The Healthy Family

Comprehensive child/adolescent psychological evaluation must include assessment of the family system, including such dimensions as communication patterns, emotional responsiveness and involvement among family members, problem-solving capacity, disciplinary control, value structure, coping skills, and others. But before it can be determined if a family has some functional problems, we must know what it means to be "well-functioning" as a family. The following primary characteristics are typical of the well-functioning family in the American culture.

• Parent(s) developed a clear and independent sense of their own identities before separating from their original family.
• There is a clear separation of generational boundaries within the family, with adult and child roles clearly defined and maintained.
• Parents have realistic perceptions and expectations for each other and for their children.
• Loyalty to the immediate family is greater than to the extended family (family of origin).
• The spouses put themselves and each other before anyone else, including the children, but never in an exclusionary manner.
• There is a high respect for separateness, individuality, autonomy, and privacy among family members.
• Family members maintain open, trusting, reaching-out relations, characterized by nonpossessive warmth and affection.
• Communication is open, honest, and clear.
• Interaction between family members is spontaneous and flexible, with regular doses of humor.
• The family maintains an openness to relations with others outside the family, including relatives and friends.
• Disciplinary control is firm, consistent across time and between parents, shared by all involved parents, and flexible (open to change and negotiation).

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