ABSTRACT
The interactionist approach to the study of the family, the most prominent exponent of which is Ernest W. Burgess, has long provided a major theoretical orientation for family research, In Chapter 12, Robert Habenstein illustrated the manner in which constructed types can be used to delineate forms of client–professional interaction; in the present chapter, Professor Farber applies such ideal types to identify forms of intra-family interaction. Like Habenstein, he provides types based upon empirically observed processes which never exist in their pure form; unlike Habenstein, Farber has been able to take an earlier typology (developed by Burgess) as a point of departure. Farber developed his classification in the course of a study of families that include a mentally retarded child. Although based on the pattern of interaction within the family, the classification appears to be useful in predicting various aspects of family organization.
