful in the resolution of gender issues.
pp. 52-63
BRIEF REPORT
Stress and Instability
Daniel V. Papero, PhD, MSSW
pp. 64-68
The following brief report conveys a line of emergent thinking that may ultimately contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between individual functioning and emotional processes in the broader unit‹family, neighborhood, community. If that relationship can be more precisely delineated theoretically and supported by observation, new insights may follow about the nature of individual functioning, about the concept of differentiation of self, and about the functioning of emotional units.
FACULTY CASE CONFERENCE
Symbiosis and Violence
Presenter: Douglas C. Murphy, MA
pp. 69-85
This clinical case report is based on a presentation at a Faculty Case Conference in April 1996. Identifying data has been altered to protect confidentiality. The main purpose of the presentation was to discuss a specific outcome of processes in emotional systems; murder/suicide, and its occurrence and ramifications for one family from the perspective of Bowen family systems theory.
The clinical presentation represents a beginning effort with the family. The factual data collected thus far is incomplete and should be considered preliminary. However, the disadvantage of presenting a case with a scarcity of facts was outweighed by the opportunity to formulate ideas and engage in a discussion with faculty members about the manifestation of murder/suicide in family emotional systems.
BOOK REVIEW
Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain
Antonio R. Damasio
reviewed by Anne S. McKnight, LCSW
pp. 87-96
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