NSG 527 Final Exam Study Guide: Family Systems Theory
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Family Systems Theory
• Definition of family
• The definition of family is determined the specialty or discipline presented.
Definitions transcend traditional forms and now include postmodern perspectives.
The US Bureau of the Census defines the family traditionally and includes “the
family is composed of persons joined together by bonds of marriage, blood, or
adoption and residing in the same household” (Friedman, et al., 2003, p. 9). In
contrast, a broader definition of the family that is nontraditional includes “two or
more persons who are joined together by bonds of sharing and emotional
closeness and who identify themselves as being part of the family” (Friedman et
al., p.10).
Which of these characteristics belong in a broadened, inclusionary definition of
family?
A. composed of one or more persons
B. geographic dispersion
C. emotional involvement and commitment
D. Sense of identity as a family
Answer: C & D
• The family unit and the survival of society
Need of societies expectations, needs, and roles of the client
Needs of members need to be met to facilitate personal development of
each individual
The family functions to meet the need of society by (select best answer):
A. Mediating between society’s expectations and the needs of the
individual.
B. Providing recruits for society’s job market
C. Rearing of children
Answer: A
• Change and diversity in the family
, lOMoAR cPSD| 65448581
The recent influx of change and diversity has changed the American family over
the years. Summarized below are a few of these influences:
• Economics: rising costs; and disparity between rich and poor;
• Technological advances: increase in availability of knowledge; ability to prolong
life; environmental hazards, automation, birth control advances, and electronics
• Demographic trends: population growth and aging population
• Sociocultural trends: changing racial and ethnic composition
• Changes in the family: decrease in size of households; delays and decline in
marriage; increased divorce rates; lower remarriage rates; increase in first births
to older mothers; increase in nontraditional living arrangements for children and
single-parent families; increase in women’s employment; post- modern family
forms representing all types of lifestyles; and change in gender roles in families.
Which of these is (are) the main reasons for nurses to work with the family?
A. The entire family is affected by the health problem of a family member.
B. promotion of healthy functioning of the whole family will positively
affect each member and his or her health status
C. By working with the whole family, the nurse may be able to discover
health problems that other family members are having. Answer: A, B,C
Gay and lesbian families have much in common with cohabiting heterosexual
couples, but also have major differences. These differences are:
A. Among gay and lesbian families there is no uniform or normative
family structure.
B. Greater stigmatization of family among gay and lesbian families.
C. The family developmental stages differ considerably between these two
types of families Answer: A, B, C
• Family nursing specialty and its areas of focus
Family nursing is a new specialty area for nursing and transcends education,
practice, and research of other areas in nursing. Friedman, Bowden and Jones (2003) define
family nursing as “the provision of care to families and family members in health and illness
situations” (p. 54). Nurses conceptualize each family in the context of their interactions.
Five models are presented for conceptualizing the family, guiding the ongoing definition of
family nursing and diagrams for review are on page 37, figure2-1:
1. Family as Context: The patient is an individual with family members who
are usually the primary resource for them. The individual is the primary
receiver and the family is secondary for assessment and intervention of
care.
2. Family as Sum of its Members: The family is a sum of all family
members. Family healthcare is operational when all members of the
family receive care.
, 3. Family Subsystems as Client: The subsystem of a family can be defined as
a dyad or triad and be comprised of a married couple, parent-child, and
sibling-sibling, for example. They are the recipients of care.
4. Family as Client: The entire family is in the foreground. Dynamics of the
family, subsystems, and relationships with external sources are the focus.
5. Family as a Component of Society: The family is a subsystem of society.
Families are considered an institution of society equating to religion and
educational institutions for example.
Family nurses place priority on the needs of families, which defines the role of
the specialty. Goals of family health evolve from the needs of families. Family
nurses are cognizant and accepting of diversity in the family unit. They work with
each family unit as defined by the patient.
One major difference between the five types of family nursing practice is:
a. the setting in which family nurse is practiced
b. The conceptualization of the family
c. The specialty area of the nurse
d. None of the aboveAnswer: B
The family as client is an integral part of the ANA standards of practice in two
specialty areas in nursing, which are these? a. rehabilitation nursing
b. medical-surgical nursing
c. psychiatric-mental health nursing
d. community health nursing
e. pediatric clinical nursing practice
f. family nurse practitioners
Answer: D&E
• Levels of prevention
• Primary- Prevent illness from occurring; Role of family nurse= health promotion
and disease prevention, teach families to take responsibility for health and attain
health goals by enjoying a healthy life style; Role of the family nurse challenges=
monetary/lack of financial resources, attitudes of health care providers, health
care professional as poor role models, environmental hazards, lack of health
knowledge in patients, access to health care, education, and employment.
• Secondary prevention- After the disease occurrence/early detection, diagnosis,
treatment of signs and symptoms; role f family nurse= conduct screening
assessments, make referrals, determine patterns of dysfunction, health teaching;
role of family nurse challenges= denial of health issues, maladaptation of family
members-lack of coping skills, and dysfunction of commutations.
