Family Functioning

The pivotal importance of the family in society has been confirmed by the reciprocal effects of individual-family-community interactions. Those interactions determine the soundness or malaise of each of the three levels of biosocial organization and thus influence the individual's character formation and personality development, the integrity of the family unit and its functioning and societal well-being. The authors argue that the family is now in crisis and at a turning point toward either vitality or debilitation. As such, this text addresses the status and fate of the family; extreme suffering produced by divorce and the pathologies associated with children who receive inadequate parenting and care; the apparent increased frequency of mental disorders, some of which are products of family life; and, the mental health functions of family life that promotes well-being and provides refuge against despair.