Family Development Theory

The Family Development Theory is a theory that is the foundation of family studies. The theory explores the development and growth of families throughout the course of the family life cycle. This theory is important to Sociology, as it helps Sociologists recognize predictable changes in families over time. By examining the eight developmental stages and associated tasks of the Family Development Theory, Sociologists and therapists can understand the dynamics of marriages and families.

Beginning in the 1930’s, sociologists began looking for ways to explore and define categories in a family unit. However, in 1957, Evelyn Duvall created a model to study the family life cycle. The family life cycle shows the developmental stages and challenges that people go through from childhood until retirement. These stages include independence, marriage, parenting, launching of children, and retirement. Based on these stages, Duvall created a model named the Family Development Theory, and it posited that the goals of family systems vary according to the position in the developmental career of families (Davies & Gentile, 2012). These goals fluctuate as the family unit forms, grows, matures, and eventually dissolves over time.

The Family Development Theory views the family life cycle in terms of eight distinct developmental stages. According to Laszloffy (2002), these stages include “Married Couples (without children), Childbearing Families (oldest child from birth to 30 months), Families with Preschool Children (from two and one half to six years), Families with School Children (from six to 13 years), Families with Teenagers (from 13 to 20 years), Families that are Launching (from first child to leave to last child to leave), Middle Years (empty nest to retirement), and finally Aging Families (retirement to death of both spouses)” (p. 206). Most families move through these eight stages as a unit, transitioning through each one by facing similar tasks and challenges. However, if a family does not successfully complete the tasks in a stage, the dynamics in the family may shift, and the family and couple may have difficulty maintaining their relationship and adjusting to future challenges in upcoming stages of the lifespan.

By examining the eight stages of the Family Development Theory, Sociologists and therapists can identify the biological, psychological, and sociological impacts and influences that accompany family life events. First, the Family Development Theory begins with the stage of Married Couples without children (Laszloffy, 2002). In this stage, the couple is faced with tasks that include establishing a mutually satisfying relationship and providing the spouse with emotional support. Further, the couple is expected to develop common expectations about becoming parents (University of Kansas, 2013). For example, the couple may agree on how many children they might have in the future. Unfortunately, if the couple does not support one another and examine the changes that will occur within the marriage once they begin to have children, the couple will not successfully transition to the next stage of the model.

The second stage of the Family Development Theory is Childbearing Families. These families have children whose oldest child is up to 30 months in age (Laszloffy, 2002). In this stage, the couple faces the tasks of adjusting to and encouraging the development of the infant (University of Kansas, 2013). The couple needs to ensure that both mother and father develop a relationship with the infant to meet the biological, psychological, and social needs of the infant. At the same time, the couple must focus on maintaining their relationship, which will help them overcome any difficulties that they may face as their children enter the preschool stage of development.

The third stage of Duvall’s Family Development Theory is Families with Preschool Children. In this stage of the theory, the oldest child ranges between two and a half to six years old (Laszloffy, 2002). Families are faced with the developmental goals of stimulating and promoting growth within their children while teaching them self-control (University of Kansas, 2013). Further, the couple is faced with the challenges of having no sleep, little energy, and a reduced amount of privacy. To successfully transition through this stage, the couple must focus on promoting growth within their children, while making adjustments to their schedules in order to preserve their marriage.

The fourth stage of the Family Development Theory is Families with School Children. According to Laszloffy (2002), the oldest children in these families range in age from six through 13. This stage primarily focuses on the development of the children within the family unit. Parents face the tasks of encouraging the child’s achievement in school and helping the child to successfully develop and maintain relationships with peers (University of Kansas, 2013). Successful completion of these two tasks are critical for children in this stage, as O’Brien (2005) found that supportive parent-child interaction at age 12 is important for the child’s successful negotiation of the adolescent transition. Further, the family will not successfully transition through this stage if grandparents do not play a supportive role in the development of their grandchildren as they transition to adolescence.

The fifth stage of the Family Development Theory is Families with Teenagers. In this stage, the oldest children in the family range in age from 13 years old to 20 years of age (Laszloffy, 2002). Interestingly, the developmental goals in this stage are twofold. First, the family as a unit must establish rules for their children’s behavior while promoting autonomy (University of Kansas, 2013). Since the couple will now have more free time while their children mature and emancipate themselves, couples can now work on the task of furthering their interests, which may include changing a career or focusing on a hobby. In addition, couples will need to work on maintaining their own relationship, as it will provide the necessary emotional support as their children begin to leave the home.