• Tertiary prevention-recovery and rehabilitation, convalescence stage,
maximize the level of functioning; provide support to families in the
rehabilitation process, disability and chronic illness.
, lOMoAR cPSD| 65448581
Which of the following statements is/are true about the levels of prevention?
The levels:
a. Specifically identify the nurse’s role only in the prevention of disease
b. Cover the entire spectrum of health and disease
c. Identify goals for each of the three levels of prevention
d. Are generally synonymous with prevention, curative, and rehabilitative
phases of health care
Answers: B, C, D
• Nursing models/theories: key concepts
• Nightingale’s Environmental Model- Did not present a theory of nursing or
family nursing. Emphasized the presence of environmental factors in health and
wellness. Nurses care for the whole family unit in the home environment. Clean
air
• King’s theory of goal attainment- included family-as-context. Collaboratively the
nurse and family members identify complete assessment to determine goals and a
plan of care. The family unit provides socialization and establishes norms of
behavior across the life cycle.
• Roy’s adaptation model- family is a unit of analysis, the same context as the
individual. The family unit is adaptive and interacts with the external environment
and internal and external stimuli.
• Neumann’s health system’s model- the client is an open system where family is
defined. Family is comprised of subsystems with relationships among the family
members. The ability to maintain wellness when exposed to stressors occur
through a series of exchanges in the open system of the model. Appropriate model
for community-based health care.
• Orem’s self-care model- The family unit needs to sustain self-care. Nursing
works with individuals to achieve self-care in the family unit; the family unit is
not the direct receiver of the health care services. Self-care of the family can
incorporate health beliefs of the family. Describes family as a basic conditioning
unite as the context of the individual client.
• Rogers’s science of unitary human beings- a family has energy fields that
response to the environment similar to individuals. Families have stages of
development and progress in one direction. Permeability of boundaries
determines the degree of responsiveness required from environmental input.
• Newman’s expanding consciousness model- expansion of consciousness defines
health. Individuals move unidirectionally to expand consciousness and allow this
inside and outside of the family unit; can incorporate the family with community
energy fields. As individual of a family move towards consciousness, he/she can
explain the internal dynamics of the family.
• Family social science theories: key concepts
• Structural-functional- family as a social system. Identifies how the family
interacts with other institutions of society. Identifies how family members interact
with each other in family relationships and support each other effectively to
Insights | Actual verified study complete Solutions | A+
Graded | 2026 Updates | 100% correct
Family Systems Theory
• Definition of family
• The definition of family is determined the specialty or discipline presented.
Definitions transcend traditional forms and now include postmodern perspectives.
The US Bureau of the Census defines the family traditionally and includes “the
family is composed of persons joined together by bonds of marriage, blood, or
adoption and residing in the same household” (Friedman, et al., 2003, p. 9). In
contrast, a broader definition of the family that is nontraditional includes “two or
more persons who are joined together by bonds of sharing and emotional
closeness and who identify themselves as being part of the family” (Friedman et
al., p.10).
Which of these characteristics belong in a broadened, inclusionary definition of
family?
A. composed of one or more persons
B. geographic dispersion
C. emotional involvement and commitment
D. Sense of identity as a family
Answer: C & D
• The family unit and the survival of society
Need of societies expectations, needs, and roles of the client
Needs of members need to be met to facilitate personal development of
each individual
The family functions to meet the need of society by (select best answer):
A. Mediating between society’s expectations and the needs of the
individual.
B. Providing recruits for society’s job market
C. Rearing of children
Answer: A
• Change and diversity in the family
, lOMoAR cPSD| 65448581
The recent influx of change and diversity has changed the American family over
the years. Summarized below are a few of these influences:
• Economics: rising costs; and disparity between rich and poor;
• Technological advances: increase in availability of knowledge; ability to prolong
life; environmental hazards, automation, birth control advances, and electronics
• Demographic trends: population growth and aging population
• Sociocultural trends: changing racial and ethnic composition
• Changes in the family: decrease in size of households; delays and decline in
marriage; increased divorce rates; lower remarriage rates; increase in first births
to older mothers; increase in nontraditional living arrangements for children and
single-parent families; increase in women’s employment; post- modern family
forms representing all types of lifestyles; and change in gender roles in families.
Which of these is (are) the main reasons for nurses to work with the family?
A. The entire family is affected by the health problem of a family member.
B. promotion of healthy functioning of the whole family will positively
affect each member and his or her health status
C. By working with the whole family, the nurse may be able to discover
health problems that other family members are having. Answer: A, B,C
Gay and lesbian families have much in common with cohabiting heterosexual
couples, but also have major differences. These differences are:
A. Among gay and lesbian families there is no uniform or normative
family structure.
