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The Assessment of Dysfunctional Family Systems

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Advances in Clinical Child Psychology

Part of the book series: Advances in Clinical Child Psychology ((ACCP,volume 4))

Abstract

The title of this chapter reflects at least three concerns that are major issues in studies of the family. The first of these is the current interest in methods of behavioral assessment that best describe the functioning of individual family members and the family unit as a whole. Adequate measurement procedures are necessary if dysfunctional families, our second concern, are to be distinguished from those operating at a satisfactory level. Finally, family researchers often conceive of the phenomena they study in terms of interdependent systems of social interaction. Most students of the family would agree that the actions of individual family members cannot be considered as events that are independent of the behavioral milieu in which they occur. Thus, family interaction processes are often described in terms of system concepts such as reciprocity, homeostasis, feedback, and so on.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA

    Rand D. Conger

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  1. Rand D. Conger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Benjamin B. Lahey

  2. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan E. Kazdin

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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York

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Conger, R.D. (1981). The Assessment of Dysfunctional Family Systems. In: Lahey, B.B., Kazdin, A.E. (eds) Advances in Clinical Child Psychology. Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9808-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9808-0_6

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