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--The concept of “family conflict” is a significant one in the fields of family communication, psychology, counseling, sociology, social work, and anthropology (to name just a few). Read the following pages in preparation for your third and final reflection: pp.241-256. Also, read and incorporate material from supplemental materials I have provided. There are many ways to engage in conflict with family members, please pay close attention to the three broad approaches of non-confrontation, solution orientation, and control (pp.254-255).
Now,
here is your third and final family reflection paper assignment: For this
reflection you can focus on any of your families: e.g., your family of origin,
a step family, a nuclear family, a gay or lesbian family, your extended family,
a family that you and a few friends identify as “family”. Reflect on and think
about the conflicts that have occurred over the last year in your family. Using
terms from the book and any other online materials I have provided, how are
those conflict generally handled? I provided you with a supplemental reading
from an interpersonal conflict book that I use, authored by Hocker and
Wilmot. In fact, I am teaching that course this semester. I absolutely
expect you to reference Hocker and Wilmot in your paper. I don't
need a reference list. Please refer to Hocker and Wilmot by using phrases
like, "According to conflict experts Joyce Hocker and William Wilmot, the
first 2 minutes of a new conflict sets the tone for how the conflict will
unfold and manifest itself. If one partner starts out being hostile and
aggressive with an angry tone the person's partner will probably respond in the
same way---setting the stage for a destructive and negative
conflict." When managed appropriately and effectively, family
conflict can be good because it helps the family to mature and grow. But
sometimes family conflicts are managed in negative ways such as the use of
violence and/or verbal aggressiveness. In your chosen family,
describe how conflict is managed and pass some value judgment on the approach
and aftermath of the conflict strategies used by your family. Like the other
two reflection papers you have already written, you need a title page with a
clever title, your name, the course name and course number, and the due date of
the paper. This paper needs to be 3 to 5 pages long. Again, no reference
list is needed and no in text citations. Also feel free to reference any
of the videotaped lectures that I recorded and are at your disposal. Just
write something like, "According to Mike's videotaped lecture on
conflict.....". If you want to reference any of the points you made in
your first two reflection papers (one on "boundaries" and one
on "intimacy") feel free to do so.
Reflection 3: Family Conflicts
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Name/Number
Instructor
Due Date
Introduction
From a broader perspective, the entire world is constantly
struggling for power, money, space, and other scarce resources. Struggle for
these limited resources can be traced to ancient days when people of the old
days fought for the stated essentials for survival. Unfortunately, the struggle
for basic needs was shifted over to arrogance, ignorance, and prejudice over
time. The latter focus threatened the peaceful coexistent of societies around
the globe. The diverging goals and rules gave rise to misunderstandings and
mistrust among communities, groups, and individuals and finally led to social
conflicts. Such conflicts were transferred to the basic social units.
Concisely, this paper seeks to discuss the essence of the family conflict,
conflicts in an extended family, and the conflict management strategies used to
disputes in the stated family.'
In instances where family conflict is not well managed, it
can adversely affect children’s academic achievement. In separated families, children
experience intense short-term effects that negatively impact schooling life.
There is the likelihood that few children will carry these long-lasting effects
into their adulthood, subsequently impairing their ability to develop and
maintain long-lasting relationships. However, family conflict empowers people
to devise ways of settling their varying social values and other views. Family
conflict is not a static activity but an evolving process predicted to change
over time. March argues that developing multiple perspectives in the argument
is essential for teenagers, and parents have a role to play in developing
cognitive capacity for teens to minimize constant disputes. She further states
that the conflict communication skills gained by teens are likely to apply them
in the future to solve conflict-related issues.
A family is defined as a group of closely related people
either by birth, marriage, or adoption. Family is consists of parents and
children who live and function as a single household to achieve a common
purpose. However, the definition of the family in the 21st century
has changed from being a social unit comprising of mother, father, and children
as other emerging social factors such as single parents, gay and lesbian
couples have redefined the family structure. Therefore it is apparent that
family is made up of two different individuals from different environments.
People who have different upbringings are likely to have varying opinions.
Different perceptions towards specific social values and claims to scarce status,
power, or resources form the primary family discords.
Conflicts in an
Extended Family
During my infancy, I was raised in an extended family
composed of grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, two cousins, my mother, brother,
sister, and father, totaling to a family of five members. The family has a
business, initially owned and managed by grandparents before handing it over to
their sibling. All members of the family depend on the company for their
survival. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the business sector
was severely hit, and consequently, extremely low revenues were recorded in the
year 2020. The drastic reduction in sales, disagreements on shared
responsibility, and future inheritance of family property created misunderstandings
in our entire family
Firstly in our family, some members accused the family business trustees of failing to promptly inform entire family members on the progress on the business profitability, strategic business plans, and other reasons underlying the decline other than a pandemic. A lack of proper communication channels fuels the fear of members losing control over the family business. According to Aloia and Solomon, the conflict experts, in a situation where families in conflict fail to embrace better communication practices, diverging views will...
