Aim: Choreographing development of a person on the basis of Genogram.

Introduction:
Genogram:

The genogram has been established as a practical framework for understanding family patterns.
The standardized genogram format is becoming a common language for tracking family history
and relationships. Genograms record information about family members and their relationships
over at least three generations. They display family information graphically in a way that
provides a quick gestalt of complex family patterns; as such they are rich source of hypotheses
about how clinical problems evolve in the context of the family over time. Genograms involves
symbols and conventions that make them the best shorthand language for summarizing family
information and describing family patterns.

Benefits of making a genogram:

1. Genograms appeal to clinicians because they are tangible, graphic representation of

family patterns. It allows mapping family structure clearly and to note and update the
map of family patterns of relationships and functioning as they emerge. It helps a
clinician to know the family. Thus they become an important way of “joining” with
families in therapy.
2. Current behavior and problems of family members can be traced on the genogram from
multiple perspectives. The index person (the “IP” or person with the problem or
symptom) may be viewed in the context of various subsystems, such as siblings,
triangles, and reciprocal relationships, or in relation to broader community, social
institutions and cultural contexts.
3. For a clinical record, the genogram provides an efficient summary, allowing a person
unfamiliar with a case to grasp quickly a huge amount of information about a family and
to scan for potential problems and resources.
4. When family members are questioned about the present situation with regard to the
themes, myths, rules, and emotionally charged issues of previous generations, repetitive
patterns often become clear. Genograms ‘let the calendar speak’ by suggesting possible
connections between family events over time.
5. Genograms are also useful for working with families at various life cycle stages, like for
keeping track of complex relational configurations seen in remarried families.
6. Genograms has been used to elicit family narratives and expand cultural stories
(Congress, 1994; Hardy &Laszloffy,1995;McGill,1992), to identify therapeutic strategies
such as reframing and detoxifying family legacies(Gewirtzman,1988) in solution-focused
therapy (Zide & Gray,2000) as validation for children growing up in child welfare and
multiple homes (Altshuler,1999; McGoldrick & Colon,2000), to discover family
strengths and unique responses to problems(Kuehl,1995).
Guidelines for making genogram

Some basic guidelines to be followed while making a genogram are:

1. The male is noted by a square and the female by a circle.

2. A family is shown by a horizontal line connecting the two.

3. The children are placed below the family line from the oldest to the youngest, left to
right.

4. The male parent is always at the left of the family and the female parent is always at the
right of the family.

5. In the case of ambiguity, assume a male-female relationship, rather than male-male or

female-female relationship.

6. Table 1 shows the signs and symbols for making a genogram.

Importance of genogram in developmental psychology

McGoldrick et al., (1999) posed that the multigenerational genogram was a practical and useful
framework for understanding complex patterns of interrelationships in a coherent and systematic
manner. As a subjective, interpretive tool the genogram was mostly used within practice by
health care professionals and psychologists. Mapping the three generations of one’s own family
systems historically and assessing the life cycle transitions for different members of the family,
provides a context for different topics and evolutionary patterns and processes of human
development. It also provided a framework for case study research and for generating tentative
hypotheses, thus becoming a valuable strategy for facilitating more coherent co-construction of
knowledge in developmental psychology. Genogram helps in understanding traditional
perspectives on lifespan development and the vertical and horizontal challenges the individual
faced during his or her progression through life.

Compiling a multigenerational genogram for the families of origin furthermore enable to

construct a framework that provided clues to the challenges and life stressors of individual
development, particularly during transitional periods. Applying the principles of a
multigenerational genogram to map the patterns of interaction provides a representation of how
people are connected with one another within the broader structure of three generations and in
society. Discussing family legacy and ritual in a nonthreatening manner (they did not have to
provide any specific identifying information) offered the prospects of recognizing the inter-
connectedness of different generations, trans-generational transference, and the ecological
patterns prevalent during the lifespan. As a feature of the genogram, mapping family patterns and
interrelationships also reflected the specific attachment bonds and sub-systems that were
prevalent between the siblings and the parents and grandparents. It was thus possible, from an
ecological perspective, to explore the relationships between family members and society and
how different systems collaborated, offering the context and content of development through the
lifespan and posing challenges to human development during the lifespan.

