Patterns of

Functioning
Higgins
BYUI
Source: Burr and Klein, 1994 Chapter 5

Tell Me the Stories of

Jesus
1. Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear,
Things I would ask him to tell me if he were here.
Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.
2. Oh, let me hear how the children stood round his knee.
I shall imagine his blessings resting on me;
Words full of kindness, deeds full of grace,
All in the love-light of Jesus' face.
3. Tell me, in accents of wonder, how rolled the sea,
Tossing the boat in a tempest on Galilee!
And how the Master, ready and kind,
Chided the billows and hushed the wind.

Class Business
2 questions we will discuss towards end of class

Upcoming Dates:
March 20th Exam 2
March 25th Interview and Family Assessment
Paper
April 3rd Reflective Journal
April 10th or 11th Final Exam

Assessing Family
Functioning
What was their big question?

The hypothesis?
H1 the roller coaster model describes some,
but not all, family experiences (p. 67)

5 patterns
Roller Coaster
Increased
Mixed
No Change
Decreased

So did they obtain

evidence supporting
their hypothesis?

A deeper look into the data

Additional questions:
1. Are there systematic differences in the response
patterns with different kinds of stressors?
2. Are there gender differences in the perceptions
of these response patterns?
3. Is the perceived seriousness of the situation
related to the response patterns?

Types of Stressors

Why?

Time, Effort and Energy

Expended
(Scale of 1-10)

(Match time line of the Family Functioning Chart)

Energy and Functioning

Differences in Responses
Some families appeared to expend a great deal of
time, effort, and energy early in their stressful
experience.
Other families waited until functioning decreased
and then reacted these families invested time
effort and energy in response to problems and they
invested only what is necessary to handle the
problems

Does the timing of resource allocation

associate with positive and negative patterns
of family function?

 That could be an indication that time spent

denying the problem or devastated and paralyzed
is harmful. Accepting the problem early and
dealing with it quickly are helpful. (p. 92)

Summary
Five different patterns identified
No significant relationship between the type of
stressful situation and the response pattern
No gender differences
The way a family defines the seriousness of the
situation is related to which model it experiences
o Roller coaster highest level of seriousness
o Increased lowest level of seriousness

Questions
What could you use from this article to assess the
family you are going to be writing about?
Write the questions.