THE SAIGON OF THE FAMILY'S MIND: FAMILY THERAPY WITH FAMILIES OF VIETNAM VETERANS

Unlike other wars, Vietnam was America's first teenage war. This has caused unique problems in dealing with the Vietnam veteran, as exemplified by the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although the bulk of the work done on PTSD has indicated the likelihood of veterans establishing disengaged families, it has been the author's experience that the families of Vietnam veterans often have enmeshed parent-child ties between the veteran and his children. When the children become adolescents, their quest for individualization throws the family into turmoil which has its genesis in the father's own foreclosed identity. A five-stage method of treatment (Intake, Ventilation, Bridging, Education and Hiking the Therapy Home) is proposed by the author as being a sound method of family treatment in this growing family problem.     

The consequences of love: young people and family practices in difficult circumstances

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of sociological work exploring the importance and meaning of kinship. Much of this work has criticized the ‘individualization’ thesis according to which changes in family structures over time have been interpreted as reflecting a fundamental decline in family values. Highlighting continuities as well as change in family life, this work has also suggested ways to move beyond the individualization debate and to develop alternative frameworks for the study of contemporary families and personal life, notably through the analysis of related practices. For various reasons, this recent work has focused primarily on the experience and practices of adults in ‘ordinary’ rather than more difficult family circumstances. This article aims to complement this work by focusing on the difficult family experiences of young people affected by parental substance use. It is argued that it is important not to lose sight of such experiences in order that sociological thinking reflect the diversity of family practices and the resources available to support them, including at younger ages. In addition, the importance of developing concepts or a language facilitating the exploration and communication of the emotional and symbolic significance of these practices is emphasized.     

Professor of Sociology at Sophia University.

Abstract Is the family in industrial Japan the same modern conjugal family created by the Industrial Revolution and the modern welfare state of the west? Is it also shifting toward a post-modern family? This paper attempts to analyze the nature of family changes in Japan by using the “individualization model.” The Japanese family experienced the first wave of change in the first two decades after the world war II from the prewar patriarchal stem family to the modern conjugal family. It is undergoing the second wave of change since the mid 1980s which is characterized as the process of individualization or diversification of the modern family. Though we observe phenomenal changes in contemporary Japan, the family system based on distinct gender roles will not lose its ground unless the industry-oriented family policy and family-based welfare policy become more individual-based.     

Deinstitutionalisierung des Religiösen und Religiöse Individualisierung in Ost- und Westdeutschland

Luckmann’s thesis of “invisible religion” which is based on religious individualization attracts great attention within the field of sociology of religion in the German speaking countries. It states that religion currently is not loosing social relevance, but that current religious changes are characterized by processes of religious individualization in which subjectively constructed, syncretistic, and non-institutionalized systems of ultimate meaning are replacing traditional Christian religious forms. Thus, the thesis contradicts the theory of secularization processes. On the basis of two surveys carried out by the authors, the paper looks for empirical evidence to support this thesis. Three dimensions of religion are distinguished: traditional church affiliation, individual Christian religiosity, and non-church religiosity. Additionally, an individualization index is constructed. The analysis shows that processes of de-institutionalization of religion can be observed, but forms of nonchurch or non-Christian religiosity do not constitute serious alternatives to church adherence and Christian religiosity. Secularization and religious individualization are not two diametrically opposed processes. The trend towards secularization is prevailing in Germany and the tendencies towards religious individualization are components of this pre-dominant trend.     

Religious individualization or secularization? Testing hypotheses of religious change – the case of Eastern and Western Germany

The individualization thesis advanced by sociologists of religion such as Grace Davie, Danièle Hervieu-Léger, Michael Krüggeler, Thomas Luckmann, Hubert Knoblauch, Wade Clark Roof, Wayne E. Baker, and others has become increasingly widespread especially in Europe within the sociology of religion. In contrast to the secularization theory it assumes that processes of modernization will not lead to a decline in the social significance of religion, but rather to a change in its social forms. According to the individualization theory, traditional and institutionalized forms of religiosity will be increasingly replaced by more subjective ones detached form church, individually chosen, and syncretistic in character. The article examines the empirical applicability of the individualization thesis on the basis of how religiosity and church affiliation have evolved in Germany over the past 50 years. It comes to the conclusion that the rise of individually determined non-church religiosity cannot compensate for the losses of institutionalized religiosity, since non-church religiosity remains rather marginal and is interwoven with traditional Christian religiosity. Religious individualization is only a component of the predominant secularization process.     

DEPENDENCE AND INDEPENDENCE

The contributions that adult men and women make to households in terms of paid and unpaid work have undergone substantial change, particularly in respect of women's responsibility for income generation, and have been seen as part of the processes of individualization. Recent contributions to the literature have suggested that children are now acquiring independence earlier as part of those same processes. The paper uses qualitative methods to explore the way in which parents in two-parent families, where both are employed, perceive the risks attached to children's exercise of greater independence, how they seek to ‘manage’ those risks and how far the perceptions of parents accord with those of children. We find parents’ perceptions of risk to be strong, but to have little to do with working patterns. In addition, they are often at odds with the actual behaviour of the child. Risks are managed by negotiation, in which children played an active part. We are also able to make some preliminary comments on the difficulties of interpreting scale measures in relation to interview evidence.     