In the context of co-constructing knowledge about developmental psychology, it is important to

consider the framework for understanding the transitional periods from infancy to late adulthood,
exploring common biological, cognitive, cultural, and psychosocial histories and implied futures
for their family of origin. Constructing a genogram from a family systems and lifespan
perspective involving at least three generations, helped the student to review assumptions and
interpretations about family psychosocial ecology (Newman & Newman, 2003), also taking into
consideration other system levels in the mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem contexts
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

Genogram describes the emotional connection between family members. One of the advantages
of a genogram compared to an ordinary family tree is the description of the emotional
relationship between each family member. A genogram uses symbols and different line designs
to depict emotional connections. For instance, a dotted line connecting one member to another
may describe indifference, while a solid line describes a normal relationship. A jagged line, on
the other hand, symbolizes a variety of hostility, abuse, or violence between the members.
Therapists and psychiatrists often use a genogram to aid them in their treatment sessions.
Usually, they’ll ask patients to construct a genogram as an outlet where they can let out feelings
that they’re not open to discussing. They say that acceptance is the key to move forward in life.
Creating a genogram helps patients see the reality of the whole family relationship. From here,
therapists can devise ways to resolve issues and improve the emotional connection of their
patient to other family members.

It presents a better way for understanding family dynamics. Oftentimes, families repeat – or
worse, multiplies – their problems throughout their evolution. Issues, actions, and culture are
passed on from one generation to another, with members failing to identify, much less question,
the root of the complications they’re encountering. Preventing this unhealthy cycle from
continuing further down the line is one of the benefits of creating a genogram. Resolution starts
when an individual succeeds in writing about the taboos, prohibitions, vulnerabilities, and issues
that the family often underrates or disregards. The act of writing itself translates an intangible
thought into something concrete and definite, and this could be the start of accepting the reality
of the situation and opening the path toward reconciliation. Seeing things from a different
perspective encourages a better understanding of one’s actions. Since a genogram depicts both
past and present relationships between family members, it becomes easier to make sense of
certain events and behaviours affecting an individual’s life. When creating a genogram,
individuals get the chance to recall past events and reinforce their observations with interviews
and accounts from other family members. This can help uncover the source of family dramas and
dysfunctional relationships which were overlooked before.

Functions of family

The family in its most common form—an enduring commitment between a man and a woman
who feed, shelter, and nurture their children until they reach maturity—arose tens of thousands
of years ago among our hunting-and-gathering ancestors. From an evolutionary perspective, the
human family enhanced survival by ensuring a relatively even balance of male hunters and
female gatherers within a social group, thereby providing protection against starvation at times
when game was scarce (Lancaster & Whitten, 1980). An extended relationship between a man
and a woman also increased male certainty that a new-born baby was actually his offspring,
motivating him to care and provide for mother and child and to invest in child rearing in order to
increase the odds of child survival (Bjorklund, Yunger, & Pellegrini, 2002; Geary, 2000). Larger
kin networks that included grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins formed, increasing the
chances of successful competition with other humans for vital resources and providing assistance
with child rearing. Besides promoting survival of its members, the family unit of our
evolutionary ancestors performed the following vital services for society:

 Reproduction: Replacing dying members.

 Economic services: Producing and distributing goods and services.
 Social order: Devising procedures for reducing conflict and maintaining order.
 Socialization: Training the young to become competent, participating members of
society.
 Emotional support: Helping others surmount emotional crises and fostering in each
person a sense of commitment and purpose.

As societies became more complex, the demands placed on the family became too much for it to
sustain alone. Other institutions developed to assist with some of these functions, and families
became linked to larger social structures (Parke & Kellam, 1994). For example, political and
legal institutions assumed responsibility for ensuring societal order, and schools and religious
institutions extended the family’s socialization function. . Despite sharing some functions with
other institutions, the family continues to assume primary responsibility for three important ones
especially concerned with children: reproduction, socialization, and emotional support.
Researchers interested in finding out how families fulfil these functions take a social systems
perspective, viewing the family as a complex set of interacting relationships influenced by the
larger social context.

Family as a social system

The social systems perspective on family functioning grew out of researchers’ efforts to describe
and explain the complex patterns of interaction between family members. It has much in
common with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Family systems theorists recognize
that parents do not mechanically shape their children. Rather, bidirectional influences exist,
whereby family members mutually influence one another. The very term family system implies a
network of interdependent relationships (Bornstein & Sawyer, 2006; Bronfenbrenner & Morris,
2006; Parke & Buriel, 2006). These system influences operate both directly and indirectly.

