Vol 10, No 1, 2011 pp. 57-66
UDC 316.356.2-056.26/.36
THE FUNCTIONALITY OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FROM THE SYSTEMIC PERSPECTIVE
Marina D. Matejević¹, Dragana R. Jovanović²
University of Niš, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Pedagogy, Republic of Serbia
Email: ¹marinam@filfak.ni.ac.rs, ²gagaj@filfak.ni.ac.rs
The problem of the functionality of families with children with special needs will be considered from the aspect of a systemic approach to the family, where the family is studied as a system in which there are certain subsystems. It is assumed that in families with children with special needs there are some specificities in relation to patterns of interaction between subsystems. The study was organized with the aim to determine whether any dysfunction is present in family functionality in families with children with special needs. The instrument used in this study is a scale for assessing the functionality of the family system (FACES III, Olson, Portner & Levi, 1985) on the dimensions of adaptability and cohesion. The research results showed that the half-functionality system was present the most (53%), then came functional, balanced family systems (27.3%) and finally the extreme dysfunctional family system (19.7%). Dysfunction is more pronounced in the dimension of cohesion, because of the presence of networked family systems (42.5%) which support the dependence of children on their parents. The research results indicate the problems faced by parents with children with special needs and with the necessity of supporting the wider social community in solving problems faced by these families in achieving their parental roles.
Key words: systemic approach to family, family functionality, patterns of family functioning, dimensions of cohesion and adaptability.
FUNKCIONALNOST PORODICA SA DECOM SA POSEBNIM POTREBAMA IZ SISTEMSKE PERSPEKTIVE
Proučavanju ovog problema pristupa se sa aspekta sistemskog pristupa porodici, pri čemu se porodica proučava kao sistem u okviru koga postoje određeni subsistemi. Pretpostavlja se da u porodicama sa decom sa posebnim potrebama postoje određene specifičnosti u odnosu na obrasce interakcije između subsistema. Istraživanje je organizovano sa ciljem da se utvrdi da li je prisutna disfunkcionalnost u porodičnom funkcionisanju porodica sa decom sa posebnim potrebama. Instrument primenjen u ovom istraživanju je skala za procenjivanje funkcionalnosti porodičnog sistema (FACES III, Olson, Portner & Levi, 1985.) na dimenzijama kohezivnosti i adaptabilnosti. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da ima najviše polufunkcionalnih porodičnih sistema (53%), zatim slede funkcionalni, uravnoteženi porodični sistemi (27.3%) i najmanje je ekstremnih, disfunkcionalnih (19.7%). Disfunkcionalnost je izraženija na dimenziji kohezivnosti, jer su veoma prisutni umreženi porodični sistemi (42.5%) koji podržavaju zavisnost dece od roditelja. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na probleme sa kojima se susreću roditelji sa decom sa posebnim potrebama i na neophodnost podrške šire zajednice u rešavanju problema sa kojima se susreću ove porodice u ostvarivanju svojih roditeljskih uloga.
Ključne reči: sistemski pristup porodici, funkcionalnost porodice, obrasci porodičnog funkcionisanja, dimenzije kohezivnosti i adaptabilnosti
