A visit to a family psychologist helps to sort out your thoughts, take a fresh look at yourself and family members. Diagnosing families can solve many problems, help people overcome internal crises, learn to take responsibility for themselves, and adequately respond to others. Changing these patterns of thinking and behavior has a beneficial effect on relationships and creates a favorable climate for the development of all family members.
The main purpose of diagnosing a family is to evaluate the system of relationships within it in order to identify an imbalance that can destructively affect its members. The work can be aimed both at changing their habits and behavioral patterns, and at understanding the causes of conflict situations, developing a different point of view, the ability to perceive those moments that cannot be changed due to life circumstances.
Types of diagnostic techniques
When diagnosing a family, they consider it from different points of view, focusing on various characteristics. Consider diagnostic methods by scope:
- psychological;
- clinical and psychological;
- socio-psychological;
- pedagogical;
- psychosemantic.
According to the form of the diagnostic methods are presented in the form of a survey, testing, observation, experiment, sociometry, slicing method , interviews, examination of documents.
History of Family Relationship Analysis
The ancestor of all methods of studying family relationships is clinical diagnosis.
The psychological diagnosis of families began as part of therapeutic activity, which recognized the family as an important factor in the development of neurotic pathologies.
In Soviet times, special attention was paid to the role of man in society. For the purpose of social diagnosis of the family, several psychological counseling family centers were opened with the goal of reducing the level of divorce and raising the birth rate.
Psychological methods actively developed after the 90s, the first full-fledged publications on the psychology of families appeared, and training programs were introduced.
Diagnostic subject
Subsystems are distinguished in family relationships : marital, child, parent-child, gender. Depending on the focus on a particular system, the subject of diagnosis may be as follows:
- family as a whole;
- marital relations;
- parent-child relationships.
The basic criteria for the diagnosis of the family in the narrow sense of the word that are suitable for all methods have not been established. Each method has its own subject of analysis, criteria and principles of implementation. Moreover, all methods are aimed at determining the level of comfort of a person, psychological safety. To determine the current situation, the following basic criteria for diagnosing a family are used, which are subject to further analysis:
- structure;
- accommodations;
- income;
- health;
- Values
- communication style.
Methods of studying the relationship of spouses
Marital relations have a huge impact on the psychological health of people. At the same time, relationships are constantly evolving, transforming individuals.
The most powerful transformational processes take place in the 4-5 year life together. By this time, roles are forming in the family, a joint active holiday unites the spouses and fills them with harmony. By the age of 6-7 years of marriage, traditional role relationships are formed, when a man is responsible for the material component, and a woman organizes life, entertainment, and the general culture of the family. It was noted that wealthy families are characterized by a large participation of men in family affairs. In problem families, so much of the burden falls on the woman’s shoulders that she can’t stand it, as a result of which neuroses form in her, which affects the life of the whole cell of society.
The main reason for the disorder of marital relations is the disharmony of the marital roles that have developed in the family. The generally accepted typology shares the following roles in a married couple:
- material support of the family (the role implies ensuring a decent standard of living, making money to meet the needs of family members);
- responsibility for the household (the role includes providing the family with the necessary resources: clean and comfortable living conditions for family members, catering);
- care for the baby (the role does not have a constant scope, in most cases belongs to the woman);
- education (the role includes the functions of socializing the child to a harmonious personality, an adequate member of society);
- partnership in sex (manifestation of sexual initiative);
- organization of entertainment (initiative regarding joint leisure of the family, vacations, interesting organization of free time for family members);
- cultural storage (development of common values, hobbies, preferences in the field of culture);
- maintaining contact with relatives (activity in the direction of communication, joint activities, leisure activities with other family members, mutual assistance);
- psychotherapy (the role includes assistance in solving personal problems of family members, providing support with difficult situations).
Traditionally, a man is responsible for the material wealth of family members. The husband is responsible for the quality of life of the family, financial opportunities available to children. The role of the hostess often belongs to the woman, although in recent years partnerships have appeared more and more often, where the role of the owner is equally divided between the spouses.
The role of the educator of the spouse is divided equally. The proportions of the educational impact depend on the specific family and gender of the child. In the upbringing of a girl, a woman plays a key role, and a man takes a greater part in the formation of the boy’s personality.
The initiator of sexual behavior is considered to be a man, although in young families this role is supported by a woman, but with age, as a rule, passes completely to a man.
Both spouses are involved in interaction with relatives, the nature of the interaction directly depends on the relations within the parental families.
The role of a "psychotherapist" more characterizes a woman who is capable of accepting loved ones. Psychological support, protection and personal comfort determine the level of satisfaction with marriage, therefore this role is extremely important. The feminine nature of the role does not mean that men are excluded from the process of protection, care and empathy with respect to family members. A man is required to accept this role in certain situations, especially when the woman needs support.
To assess marital roles, questionnaires are used where questions are asked for each role in order to identify negative zones that cause an imbalance in the relationship between spouses.
Both spouses participate in the diagnosis. Only in this case a complete picture of the distribution of marital roles in the pair is formed.
Methods of analysis of parent-child relationships
In the relationship between parents and children, there is always a transformation of both sides. Growing up a child and changing the psychological state of parents leads to misunderstanding, the accumulation of mutual claims and the formation of an unfavorable climate within the family. The study of the parent-child system often occurs as part of the socially pedagogical diagnosis of the family. Diagnostic techniques in the study of parent-child relationships can be aimed at:
- children (family drawing, "unfinished offers", etc.);
- adults (essay "the story of my child’s life", a questionnaire by Varga A. and Stolin V. and others);
- all family members (methods for the study of self-esteem, interaction, "architect-builder", etc.).