1. Direct Influence- Studies of families of diverse ethnicities show that when parents are
firm but warm, children tend to comply with their requests. And when children cooperate,
their parents are likely to be warm and gentle in the future. In contrast, parents who
discipline with harshness and impatience tend to have children who resist and rebel.
Because children’s misbehavior is stressful for parents, they may increase their use of
punishment, leading to more unruliness by the child (Stormshak et al., 2000; Whiteside-
 Mansell et al., 2003). In each case, the behavior of one family member helps sustain a
form of interaction in another that either promotes or undermines children’s well-being.
2. Indirect Influence- Third parties can serve as supports for development, or they can
undermine it. For example, when parents’ marital relationship is warm and considerate,
Mothers and fathers are more likely to engage in effective Co-Parenting; mutually
supporting each other’s parenting behaviors. Such parents have more secure attachment
relationships with their babies, and they praise and stimulate their children more and nag
and scold them less. Effective co-parenting, in turn, fosters a positive marital relationship
(Morrill et al., 2010). . Children who are chronically exposed to angry, unresolved
parental conflict have myriad problems related to disrupted emotional security and
emotional Self-regulation (Cummings & Merrilees, 2010; Schacht, Cummings, & Davies,
2009). These include both internalizing difficulties (especially among girls), such as
blaming themselves, feeling worried and fearful, and trying to repair their parents’
relationship; and externalizing difficulties (especially among boys), including anger and
aggression (Cummings, Goeke-Morey, & Papp, 2004; Davies & Lindsay, 2004).

Socialisation within family

Among the family’s functions, socialization centres on children’s development. Parents start to
socialize their children in earnest during the second year, when toddlers are first able to comply
with their directives. As children get older, parents gradually step up socialization pressures, but
they vary greatly in how they go about the task. During socialization one becomes a cultural and
social being who acts according to recognized rules directed their behaviour towards socially
accepted value and meet individually modified roles and expectations. Family provides initial
human behaviour patterns in an orientation and initial interpersonal relationships.

The social learning perspective does not regard morality as a special human activity with
a unique course of development. Rather, moral behavior is acquired just like any other set
of responses: through reinforcement and modeling.
Importance of Modeling Operant conditioning—reinforcement for good behavior with approval,
affection, and other rewards—is not enough for children to acquire moral responses. For a
behavior to be reinforced, it must first occur spontaneously. Yet many pro-social acts, such as
sharing, helping, or comforting an unhappy playmate, occur so rarely at first that reinforcement
cannot explain their rapid development in early childhood. Rather, social learning theorists
believe that children learn to behave morally largely through modeling —observing and
imitating adults who demonstrate appropriate behavior (Bandura, 1977; Grusec, 1988). Once
children acquire a moral response, such as sharing or telling the truth, reinforcement in the form
of praising the act (“That was a very nice thing to do”) or the child’s character (“You’re a very
kind and considerate boy”) increases its frequency (Mills & Grusec, 1989). Many studies show
that having helpful or generous models increases young children’s pro-social responses.
And certain characteristics of the model affect children’s willingness to imitate:
● Warmth and responsiveness- Preschoolers are more likely to copy the pro-social actions of an
adult who is warm and responsive than those of a cold, distant adult (Yarrow, Scott, & Waxler,
1973). Warmth seems to make children more attentive and receptive to the model and is itself an
example of a pro-social response.
● Competence and power- Children admire and therefore tend to imitate competent, powerful
models—especially older peers and adults (Bandura, 1977).
● Consistency between assertions and behavior- When models say one thing and do
Another-for example, announce that “it’s important to help others” but rarely engage in helpful
acts-children generally choose the most lenient standard of behavior that adults demonstrate
(Mischel & Liebert, 1966). Models are most influential in the early years. In one study, toddlers’
eager, willing imitation of their mothers’ behavior predicted moral conduct (not cheating in a
game) and guilt following transgressions at age 3(Forman, Aksan & Kochanska, 2004). At the
end of early childhood, children who have had consistent exposure to caring adults tend to
behave pro socially whether or not a model is present: They have internalized pro-social rules
from repeated observations and encouragement by others (Mussen & Eisenberg‐Berg, 1977).

Styles of child rearing

Child-rearing styles are combinations of parenting behaviours that occur over a wide range of
situations, creating an enduring child-rearing climate. In a landmark series of studies, Diana
Baumrind gathered information on child rearing by watching parents interact with their pre-
schoolers (Baumrind, 1971; Baumrind & Black, 1967). Her findings, and those of others who
have extended her work, reveal three features that consistently differentiate an effective style
from less effective ones: (1) acceptance of the child and involvement in the child’s life, which
establishes an emotional connection with the child; (2) behavioural control of the child through
expectations, rules, and supervision, which promotes more mature behaviour; and (3) autonomy
granting, which encourages self-reliance (Barber & Olsen, 1997; Gray & Steinberg, 1999; Hart,
Newell, & Olsen, 2003; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Table 2 shows different child rearing styles.

