Family Developmental Theory ( Fdt ) Essay - 1472 Words

Family Developmental Theory (FDT) first came about in the last 1940s, as a need to understand how families and the individuals within the family function in order to have their needs met (Smith Hamon, 2012). According to Smith and Hamon (2012) unlike the psychology-based theories, which concentrate on an individual and sociology-based theories address the social and cultural aspects, FDT places the family at the center of its assessment (p.70). In this theoretical memo basic assumption of FDT will be discussed and related to the Galager family case study. The following are the six basic assumptions of FDT: (a) developmental processes are essential in understanding families that also change over time (b) there are tasks associated with each stage of development, (c) institutional norms regulate family behavior, (d) development is reciprocal, (e) families must be viewed in multiple levels of analysis, and (f) families must be observed over time (p. 72). In order to discuss family deve lopment, one must first have an understanding of what is meant by the term family. Although there are many descriptions attempting to define family, the following contemporary definition is more accurate, â€Å"The family is who they say they are† (Wright Leakey, 2013). With that said, the case study family, the Galagers, consist of a married heterosexual couple, two adult daughters, and their three dogs. Although majority of the family acknowledges these animals as part of the family, patriarch