Family Systems Issue 9.2 (2010 Spring Conference Issue)
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Special Issue Contents: This issue features extended abstracts from our 2010 Spring Conference, The Impact of Relationships on Individual Variation. Both the conference and the abstracts represent an important exchange between Bowen theory and science, reflecting Dr. Bowen’s belief that the development of a science of human behavior must remain in viable contact with the natural sciences.
FROM THE EDITOR
Michael E. Kerr, MD
ARTICLES: Journal articles reflect natural systems thinking or are relevant to it. These may include concept papers as well as research studies.
SUBJECTIVITY, HOMO SAPIENS, AND SCIENCE
Murray Bowen, MD
THE IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIPS ON INDIVIDUAL VARIATION: THE FIFTH INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE
Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
FIRST PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Margaret Donley, MSW
VARIATION IN VERVET MONKEYS: DIET, MATERNAL BEHAVIOR, AND OFFSPRING DEVELOPMENT
Lynn A. Fairbanks, PhD
Research with vervet monkeys illustrates the complex ways the family can influence individual differences in social relationships.
USING MATERNAL STYLE OR DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF TO EXPLORE VARIATION IN FUNCTIONING OF OFFSPRING
Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
Studies investigating maternal behavior employ typologies of maternal styles to investigate variation in offspring functioning. Bowen theory offers a potentially robust alternative.
VARIATION IN EARLY FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS IN RHESUS MONKEY MOTHER-INFANT DYADS
Stephen J. Suomi, PhD
Variation in the nature and frequency of early face-to-face interactions between rhesus monkey infants and their mothers appears to have significant long-term social-emotional consequences.
Panel Discussion: Ms. Donley, Dr. Fairbanks, Ms. Kerr, and Dr. Suomi—with Dr. Kerr
SECOND PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Margaret Donley, MSW
VARIATION AS THE FOUNDATION OF PERMANENCE IN SYMBIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS
Mary Beth Saffo, PhD
Many significant symbioses are also variable ones. In what ways might such "impermanence" be a key to long-term persistence in many symbiotic associations?
VARIATION IN EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY IN HARVESTER ANTS
LeAnn Howard, MSW, MA
Harvester ant colonies that are more flexible in the managing of reactivity are more effective in reproduction, productivity, and survival.
BEHAVIORAL DIVERSITY IN AN INSECT SOCIETY
Raghavendra Gadagkar, PhD
The primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata, shows inter-individual variation in behavior that has implications for social evolution.
Panel Discussion: Dr. Saffo, Ms. Howard, and Dr. Gadagkar—with Dr. Kerr and Ms. Donley
THIRD PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
THE ULTRA-MODERN SYNTHESIS
Michael E. Kerr, MD
By describing family relationship patterns seemingly identical to those in other species, Bowen theory can expand evolutionary theory.
Panel Discussion: Dr. Kerr—with Drs. Saffo and Fairbanks and Ms. Kerr
FOURTH PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
CONTRIBUTION OF NUCLEAR FAMILY TRIANGLES TO VARIATION IN PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIVITY
Victoria Harrison, MA
Physiological reactivity associated with anxiety reactions and symptoms of five nuclear family members are examined in light of triangles.
THE TRANSGENERATIONAL INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL EXPERIENCES: IMPLICATIONS FOR BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
Frances A. Champagne, PhD
Research suggests an inheritance of variations in behavior induced by the quality of the social environment and possibly mediated by epigenetics.
PHYSIOLOGICAL MEDIATORS IN FAMILY EMOTIONAL PROCESS
Robert J. Noone, PhD
Family emotional process involves automatic behavioral and physiological patterns which contribute to variation in the functioning of individuals and future generations.
Panel Discussion: Ms. Harrison, Drs. Champagne and Noone—with Dr. Sternberg and Ms. Kerr
THIRD QUARTER OF CONFERENCE
FIFTH PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Robert J. Noone, PhD
INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY OF STRESS AND IMMUNE RESPONSES: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS
Esther M. Sternberg, MD
The mind-body connection explains how stress can make one sick, how belief can help healing, and how the social and physical world affects health.
STRESS PHYSIOLOGY, PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY, AND MIND-BODY MEDICINE
Michael D. Lumpkin, PhD
Results from modern studies in psychoneuroimmunology and neuroendocrinology help to explain the mechanisms by which chronic stress of disordered relationship systems leads to persistent disease states.
CHILDHOOD ABUSE, MATERNAL DIFFERENTIATION, AND ADOLESCENT EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR
Cynthia Larkby, PhD
Adverse experiences in childhood are associated with symptoms of poor functioning in adolescence and adulthood. Differentiation of self may attenuate this association.
Panel Discussion: Drs. Sternberg, Lumpkin, and Larkby—with Drs. Noone and French
SIXTH PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Robert J. Noone, PhD
HOW INDIVIDUALS TURN OUT DIFFERENTLY IN TERMS OF EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY
Daniel V. Papero, PhD, MSSW
Individuals within a family unit vary in their emotionally reactive response to a given stimulus. How does such variability develop in family members?
THE EVOLUTION OF HORMONAL MECHANISMS FOR HUMAN SOCIALITY
Mark Flinn, PhD
Hormonal mechanisms are crucial to critical issues in human evolution: our sensitivity to the social environment, our extended kin networks, and our stable mating relationships.
IMPLICATIONS OF BOWEN'S SOCIETAL REGRESSION HYPOTHESIS FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Patricia A. Comella, JD
What is the link between human functioning as described in Bowen theory and the response to sustained chronic stress as described in the concept of societal regression?
Panel Discussion: Drs. Papero and Flinn and Ms. Comella—with Drs. Smuts and Noone
FOURTH QUARTER OF CONFERENCE
SEVENTH PANEL OF PRESENTATIONS
Introduction: Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
ROLES DURING SOCIAL PLAY IN DOGS: DYADIC VARIATION AND CHANGE OVER TIME
Barbara Smuts, PhD
Research done with Camille Ward and Erika Bauer
Dogs interact using a repertoire of ritualized signals, expressive behaviors, and mutually choreographed movements. These forms of communication manage anxiety and conflicts.
HOW TRIANGLES INFLUENCE VARIATION IN SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS
Margaret Donley, MSW
The concept of the triangle illuminates how the family system influences the quality of sibling relationships.
DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMATES IN A FAMILY CONTEXT
Jeffrey A. French, PhD
Marmoset monkeys develop in the context of highly variable care giving. Variation in early care affects differences in somatic and reproductive development and stress reactivity.
Panel Discussion: Dr. Smuts, Ms. Donley, and Dr. French—with Drs. Flinn and Kerr and Mrs. Kerr