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Anticipatory loss: a family systems developmental framework.
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, IL.
Family Process
|September 1, 1990
Summary
This article introduces a family systems framework to understand anticipatory loss due to illness, disability, or psychiatric disorders. It offers a model for theory, clinical practice, and research on family responses to threatened loss.
Area of Science:
- Family Systems Theory
- Developmental Psychology
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Anticipatory loss is a significant challenge for families facing chronic or severe health conditions.
- Existing models often lack a comprehensive developmental and systemic perspective.
Observation:
- Families experience threatened loss due to physical illness, disability, and long-term psychiatric disorders.
- These experiences are influenced by psychosocial factors, illness phases, and family-specific variables.
Findings:
- A family-systems developmental framework is proposed for understanding anticipatory loss.
- This framework integrates psychosocial types, illness phases, family developmental patterns, and belief systems.
Implications:
- Provides a conceptual basis for theory building in family health.
- Informs clinical practice and research on family adaptation to illness and loss.
- Offers new approaches to addressing threatened loss within families.