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A FORMAL EXPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF FAMILY HOMEOSTASIS |
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| Authors: | Shlomo Ariel Dr Cynthia A Carel Samuel Tyano |
| Institution: | 1. The Hebrew University
Shlomo Ariel, PhD, is a Lecturer, School of Education and School of Social Work, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.;2. Tel Aviv University Samuel Tyano, MD, is Director, Geha Psychiatric Hospital, and Professor, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. |
| Abstract: | The concept of family homeostasis and related concepts such as family rules and family feedback mechanisms came under heavy fire in a recent article by Dell (1982). It is not easy to evaluate the arguments brought forth by Dell, since the concepts in question seem to have never been formally explicated. Most of this article is devoted to an attempt to develop such a formal explication. Dell's arguments are then examined one by one in the light of this explication, and most of them are shown to be mistaken. His main conclusion, that the concept of homeostasis should be replaced by a concept of coherence, is rejected. |
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