1. Authoritative Child Rearing- The authoritative child-rearing style —the most

successful approach—involves high acceptance and involvement, adaptive control
techniques, and appropriate autonomy granting. Authoritative parents are warm,
attentive, and sensitive to their child’s needs. They establish an enjoyable,
emotionally fulfilling parent–child relationship that draws the child into close
connection. At the same time, authoritative parents exercise firm, reasonable
behavioural control: They insist on appropriate maturity, give reasons for their
expectations, use disciplinary encounters as “teaching moments” to promote the
child’s self-regulation, and monitor their child’s whereabouts and activities.
Throughout childhood and adolescence, authoritative parenting is linked to many
aspects of competence—an upbeat mood, self-control, task persistence, academic
achievement, cooperativeness, high self-esteem, responsiveness to parents’ views,
and social and moral maturity (Amato & Fowler, 2002; Aunola, Stattin, & Nurmi,
2000; Gonzalez & Wolters, 2006; Mackey, Arnold, & Pratt, 2001; Milevsky et al.,
2007; Steinberg, Darling, & Fletcher, 1995).
2. Authoritarian Child Rearing- The authoritarian child-rearing style is low in
acceptance and involvement, high in coercive behavioural control, and low in
autonomy granting. Authoritarian parents appear cold and rejecting. To exert control,
they yell, command, criticize, and threaten. “Do it because I said so!” is their attitude.
They make decisions for their child and expect the child to accept their word
 unquestioningly. Children and adolescents subjected to psychological control exhibit
adjustment problems involving both anxious, withdrawn and defiant, aggressive
behaviours. Boys are more likely than girls to respond with rebellious and antisocial
acts (Barber & Harmon, 2002; Kakihara et al., 2010; Silk et al., 2003). And having
had few opportunities for exploration, they are impaired in identity development once
they reach early adulthood (Luyckx et al., 2007).
3. Permissive Child Rearing- The permissive child-rearing style is warm and accepting
but uninvolved. Permissive parents are either overindulgent or inattentive and, thus,
engage in little behavioral control. Instead of gradually granting autonomy, they
allow children to make many decisions for themselves at an age when they are not yet
capable of doing so. Their children can eat meals and go to bed whenever they wish
and can watch as much television as they want. They do not have to learn good
manners or do household chores. Although some permissive parents truly believe in
this approach, many others simply lack confidence in their ability to influence their
child’s behavior (Oyserman et al., 2005). Children of permissive parents tend to be
impulsive, disobedient, and rebellious. . The link between permissive parenting and
dependent, non-achieving, rebellious behaviour is especially strong for boys (Barber
& Olsen, 1997; Baumrind, 1971; Steinberg, Blatt-Eisengart, & Kaufman, 2006).
4. Uninvolved Child Rearing- The uninvolved child-rearing style combines low
acceptance and involvement with little behavioural control and general indifference to
issues of autonomy. Often these parents are emotionally detached and depressed, so
overwhelmed by life stress that they have little time or energy for children. They may
respond to the child’s immediate demands for easily accessible objects while failing
to engage in strategies to promote long-term goals, such as establishing and enforcing
rules about homework and social behaviour, listening to the child’s point of view,
providing guidance about appropriate choices, and monitoring the child’s
whereabouts and activities. A t its extreme, uninvolved parenting is a form of child
maltreatment called neglect. Especially when it begins early, it disrupts virtually all
aspects of development. Even with less extreme parental disengagement, children and
adolescents display many problems, including school achievement difficulties,
depression, anger, and antisocial behaviour (Aunola, Stattin, & Nurmi, 2000; Kurdek
& Fine, 1994; Schroeder et al., 2010).

Objectives

To understand the development of an individual in a three tier generation regarding:

 Structure of the family

 Interpersonal relationships
 Emotional and psychological developments
 Physical and mental health/abuse
TABLE 2: Features of Child-Rearing styles

Methodology

Procedure:
A three-generational genogram was studied for the individual (index person), his/her parents and
grand-parents. Genograms were constructed based on a semi-structured interview performed
according to the codifications and grouping criteria’s put forward by mc Goldbrick, Gerson &
Petry. In this study, first the informed consent was taken from the participants after describing
them the objectives of the study. In case of minors (if any), a copy of informed consent was
retrieved from the caregivers.

Family interview based genogram concerned:

 Demographic Information- Age, birth, death date, number of children.

 Functional Information-Data on medical functioning of family members, emotional and
behavioral problems of family members.
 Critical family events- marriages, divorces, separations, diseases in the family, conflicts,
crises, abuses.
 Emotional relationships- interactional patterns within the family.