Religiöse Identität und Wertbindungen von Jugendlichen in Deutschland

In analysing the religiousness of youth positions vary between the hypothesis that religiousness has decreased and the hypothesis that there is a specific youth religion. In this paper it is assumed that the development of religious identities and convictions depends on social contexts and family environments. The paper analyses different religious interpretative patterns adolescents generate in order to position themselves in relation to concepts of life and meaning in societies who are marked by the pluralization of values, the secularization of social relations and the individualization of life styles. Through case studies of youth from West Germany, East Germany and youth from migrant’s milieus—each group of which are brought up religiously in a different environments—it is shown how the religious identities of youth become established under specific social-historical conditions and conditions of socialisation.     

Families and mobility: The European experience

This paper introduces a new method—Social Genealogies Commented and Compared—for observing how social trajectories of individuals and families are shaped. The basic features of this method—its focus on families rather than individuals, the flexibility of interviewing, the comparison of case studies of families’ histories—make it complementary to survey research. It is argued that the contention of survey research to be the only scientific method of studying social mobility rests upon a Newtonian conception of science that has become obsolete even in the natural sciences. Surveys work best in societies which have stable social structures and a large degree of social homogeneity nation‐wide, and where individual achievement, not family ties, is the key factor in shaping individual trajectories; this is not the case for most European societies. Techniques for collecting and analyzing Social Genealogies are described. Issues such as representativeness and generalization, family legends and the breakdown of nuclear families are briefly dealt with. The pedagogical usefulness of this form of data collecting is stressed.     

Succession of Stem Families in Rural Japan: Cases in Yamanashi Prefecture

The aim of this paper is to clarify how Japanese rural families have continued and changed from a viewpoint of generational succession. The survey from which data was collected was conducted principally in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. Three main points will be focussed on: members, property, and ideology. Almost 40% of family members surveyed continued to live together with their parents after marriage. However, they did not necessarily succeed the family farm. The ways in which they live together and farm their land have become more diverse. It is still very common for the entire family property to be inherited and succeeded by only one child in accordance with the Ie system. Despite the fact that family structure is changing greatly in present times, many farming families continue to adopt this system of inheritance. Ideologies concerning ceremonial matters and human relationships remain strong, but have weakened with regard to land inheritance. Our results suggest that the family's desire for succession was stronger in cases where multiple generations cohabited.     

Realigning criminal policy. Offender and victim in the Swedish party system over time

The article conducts a case study of criminal policy in the Swedish party system between 1960 and the present. Like other countries, Sweden has witnessed its criminal policy take a ‘punitive turn’ during this time. We hypothesize that this turn is explained by the fact that the discourse on crime has become increasingly victim-centred. Our study of the changes in the parties’ policies suggests that the parties play a central role in this explanation. In order to understand the punitive turn, however, the increasingly victim-centred discourse must in turn be explained. We argue that it is the individualization of society which provides the key here.     

The individualization of class: a case of working life coaching

This article employs empirical analysis on working life coaching in order to offer a complimentary perspective on debates concerning individualization and class. Instead of viewing individualization as a process which erodes or radically shapes structures of class, this article interrogates individualization as a process which individualizes the relation between capital and labour in such a way that it appears in an individualized form. Examining practices of working life coaching sheds light on the ways in which the antagonism of capital and labour is experienced, articulated in an individual form and offered solutions for, and also on the ways in which such practices actually silence and cement the antagonism they are supposed to solve.     

The Power of Silver: Age and Identity Politics in the 21st Century

Pensioner political movements emerged in the interwar years in America and Europe. Documentary and empirical analyses confirm the influential role such movements played in helping shape the postwar social security systems of Western societies. Pensioner movements, qua pensioner movements, have failed to retain their influence, despite that “old age” and its demographic significance have become more salient. We propose three explanations for this: the first concerns the failure of old age to connect with the generational ethos of identity politics; the second reflects the nature of the actors now involved in the governance of old age; and the third concerns the individualization of retirement as a phase of life.     

A RATIONALE FOR FAMILY THERAPY SPECIALIZATION IN EARLY INTERVENTION

Over the past two decades, professionals providing intervention to families with children with disabilities have witnessed a philosophical shift from individually oriented care to family-centered care. Although the relevance of family therapy to these families has been formally acknowledged through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the integration of the fields of family therapy and developmental disabilities has not yet occurred to any signigicant degree. Awareness of critical issues associated with developmental disabilities and the potential impact on the family system is vital to the process of family-centered intervention. In this paper we address the need for family specialists to become knowledgeable about early intervention considerations relevant to young children with disabilities and their families.     

Social and family responsibility or self-interest?

