ABSTRACT
The central role that the family plays in the development of the self is attested by various models of family processes. For example, both the positive youth development perspective (Damon, 2004) and the self-determination theory (Grolnick, Deci, & Ryan, 1997; Ryan & Deci, 2000) underscore children’s and youth’s needs for nurturing relations in the family as they acquire a mature sense of self. The family functions, however, not only in service of the young family member but also in service of family goals. Thus, both the family resilience framework (Walsh, 2003) and the family adjustment and adaptation response model (Patterson, 2002a, 2002b) focus more on the family than on the individual family member, attributing to family socialisation the goal of family stability in the face of demands and problems.
