The evolution of family interactional research reveals a transformation from the theoretical concerns of a novel cybernetic paradigm to methodological problems of a prior mechanistic one. This change can be understood, within a cybernetic perspective, as an example of the characteristic functioning of adaptive systems attempting to maintain themselves unchanged under changed circumstances. A turn to a focus on method results in theoretical self-correction and the implicit retention of a mechanistic paradigm. This eliminates those most novel aspects of family interactional research that suggested the beginning of a cybernetic paradigm. A mechanistic methodology for family interaction research can be understood as an analogue to ritual in social systems. A primary attribute of ritual, sanctity, self-reflexively defines certain basic premises as unquestionable. By this, it regulates the beliefs of those who act it out, and eliminates the most radial novelty that confronts these beliefs. The evolution of family interactional research and its changing relationship to its methodology is an example of this process, the introduction and rejection of novelty by self-regulating systems. In this case, a challenge to the basic premises of a mechanistic paradigm is subverted, using its method as the arbitrator of validity in family interactional research.
This paper describes part of a narcotic treatment system, including the clients, their families, and the staff members at clinics involved in their treatment. It suggests that addiction can be understood as maintained, in part, by the often conflictual institutions and individuals treating it. These function in such a way that a social system is created that replicates core aspects of addicts' family structure at a number of levels (20). Addiction can be understood to be a part of, and an adaptation to, this context, which it helps to maintain. Treatment implications are suggested at this level.Addiction, although traditionally assumed to be an intrapsychic and/or physiological problem, has recently been redefined as part of an interpersonal process, especially family interaction. As has been described in the literature (7,20,31), there are several characteristics that seem to be particularly important in understanding the relationship between the addict's experience of his or her family, and those behaviors and experiences that are collectively the manifestations of the addicts' "addiction." As stated in an earlier paper (19), the family structure and the core problems seem remarkably similar irrespective of the ethnic group and socioeconomic status.In this study, a majority of the addicts were male so they will collectively be referred to as "he" in the text. A majority of the "overinvolved" parents were their mothers, so they will collectively be referred to as "she" in the text. The genders of the overinvolved parent and the addict occurs in all combinations, however.In the addict's family, there is a pervasive long-standing conflict between the parents, especially concerning one parent's chemical abuse, and a mutual lack of appropriate separation from the parents' own families-of-origin. This results in either a conflictual relationship between the parents, or a distant,
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.