ABSTRACT
Transitions have long been a central concern in family studies. Several decades ago, Haley (1973) remarked that some of the symptoms observable in a family member—usually a child—could be linked to crises brought on by transitions in the family. Such crises point to a family’s difficulty in coping with change, but they are also valuable opportunities to transform relationships. Hadley, Jacob, Milliones, Caplan, and Spitz (1974) in their turn showed that family crises brought on by the loss or acquisition of family members are linked to the appearance of symptoms in one or more family members.
