A Theory‐Based Empirical Classification of Family Problem‐Solving Behavior

Abstract

A method for classifying family interaction behavior is presented that underlies several related studies of variation in families' modes of interpreting and interacting with the social environment. Evidence is presented for the existence of three dimensions of family problem-solving behavior that: (a) are consistent with theory of variation in families' orientations to the environment; (b) are useful for interpreting differences within nonclinical as well as clinical samples of families; and (c) have been shown, with current samples' ranges, to be essentially independent of surface markers of family variation and accumulated skills of family members.

Families' Schemata of Social Relationships

“…This is described elsewhere (21, 25). Basically, family members are required to work toward solution of a series of logical puzzles, both individually and with the opportunity for discussion with one another.…”

“…One use of these assessment methods is to guide or inform the treatment process, e.g., to aid in formulating diagnoses and conceptualizing treatment goals. Recently (21), we described an approach to family assessment whose relevance for treatment rests not on distinguishing adaptive from maladaptive family patterns but on identifying intrinsic properties of families that can influence their interpretation of and response to treatment. This method, based on a theoretical model of variation in family paradigms (25), attempts to distinguish among families according to their characteristic modes of perceiving and interacting with the social world.…”

“…According to the model, this set of assumptions shapes a family's interpretation of and response to a variety of social situations; it serves as a subtle regulator of a family's everyday interactions and provides a stable frame of reference when the family must interpret and respond, as a group, to unfamiliar or challenging social situations or settings. Three dimensions by which family paradigms can vary have been specified; they are measured by monitoring families' behavior in response to a particular social situation that is novel and challenging for most families — a problem‐solving procedure in a laboratory setting (21).…”

Reality and Myth in Family Life

“…Reiss (1981) has detailed the empirical grounding of his notion of family paradigm in nearly two decades of well-integrated, observational studies exploring how families interact with their environment. Interestingly, his laboratory measurement of a family's paradigm can not be explained solely as a composite of the intellectual, perceptual, and personality attributes of the individual family members (Oliveri & Reiss, 1981;Reiss & Klein, 1987) -in other words, his laborato~y procedure seems to -. measure a family-level phenomenon.…”

The psychosomatic family model. A critical analysis of family interaction concepts

“…Recently, Reiss' (1981) research is more focused on the way in which a normal or pathological family changes its paradigm along with time and situation. He is also more interested in the consequences of the paradigm with respect to problem-solving behaviour in the family (Oliveri and Reiss, 1981;Reiss et al, 1980). This is a more dynamic viewpoint, according to which 'family crisis' becomes a crucial concept.…”