The sixth development stage in Duvall’s model is Families that are Launching. According to Laszloffy (2002), in this stage of development, the adolescents in the family begin to leave the home in order from oldest child to youngest. The family is now faced with the task of assisting their children’s transition into the workplace, college, the military, or with marriage (University of Kansas, 2013). At the same time, the couple must focus on maintaining a supportive home base for their children. Maintaining a supportive home helps the family negotiate adult to adult relationships with their children, while strengthening the midlife relationship of the couple as they face living alone again.

The seventh stage of the Family Development Theory is the Middle Years of the Parents. In this stage, the couple is now facing the issues that middle-aged adults encounter, such as having an empty nest and retirement (Laszloffy, 2002). The developmental goals of the couple are now extremely important to achieve, as the relationship within the marriage must intensify to adjust to the change of living alone again (University of Kansas, 2013). However, living alone again can produce conflict, as the couple now has to deal with and resolve midlife issues, including financial and health problems. In addition, the family may grow with the addition of grandchildren, so the couple will also have to focus on maintaining their relationships with their children and adjust to their new role as grandparents.

The final stage of Duvall’s Family Development Theory is the Aging of Family Members. According to Laszloffy (2002), this stage focuses on retirement issues between the couple and how the death of one or both of the spouses affects the family unit. The tasks associated with this stage include dealing with disability and retiring from a job, coping with the loss of loved ones, and preparing for death (University of Kansas, 2013). Interestingly, the transition within the family unit in this stage is unique. Children now need to adjust to maintaining the family unit as they deal with the loss of a parent and a supportive home base.

After analyzing the stages of the Family Development Theory, three strengths of the theory can be identified. First, Duvall’s theory is an excellent model that shows changes within the family unit over a long period of time. For example, while most theories only cover a specific time frame, the Family Development Theory covers development changes within a family throughout the lifespan. Next, a second strength of the Family Development Theory is that it shows specific developmental tasks that families need to successfully complete to transition to the next stage in the model. For instance, the family must focus on creating autonomy in their children in the Families with Teenagers stage in order to successfully launch them in the next stage of the model. Finally, the Family Development Theory can effectively be applied to marriage since it also shows challenges that couples face at each stage of their marriage.For example, if the couple cannot adjust to the lack of energy and sleep in the Families with Preschool Children stage, the marriage may be in jeopardy by the Families with Schoolchildren stage of development.

Conversely, many researchers and theorist have criticized the Family Development Theory, claiming that it does not accurately represent the stages of development within the family unit. According to Clingempeel and Henggler (2010), the theory assumes a traditional nuclear family, and it does not take into account childless couples and stepfamilies. For example, if a couple does not have children, then the developmental tasks of the theory would have to focus solely on the couple and maintaining the relationship within the marriage. Further, if a family is blended and stepchildren enter the home, the Family Development Theory would not properly address the adjustment issues that children will face when living with new siblings and new parents. Therefore, this model may only accurately represent the biological, social, and psychological challenges that families face across the lifespan if they are a traditional family in society.

Additionally, the Family Development Theory is flawed since it does not mention anything about the dissolution of the family unit due to death of a spouse or divorce. A spouse may die as a result of an illness or an accident, and the loss of a parent may negatively affect family’s ability to meet the goals in future stages of the model. Further, in the 1950’s, society frowned upon divorce, and many couples simply stayed together to preserve the family unit. However, divorce is very common these days, and many families are left with single parents raising the children. As a result, this model will not accurately represent the tasks and challenges that families face when there is only one parent raising the children due to a divorce or death of a spouse.

In conclusion, Sociologists and researchers can understand the family forms and dynamics of marriages and families by examining the eight developmental stages and associated tasks of the Family Development Theory. These stages include Married Couples, Childbearing Families, Families with Preschool Children, Families with School Children, Families with Teenagers, Families that are Launching, Middle Years, and Aging Families. While each family is expected to transition through each stage of the model, researchers have now proven that the theory may be flawed since it is based on a nuclear family unit and it does not take into account childless couples, stepfamilies, and single parent households due to death of a spouse or divorce.

References

Clingempeel, W.G., & Henggler, S.W. (2010). The corsini encyclopedia of psychology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Davies, J.J., & Gentile, D.A. (2012). Response to children’s media use in families with and withoutsiblings: A family development perspective. Family Relations, 61(3), 410-426.

Laszloffy, T.A. (2002). Rethinking family development theory: Teaching with the Systematic Family Development (SFD) model. Family Relations, 51(3), 206-214.

O’Brien, M. (2005). Studying individual and family development: Linking theory and research. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 880-890.

University of Kansas. (2013). Family development theory. Retrieved from http://psych.ku.edu/dennisk/PF642/Family Developmental Theory