B. Greater stigmatization of family among gay and lesbian families.
C. The family developmental stages differ considerably between these two
types of families Answer: A, B, C
• Family nursing specialty and its areas of focus
Family nursing is a new specialty area for nursing and transcends education,
practice, and research of other areas in nursing. Friedman, Bowden and Jones (2003) define
family nursing as “the provision of care to families and family members in health and illness
situations” (p. 54). Nurses conceptualize each family in the context of their interactions.
Five models are presented for conceptualizing the family, guiding the ongoing definition of
family nursing and diagrams for review are on page 37, figure2-1:
1. Family as Context: The patient is an individual with family members who
are usually the primary resource for them. The individual is the primary
receiver and the family is secondary for assessment and intervention of
care.
2. Family as Sum of its Members: The family is a sum of all family
members. Family healthcare is operational when all members of the
family receive care.
, 3. Family Subsystems as Client: The subsystem of a family can be defined as
a dyad or triad and be comprised of a married couple, parent-child, and
sibling-sibling, for example. They are the recipients of care.
4. Family as Client: The entire family is in the foreground. Dynamics of the
family, subsystems, and relationships with external sources are the focus.
5. Family as a Component of Society: The family is a subsystem of society.
Families are considered an institution of society equating to religion and
educational institutions for example.
Family nurses place priority on the needs of families, which defines the role of
the specialty. Goals of family health evolve from the needs of families. Family
nurses are cognizant and accepting of diversity in the family unit. They work with
each family unit as defined by the patient.
One major difference between the five types of family nursing practice is:
a. the setting in which family nurse is practiced
b. The conceptualization of the family
c. The specialty area of the nurse
d. None of the aboveAnswer: B
The family as client is an integral part of the ANA standards of practice in two
specialty areas in nursing, which are these? a. rehabilitation nursing
b. medical-surgical nursing
c. psychiatric-mental health nursing
d. community health nursing
e. pediatric clinical nursing practice
f. family nurse practitioners
Answer: D&E
• Levels of prevention
• Primary- Prevent illness from occurring; Role of family nurse= health promotion
and disease prevention, teach families to take responsibility for health and attain
health goals by enjoying a healthy life style; Role of the family nurse challenges=
monetary/lack of financial resources, attitudes of health care providers, health
care professional as poor role models, environmental hazards, lack of health
knowledge in patients, access to health care, education, and employment.
• Secondary prevention- After the disease occurrence/early detection, diagnosis,
treatment of signs and symptoms; role f family nurse= conduct screening
assessments, make referrals, determine patterns of dysfunction, health teaching;
role of family nurse challenges= denial of health issues, maladaptation of family
members-lack of coping skills, and dysfunction of commutations.
• Tertiary prevention-recovery and rehabilitation, convalescence stage,
maximize the level of functioning; provide support to families in the
rehabilitation process, disability and chronic illness.
, lOMoAR cPSD| 65448581
Which of the following statements is/are true about the levels of prevention?
The levels:
a. Specifically identify the nurse’s role only in the prevention of disease
b. Cover the entire spectrum of health and disease
c. Identify goals for each of the three levels of prevention
d. Are generally synonymous with prevention, curative, and rehabilitative
phases of health care
Answers: B, C, D
• Nursing models/theories: key concepts
• Nightingale’s Environmental Model- Did not present a theory of nursing or
family nursing. Emphasized the presence of environmental factors in health and
wellness. Nurses care for the whole family unit in the home environment. Clean
air
• King’s theory of goal attainment- included family-as-context. Collaboratively the
nurse and family members identify complete assessment to determine goals and a
plan of care. The family unit provides socialization and establishes norms of
behavior across the life cycle.
• Roy’s adaptation model- family is a unit of analysis, the same context as the
individual. The family unit is adaptive and interacts with the external environment
and internal and external stimuli.
• Neumann’s health system’s model- the client is an open system where family is
defined. Family is comprised of subsystems with relationships among the family
members. The ability to maintain wellness when exposed to stressors occur
through a series of exchanges in the open system of the model. Appropriate model
for community-based health care.
• Orem’s self-care model- The family unit needs to sustain self-care. Nursing
works with individuals to achieve self-care in the family unit; the family unit is
not the direct receiver of the health care services. Self-care of the family can
incorporate health beliefs of the family. Describes family as a basic conditioning
unite as the context of the individual client.
• Rogers’s science of unitary human beings- a family has energy fields that
response to the environment similar to individuals. Families have stages of
development and progress in one direction. Permeability of boundaries
determines the degree of responsiveness required from environmental input.
• Newman’s expanding consciousness model- expansion of consciousness defines
health. Individuals move unidirectionally to expand consciousness and allow this
inside and outside of the family unit; can incorporate the family with community
energy fields. As individual of a family move towards consciousness, he/she can
explain the internal dynamics of the family.
• Family social science theories: key concepts
• Structural-functional- family as a social system. Identifies how the family
interacts with other institutions of society. Identifies how family members interact
with each other in family relationships and support each other effectively to