After obtaining this information, the data was codified and analyzed on the following
dimensions:
  Patterns of family structures- Demographic data.
 Patterns of 4 constellations- sibling position, distant close relationships, types of
relationships.
 Interactional patterns of family- positive and negative, emotional relationships, affective
bonds, abuse/ neglect etc.
 Physical/ psychological Illness and recovery.
 Substance use and abuse.

Results
The following table3 shows the various patterns and types of interactions and relationships of the
family members with the index person and with each other.

STATE SYMBOL MEMBERS DESCRIPTION OF

INVOLVED RELATIONSHIP
STRUCTURAL  Nana
Dead
 Nani

 Mother Miscarriage

INTERPERSONAL  IP-real sister

RELATIONSHIPS  IP-first Normal
cousins

 IP-maternal
family Distant
(mama-mami
and cousins)
 IP-mother
 IP-father
 IP-real brother Close
 IP- massi and
their children
 Dadi- daughter
in-laws’ Hostile

 Bade-mama--
chhote mama Cutoff- repair

PHYSICAL/MENTAL  Paternal side Heart problems

HEALTH
 Maternal side Blood pressure
Discussion
The aim of the practical was to understand one’s own development using a three tier genogram.
This was one of the insightful methods to understand the structure of the family along with the
interpersonal relationship patterns among the family members. It helped to understand a lot of
mechanisms which are influencing the behavioral patterns and the bonding of the family
members with each other.

 Structural aspects of genogram

This genogram included the three tier generation of my family including both maternal
and paternal sides. A number of symbols have been used to showcase males, females,
people who are no more, miscarriage etc. Genogram is basically the diagrammatic
representation of one’s family tree including a lot of relevant information in a simplified
manner. My family structure includes:
There are 14 members in my family, including my grandparents and tauji-taiji and my
first cousins. I have two real younger siblings.
On my maternal side, I have two mamas and two massis. They all are married. My nana-
nani is no more.

 Relationship aspect of genogram

For understanding the relationship patterns, a lot of information was collected from the
family members. Family members share many different bonds with each other.
Somewhere the relations are close and the members share everything with each other,
while somewhere there are distances in relationships.
I share a very close bond with my mother and my younger brother. Despite being 10
years younger to me still “woh mujhe samajhta hai”. Sharing is caring is something we
all teach our children, but it is not only about materialistic things, but actually
understanding each other emotionally is what me and my brother do.
After an age, your mom becomes your best friend who can keep your secrets, who can
gossip with you, who support you during your sad days. She understands my feelings and
I try to reciprocate with the same love and support. My mom says one line which always
makes me feel proud ‘tu toh mera right hand hai’ (you are my support). Even if you have
some quality people in your life, the life seems alive.

With my father also, I share a close bond, we can share anything with each other. Now I
am a grown up girl and unka ‘sabse bada bachha’. He does not speak a lot, but still
whatever he say, those words have a great value for me. He trusts me for my decisions in
life and has always given me the space to decide right and wrong for myself.
After the death of my nani, I do not used to go to my nani house. My massi house became
my nani house for summer vacations. With passage of time, my bond with my massi and
my cousins became strong.
 My both mama’s have a cut-off repair relationship. The reason is confidential which I
would not like to disclose.

I used to live in a joint family with a lot of members and because of generation gap,
sometimes issues arise in families. My Dadi and their daughter in-laws used to have some
kind of hostility. The thinking patterns do not match somewhere which creates issues.

With different family members the bonds are different, the relations are different. Still at
one level we all are connected. No one hates the other, there are just differences in
opinion, because of which some members are close and some are distant.

 Physical and mental health aspect of genogram

On my paternal side, heart problems are genetic. My dadaji had a bypass surgery, and
even his real brothers also had heart problems.
On my maternal side, BP problems are genetic. My mom and even I have blood pressure
fluctuations.

There are no cases of substance use or abuse in the family.

Implications of the study

 Choreographing development through the genogram approach helped in better

understanding of oneself.
 It helped in understanding a number of mechanisms that work in influencing the
relationships of family members.
 It was an insightful practical which helped to know a lot of things about my own family
and deeper understanding of bonds which members share with each other.
 Not only this, genogram is a very helpful tool in the field of developmental psychology
and counseling people who are going through any kind of psychological, emotional or
relationship problems.
References
Berk, L. (2013), child development; Illinois state university, Pearson education, ninth edition.

Mc Goldrick, M., Gerson, R., Petry, S. (2008), Genograms: assessment and intervention (3rd
edition), New -York: W.W. Norton& co.