Associations Between Measures of Emotion and Familial Dynamics in Normative Families With Adolescents

Growing up in a comforting home, experiencing warm, stable and secure relationships with parents and siblings is a valuable aspect of socialization which extends far beyond the boundaries of family life itself. Within the family system, the organization of family life is another aspect which may further the impact of well-being. Indeed, two important aspects of family life have been identified as familial Cohesion and Adaptability (Olson, Portner, & Lavee, 1985). Cohesion is defined as the emotional bonding that family members have towards one another and Adaptability as the ability of a marital or family system to change its role relationships or rules in response to situational and developmental stress (Olson et al., 1985). In a clinical setting, focusing on aspects of family functioning may have important relevance for improving family relations, especially those with adolescents. “Improving the sense of emotional security and optimal closeness in the families of at-risk youths would provide a more comfortable and stable base from which they could venture out into the academic or work environment” (Masselam, Marcus, & Stunkard, 1990, p. 737). Similarly, optimizing familial flexibility may allow for the enhancement of psychological processes consolidated during adolescence, such as gender identity and the ability to socialize (Romig & Bakken, 1992). Familial Communication has been thought to act as a facilitating dimension which allows the family to modulate its levels of Cohesion and Adaptability (Olson et al., 1985). Positive Communication includes providing Empathy, sending clear congruent messages, making supportive statements, and practicing effective problem-solving skills (Olson, Russell, & Sprenkle, 1983). However, as adolescents may minimize certain aspects of family life, such as positive Communication, in order to separate from and achieve independence from their parents (Hall, 1987), it is important to take into account other aspects such as the family’s stage in the life-cycle. Hence, including explicit measures of Satisfaction in questionnaires assessing family functioning could also provide therapists with useful information for better understanding individual and familial dynamics. An important question for family therapists with respect to the link between emotional and familial factors concerns the manner in which the individual’s emotions may enhance and consolidate processes shared by family members. For example, could focusing on individual processes such as