Mothers’ increasing labour market participation is posed as a key aspect of a growing trend towards individualization — both for ill and for good. In ‘for ill’ versions, mothers’ employment is regarded as undermining commitment to family relationships and leading to a loss of community. In ‘for good’ versions, family and community relationships become contingent upon values of equality and respect. ‘Preference theory’ modifies the individualization thesis, with a posited distinction between mothers in full-time employment with ‘work-centred’ identities and those with part-time work who want ‘adaptive’ or ‘home-centred’ identities. This paper examines such issues, drawing on qualitative case study research on mothers employed full and part time in a hospital and an accountancy firm in the UK. It considers how the variable work ethos of organizations, and the ways mothers engage with these, can interact with their engagement in family and community relationships. In particular, it suggests that employment can be as much about social obligation in a local community, and commitment and obligations to family, as about individualized self-provision and options.     

Authority,Autonomy, and Ambivalence: Moral Choice in Twentieth-Century Commencement Speeches

This paper examines whether moral individualism has become a public moral philosophy by tracking changes in the ritualized rhetoric of moral choice in twentieth-century college commencement speeches. Content analysis of 171 speeches reveals that the rhetoric of choice becomes more prevalent and increasingly individualistic during the twentieth century. In addition, the rhetoric of moral choice is found to increasingly emphasize subjective moral autonomy rather than objective moral authority. Despite the importance of individual moral choice in commencement speech rhetoric, expressions of anxiety and ambivalence about the subjective approach to morality indicate unease with the rapid individualization characteristic of our times.     

Asian Transnational Families in New Zealand: Dynamics and Challenges

Since the 1990s, Asia has emerged as the major contributor of migration flows into New Zealand. Settler migration, tourism, international business and more recently, international education make up the diverse flows of Asian peoples into the country. This paper explores the changing dynamics of Asian transnational families over the last two decades, with a special focus on the experiences of young people within these families. In the early 1990s, bi-local families were commonly known as "astronaut" families, in which one or both parents returned to their countries of origin to work, leaving their children to be educated in New Zealand. Over time the structures of these families have changed, as many young migrants relocated back to their former homeland or re-migrated to a third country, while "astronaut parents" rejoined their spouses either in the origin or destination. More recently, the educational migration of international students from countries in Asia has given rise to another form of transnational family, in which young people enter New Zealand as international students and some subsequently become residents. In this paper, the experiences of these young people are explored within the wider context of family strategies for maximising benefits through spatially extended networks on the one hand, and government initiatives and immigration policy changes that have been taking place in New Zealand since the 1990s on the other.     

Developing Family Therapy Skills on a Shoe String Budget: A Peer Supervision and Training Approach

Family therapy skills are an essential tool when working with young children and their families, yet accessing family therapy training and supervision in workplace settings has become more difficult. Skills enhancement may be obtained through formal training in accredited courses, a costly undertaking, in which clinicians most often carry the entire cost for the training. In this paper, we propose that specific family therapy skills relevant to working with families of young children can be developed within a peer group format. The peer training described in this paper is extremely cost effective, easy to set up, specifically tailored to our unique training needs and the characteristics of the population of families we are working with. Further, the training allows us to develop fresh and creative ways of skills acquisition, our own ‘curriculum’, with flexible use of training techniques, depending on our particular needs at a given time. We conclude with some of the disadvantages of the model and propose ideas for future development.     

CONTESTING THE VICTIM CARD: Closure Discourse and Emotion in Death Penalty Rhetoric

Closure for crime victims' families has become an important cultural narrative in the past two decades. This paper furthers our understanding of motivational framing and emotional resonance by illustrating how death penalty advocates use emotion-domain expansion to tap into the popular concept of "closure." By arguing that the death penalty can bring closure and healing to crime victims' families, advocates expand their emotional appeal. Abolitionists have also embraced closure and argue that other options are preferable for victims' families. Implications of this process include shifts in death penalty rhetoric, new feeling rules, emotive dissonance, and the institutionalization of closure.     

Middle class identities in a neoliberal age: tensions between contested authenticities

This paper explores in‐depth interviews on aspects of middle class identity in a neoliberal age, taking the case of Chile's rapid and stark transition to a neoliberal economic model which was imposed by a dictatorship but later reproduced during democracy. ¹ The paper reveals that there are no challenges to middle class identities (eg from the working class, or peasants). In this respect, these are neo‐liberal middle class identities in that their way of thinking is preconditioned by market dominance. Informed by Bourdieu's views on class identities, this article emphasises the horizontal, non‐hierarchical nature of contemporary class taste, and contributes to debates on stratification and culture, settling accounts with older class theory which perceives contests between the popular and middle classes. Notwithstanding this, however, I argue that processes of horizontal differentiation do involve tensions between cultural and moral boundaries. This article therefore also offers an alternative approach for exploring how middle class identities experience processes of individualization. It is argued that individualization processes should be placed in social and ethical registers as they could be in tension with various ways of understanding authenticity: being true to oneself or to one's origins.