This research applies a theory of the family to a chronically ill family in a nursing context. The systems approach to the family provides the theoretical context for the application of family theory to the chronically ill family (Broderick and Smith, 1979). Johnson's (1980) behavioral system model of nursing provided the framework for applying the theory in a nursing context. The family which is the subject of this application consists of a father, mother, son (age 21), and two daughters (ages 18 and 14). Each of the daughters is afflicted with cystic fibrosis. Their conditions provide the basis for classifying the family as chronically ill. At the time the data were collected for this research, the son was away from home, serving in the armed forces. Thus, the family, for purposes of this research, was defined as the father, mother, and two daughters.
The family to which theory is applied in this research is the Lee family, which lives in Orange County, California. The parents father Michael and mother Jenny are in their early forties. He is a firefighter, while she is a full time housewife. The daughters are both full time students. Renee, 18 years old, is a high school senior, while Rebecca, 14 years old, is in eighth grade. Data pertaining to the family were collected by the researcher during six visits with the family during April and May 1991.
The common definition of a system is "an aggregate of elements considered together with the relationships holding among them" (Angyal, 1986, p. 20). In this sense, a system any be considered "as any entity, conceptual or physical, which consists of independent parts" (Ackoff, 1986, p. 322).
A family is both a conceptual system, and a physical system. It is a physical system, because it is a physical entity. It is not a physical system, however, within the context of physics or chemistry. The family is a conceptual system, in that the behavio...