ABSTRACT
Interactions between nuclear family emotional systems and multigenerational relations strengthen bonds between family members in the younger generations of nuclear families, and family members in past and future generations. This chapter explores Bowen family systems theory to investigate the mechanisms influencing the functioning of the African American family from a systems perspective. Having an awareness of the nuclear family emotional processes heightens perceptions of the impact of the family interactions and dependencies on individual and collective functioning. The data collected for the family diagram are assumed to influence the emotional process in the family system. The information collected varies from family to family because of differences in families regarding level of differentiation and the management of anxiety. Individuals who are cutoff from significant others are more likely to repeat problems manifested in their families of origin and develop serious emotional, social, and physical problems.