In addition to these types, there are techniques that have some of the questions addressed to the child. The second part of the questions requires an answer from the parents. When comparing the results in working with parents and children, specialists get a complete picture of the relationship. An important role is played by the diagnosis of the child's family in case of problems in the group of peers or learning difficulties. This is also one of the aspects of establishing mutual understanding between parents and children.
Foster family
A separate item in the analysis of parent-child relations is the work with the diagnosis of foster families.
As a rule, relationships among family members who are not related by blood relationship are more complicated than ordinary family relationships. In such families, aggressive and violent behavior towards children is often detected. This became the reason for the close attention of guardianship authorities to the diagnosis of families. When diagnosing foster families, special attention is paid to the following qualities:
- propensity to conflict;
- ability to seek a compromise solution;
- stress resistance.
Primary diagnosis consists of an assessment of parental experience. Parent families, their style of education and interaction between family members are studied. Facts of violence are revealed, which, when detected, serve as a risk factor and become the subject of close monitoring by workers in psychological and social services. In the initial diagnosis, the Luscher test, CTO (color relationship test) is used. The methods have convenient computer options and do not take much time. Moreover, these methods are able to identify signs of psychological distress.
The child’s experience in interacting with parents is diagnosed , the skills of relationships within the family, as well as their communication styles, internal beliefs and stereotypes , are studied.
The next step is the identification of risk factors for dangerous situations and a detailed study of these factors. At this stage, the ATQ questionnaire and the Beck scale are used to diagnose the emotional side of the personality of adults and children.
To assess the communication of family members, methods of a drawn apperceptive test, tests and questionnaires for identifying aggressiveness and conflict, a method for assessing empathy and tolerance are used.
Separately, children are diagnosed with a tendency to fantasies, the adequacy of perception of reality is checked. For this , the Wexler test, a test for character accentuation, is used.
Based on the results of the data, a decision is made on further work with the family, the appointment of therapeutic measures. The features of diagnosing a family with an adopted child are a deeper study of the relationship, as well as constant monitoring of the changes taking place with the obligatory comparison of the results of previous studies.
Examination of the family as a single system
The family is a single system, the development of which is studied from a historical point of view, write its history.
For the diagnosis of families as a whole system, methods are used that give an overall picture and have retrospective information. One of these methods is the genogram.
The method is a graphic representation of a family, taking into account close relatives. Each member of the family corresponds to a geometric figure on the genogram, connected to other different lines, depending on the type of relationship.
The genogram takes into account cohabitation, divorce status, conflict relationships, for which special characters are provided.
The process of compiling a genogram takes a long time. To obtain the necessary information, a series of interviews with family members is conducted, where not only the problems of the current time are discussed, but also the history of the development of family relations.
Other methods offer to depict the history of families in the form of graphs that record especially significant events and periods of development of relationships (for example, “Time Line”). If necessary, the diagnosis of the family as a single system can be supplemented by other methods that are more narrowly targeted.
Socio-pedagogical analysis of the family
Work with “difficult children” is often entrusted to a social educator or psychologist. In this case, a socio-pedagogical analysis of families is carried out, including periodic collection and analysis of information about the processes taking place in the family, and the characteristics of the interaction of its members. All factors are considered from the point of view of the destructive effect on the child, which impedes the adequate process of socialization and forms deviations in behavior.
The subject of socio-pedagogical diagnosis of the family is not only children, but also parents and other family members. A mandatory system of relations with brothers and sisters is considered. The interaction of the child with the family and other participants in family relationships among themselves is analyzed.
A dangerous situation is recognized if the following factors are identified:
- lack of parental care;
- gross neglect of parental responsibilities;
- destructive lifestyle of parents;
- unacceptable level of material and housing support for the child, vagrancy;
- violence, etc.
The choice of diagnostic method
When choosing a diagnostic method, they strive to achieve the following criteria:
- simplicity of the method of conducting and processing, understandability for the subject;
- minimum time and effort spent on diagnostics when achieving an understandable and valuable result;
- connection of the method with the main subject of diagnosis.
In addition, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of families, length of married life, history, structure, family environment, etc. A comprehensive analysis allows you to choose the most suitable diagnostic method that allows you to achieve the desired result with minimal effort.
Diagnostic Results
Based on the diagnostic results, the specialist draws up a psychological conclusion describing family relationships, risk factors, and assessing the level of favorable conditions. Recommendations are given on corrective work for both adults and children. Initially, this may be separate consultations with a psychologist, then joint therapeutic sessions are used. If necessary, recommendations are made for visiting narrow specialists to fill the gaps in the development of the child.
The conclusion can be drawn up arbitrarily, but in most cases it is a standardized document that complies with established standards. The conclusions drawn up for the guardianship authorities are transferred to the appropriate authority, where they are already being examined from the point of view of the favorable development of the child in the foster family.
As a result of the diagnosis, the family can be considered prosperous. Identification of complex situations in relationships leads to the determination of the type of family. The following types are divided: problematic, crisis, asocial, immoral, antisocial.
Further work is based on the results of family diagnostics; preventive and rehabilitation measures are carried out. The effectiveness of preventive and rehabilitative activities largely depends on the quality of the established contact between the family and the specialist. Only trusting relationships can lead to positive results.
At the stage of rehabilitation of a dysfunctional family , counseling and assistance are provided to the family. Moreover, official communication can seriously reduce the result of work, and reproaches can nullify all efforts. Trust relationships should be maintained throughout the interaction with the family.
Dysfunctional cells of society are constantly under the supervision of guardianship authorities, such families are escorted in order to track (diagnose) changes within the family and prevent negative effects on children.