Family Typology and Decision Criteria in the Juvenile Court Setting

• NCJ Number: 86613
• Journal: Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1982) Pages: 23-30
• Author(s): C M Voorhees
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Families with problem juveniles fall into five types. Therapists can modify treatment approaches for these types.

Abstract

In the 'mitigating' family, one parent assumes the passive but protecting role toward the child while the other assumes the 'responsible' complaining role. 'Mitigating' parents are generally as uncooperative in therapy as the child and placement may be appropriate, especially if the child is in the early teens. In the 'incapacitated' family, both parents defend the child's actions. The child is so emotionally attached to one or both parents that staying home has the highest priority. Service agencies typically avoid trying to help such a child, because the problem appears minor and resistance to treatment is strong, but if treatment is not undertaken, the child may repeat the cycle in creating his/her own family. In the 'rigid' family, where rules are inflexible and rigid and scapegoating is at the extreme, the parents have difficulty allowing the child age-appropriate independence. Paradoxical techniques are most effective with this family type, since resistance is so high. The 'indulgent' family is similar to the 'mitigating' family. One child usually takes on special significance, and the primary parent becomes enmeshed with this child. The child remains immature and undisciplined. A thereapist may attempt a reordering of roles in the family but not without great resistance. In the argumentative family, the primary and general rule of communications is 'we cannot agree.' The members of such a family usually agree on only one thing: to disagree with the therapist. The therapist may capitalize on this agreement by telling family members to argue louder, keep disagreeing, or to disagree with the therapist's recommendations and indicate in the sessions how they failed to follow through on the therapist's recommendations. In therapy for each of the family types, it is important to deal with the family as a dysfunctional system.