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Family Crucible
In the book The Family Crucible, family therapists Carl Whitaker and Gus Napier (1978) team up to help a family with dangerous levels of discontent and animosity towards one another. At the center of the rift are the adolescent daughter Claudia and the mother Carolyn. At the periphery are the 6-year-old daughter Laura, an 11-year-old son Don, and the father David. On the surface, it is Claudia's behavior problems that are blamed by both parents for the family's woes. However, during the first meeting with the entire family present, it quickly becomes clear that problems with the marriage may be to blame. This essay will examine the parenting dynamics uncovered by Whitaker and Napier during their family therapy sessions, including the parenting styles used and attachment matrix that exist in the Brice family.
The Brice Parenting Styles
On the surface, the father appears to have an authoritative parenting style because he demands that Claudia be respectful to her mother. However, his primary concern about Claudia's behavior seems to be that she gets along better with her mother. He does not appear to intrude into Claudia's life to the degree that the mother does, nor set authoritarian behavioral guidelines. He seems to truly care about Claudia's suffering, but may be indulgent at times simply to avoid conflict with either Claudia or Don.
The mother comes off as having an authoritarian parenting style with respect to Claudia. This parenting style is...
The mother appears to be somewhat detached from her other two children as well, although both Don and Laura seem secure in the knowledge that they are integral to the family structure. Overall, Carolyn is probably a good, dutiful, caring parent, yet remains emotionally detached to some extent from her children's lives. The authoritarian, and thus intrusive, side of Carolyn is therefore probably the product of a disintegrating marriage and the formation of a family triangle between father, mother, and Claudia.
Attachment Status
Based on the behavior of Laura and Don, both appear relatively secure in their relationships with their parents. Laura is content to sit quietly and draw or play jacks while the emotionally volatile therapy sessions take place. When Claudia became really upset during the second session, Laura at first seeks the comfort of her mother before one of the therapists intervenes. At that point Laura is comfortable providing comfort to her sister Claudia. This suggests that Laura believes she is both deserving of love and that the primary source of love and security is her mother. By comparison, Don is a relatively carefree personality who appears relatively unconcerned about the ongoing family strife. This suggests that Don is likewise comfortable about his place in the family and feels deserving of parental…
References
Liddle, Howard A. And Schwartz, Seth J. (2002). Attachment and family therapy: Clinical utility of adolescent-family attachment research. Family Process, 41(3), 455-476.
Moretti, Marlene M. And Peled, Maya. (2004). Adolescent-parent attachment: Bonds that support health development. Peadiatric Child Health 9(8), 551-555.
Napier, Augustus Y. And Whitaker, Carl A. (1978). The Family Crucible. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
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