Theory Evaluation
Reflecting on Chapter 10, the models listed on the table in Meleis (Table 10-1, p. 177), and the module on Nurse Scholars in Theory Evaluation for Week 6, succinctly evaluate the Minuchin-Structural Family Theory.
Include four paragraphs with the following headings of Theory Description, Analysis, Evaluation, and Development.
In the description, include and discuss origins, influences, historical context, scope, purpose, main concepts, and structure of the theory.
In the analysis, include and discuss assumptions, clarity, accessibility, generalizability, context, and importance.
In the evaluation, include and discuss how the theory can used to direct general and/or advanced nursing practice and how it contributes to favorable patient and/or family outcomes.
In the development area, discuss if the theory is testable, its application to research, support for the theory among scholars, and if you feel your theory requires further development, additional research, and/or refinement.
Sample Answer
Theory Evaluation
Theory Description
Structural Family Theory (SFT) is a method of psychotherapy addressing the issues in functioning within the family. This theory originated from the works of Salvador Minuchin. SFT influences correcting the imbalances in a family, establish healthier boundaries, help people improve their responses to changing demands, and improves communication (Davis, 2021). The theory was established by Salvador Minuchin and his colleagues back in the 1960s as part of growing attention incomplete means of theorizing human pain and connection dilemmas and working emotionally with the natural relationships and systems believed to afford rise to suffering. Salvador Minuchin was a fashionable psychiatrist who helped form family therapy and initiated structural family therapy. SFT utilizes numerous concepts to establish and understand the family. Specific importance involves structure, boundaries, subsystems, enmeshment, power, disengagement, alignment, and coalition. It focuses on changing and strengthening the family system to guarantee that parents are in control and that all the kids and adults set appropriate boundaries (Davis, 2021). SFT structure is built on organization and the subsystems, including connections between individuals, with allocated roles and prospects.
Analysis
The key assumptions of SFT are that one, family is either dysfunctional or functional based on its capability to adjust to numerous stressors that, in turn, rests on the clearness and relevance of its subsystem limits. Another assumption is that family subsystems are categorized by power hierarchy, typically with a parental subsystem on top of the children subsystem. Also, the theory is supported by an articulated family functioning model and has been established and applied most reliably in services for families and children. This allows parents to relate together with degrees of authority in negotiating parenting goals and methods amongst themselves. There’s also an assumption that parents aren’t entangled with children from the kids’ side, permitting the degree of independent sibling and peer connections that cause socialization, yet not so detached, ignoring the infant requirements for support, guidance, and nurturance. With this theory, it is clear that it is a strength-based, result oriented-treatment method based on the exosystemic principles. This structure of this therapy is that treatment of a person in some cases is fruitful only if their dysfunctional families are treated to solve the problem entirely. SFT accessibility involves its subsystems, boundaries, coalitions, and hierarchies in a family because as it focuses on direct connections between family members as the primary method of encouraging positive change. The generalizability of this theory presents clearly with its effectiveness of focusing on current issues and finding answers to promote balance and fairness of all family members. Its context revolves around understanding the family and addressing problems in functioning in a family. It plays a significant role in establishing healthy boundaries, helping individuals enhance their responses to changing demands, and improving communication and family hierarchies (Cherry, 2021).
Evaluation
SFT will help nurses in practice use family mapping to accommodate family settings pertaining to family patterns, rules, and structure (Guzzardo & Pina-Narvaez, 2018). With the theory, advanced nurses in their practice use its transactional patterns, resonance, flexibility, context, family development stage upholding family relations. In reference, its intervention approaches based on the directives that feed the symptom through giving a set of orders help highlight the communication. Besides, this theory helps conceptualize the issue by finding the right approach to understand practice issues with clarity.
Development
SFT is testable since it bears a well-substantiated, unifying clarification with a set of proven, verified factors. This particular theory has been backed by evidence. In application to research, it seems integral where it’s applicable as a framework to afford perspective and direction to research study. The scholars highly support this theory. This has been revealed by high number of views and likes the theory has received from mostly the scholars, a fact facilitated by its evidence views from numerous peer-reviewed sources. My theory would require further development since new evidence and perspectives are emerging as the nursing world is changing. This development may involve controversy as, at the very end, the explanation of this theory compared to others in the field and the most accurate will be accepted.
