SECOND-ORDER TASKS AND STRATEGIES - BALANCE, STRESS, AND COPING  What is Balance? - A stable state of affairs within the family; refers to equilibrium and status quo.  Theoretical Ideas about Balance- Three components of intimate relationships include:1. Family Cohesion – emotional bonding that family members have toward one another.2. Adaptability – the ability of a system to change in its power structure, role relationships, and relationship rules.3. Communication – exchange of thoughts, messages, or information – by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. Olson's Circumplex Model – Main Concepts- Cohesiono Indicators for measuring this dimension are: emotional bonding, boundaries, coalitions, time, space, friends, decision-making, interest, and recreation. Levelso Disengaged o Separated o Connected o Enmeshed - Adaptabilityo Indicators for this dimension include: leadership, discipline, role structure, and presence of change in the family.Levelso Rigid – very little change, leadership is often authoritarian.o Structured – leadership can be shared, discipline is democratic.o Flexible – role-sharing between family members; democratic relationships.o Chaotic – lack of leadership, erratic discipline; too much change – order and predictability provide expectations.  Back to Balance ~ Balanced Versus Extreme Families- For families to function in a healthy manner, they need a dynamic balance of cohesion and adaptability.- Stability vs. Change (Adaptability); Separateness vs. Togetherness (Cohesion)- Families who have difficulties balancing often encounter functioning problems.- Being balanced allows couples and families to handle periods of extremes on either dimension.- Change on both dimensions does occur and is considered healthy, but any functioning for extended periods of time at either extreme is considered problematic.- Two influential components: Health and well-being of both the individual and the family.TABLE RULES: EXTREME FAMILY = 2 extremes (any corner). MIDRANGE FAMILY = 1 extreme BALANCED FAMILY = 0 extremes Dynamic Changes in Family Types Across Time- Not locked in one mold forever.- Agree to change most important aspect.- No one ideal type out of four. Accounting for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity- Cultural considerations = normative expectations – "extreme" behavior.- Families function well as long as all members are satisfied.- Always account for cultural expectations of family when assessing functioning. Family Life Cycle- A measure of a family's success and happiness is based on their ability to maintain a healthy amount of cohesion and adaptability across the life cycle.- Successful change includes:o Changing when appropriateo Being able to balance the new changes without staying at one extreme for too long.- Too much or too little change in families are both negative.  STRESS- Normative Stressorso Expected and ordinary developmental transitions affecting the family.o They occur regularly over the course of family life.o Not necessarily negative.o Examples: marriages, births, natural deaths.- Non-normative Stressorso Unexpected events and transitions that create unanticipated hardships for the family.o Require adaptations or alterations in strategies used to execute all or some of the basic family tasks.o Examples: house fire, early or sudden deaths, robbery.- Horizontal Stressorso Demands placed upon a system as it moves through time.o Include both normative and non-normative events.- Vertical Stressorso Patterns of relating or functioning that are transmitted from generation to generation within the family system.o These include attitudes, expectations, taboos, secrets, and unresolved emotional issues each generation is exposed to while growing up.o The family's overall level of stress is determined by both vertical and horizontal stressors.  Developmental Patterns - Two Phases: ACUTE & REORGANIZATION1. Acute Phase: a period of disorganization where:o Families begin to define the problem.o Get their feet back on the ground.o Try to divide issue into manageable parts.o Try to get emotions under control.o Try to obtain information about the problem.2. Reorganization Phaseo Families rearrange their rules and transformation processes to ensure recovery.o Create new rules and change the way they relate.o Come to terms with their emotions.o Obtain help from others if needed.o Learn how to accept new realities.o Move into a period of recovery.  5 Ways Families Respond to Stress1. Roller coaster 2. Increased3. No change4. Mixed5. Decreased – effective management.  Coping Strategies- Processes, behaviors, or patterns of behavior that families undergo to respond to stress.Level Io Cognitive – educational resources, self-help groups.o Communicationo Emotionalo Relationshipo SpiritualCoping and Moving Ono Some families or family members may not be able to overcome certain stressors.o Recovery may not be an accurate goal.o The goal after a stressor is to learn how to deal in the new framework of the family and to be able to come to terms with the new