Understanding contemporary Family Support: Reflections on theoretical and conceptual frameworks

Abstract

Family Support is a transdisciplinary field made up of practices and knowledge from different areas, theories and approaches. This article strives to contribute to the development of this complex epistemological foundation by undertaking a review of the main theoretical frameworks. The relationship between the practice and theory of Family Support is analysed in the paper. A review of the ‘state of the art’ is undertaken, exploring both the role of wide-ranging social theory, and more specific psycho-social theories. Practical examples are provided to ground the analysis. Finally, the article proposes an integrated model proposed providing a critical and versatile approach to understanding different realities. Cross-national joint construction is encouraged to advance Family Support as both a theory and to provide a framework which guides both practice and policy.

Workforce Skills in Family Support: A Systematic Review

“…This literature review is committed to furthering our understanding of family support as value-based practical approach with a common set of concepts which informs not only service delivery but also professional education, research, and policies. As an emerging transdisciplinary field, family support relies upon a range of sociostructural and psychosocial theories embedded in a holistic, ecological, and comprehensive approach (Herrera-Pastor et al, 2020). As one of the action work streams of the European Union COST action “The European Family Support Network: A bottom-up, evidence-based, and multidisciplinary approach,” a group of researchers undertook an assignment to review the current knowledge and state of affairs regarding the family support workforce skills.…”

Predictors of family burden in families caring for children with special needs

“…Recent literature on child development indicates that there is a strong link between the quality of the parent-child relationship and child outcomes (Hintsanen et al, 2019). Children develop better skills to cope with and adapt to the difficulties of life when a strong and caring relationship exists between parents and children (Frost et al, 2020).…”

“…Recent literature in child development reaffirms the strong link between the quality of the parent-child relationship and child outcomes. Support and opportunities provided by the family act as a protective factor by improving children's ability to cope and adapt to life's challenges (Frost et al, 2020;Spiteri, 2021). From this point of view, it can be asserted that marital relationships where family burden is shared among spouses by providing spousal support to each other are more likely to result in positive parent-child relationships and therefore, enhance child development.…”

Family support workforce skills: Contributions of a review of books and manuals

“…Efetivamente, a metodologia adotada permitiu alcançar estes resultados e promover uma panorâmica sobre a abordagem das competências dos profissionais no apoio à família, complementar ao trabalho prévio de Zegarac et al (2021), carecendo, no entanto, de continuidade. Compreende-se a importância da análise de conteúdo e o contributo deste estudo ao mapeamento da presença das competências dos profissionais no apoio à família na literatura publicada em livros/manuais (Sargeant & O'Connor, 2020), permitindo perceber a complexidade e diversidade do trabalho transdisciplinar no apoio à família (Devaney et al, 2013(Devaney et al, , 2021Herrera-Pastor et al 2020).…”

“…O apoio profissional à família engloba uma grande diversidade de intervenções e de recursos humanos (Devaney et al, 2013). Efetivamente, o apoio à família (family support) é um campo transdisciplinar formado por práticas e saberes de diferentes áreas, teorias e abordagens (Herrera-Pastor et al 2020). Devaney et al (2021) referem que não existe uma receita geral específica para o apoio à família, mas que existem diversas abordagens bem-sucedidas, dependendo do contexto, das tradições, da aceitação do Estado pelas pessoas e da confiança do Estado nas famílias.…”