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Family __________ are recurring patterns of behavior developed through the social interactions that family members enact in order to fulfill family functions. 

Kennedy’s parents always taught her that saying “Yes Ma’am” and “Yes Sir” is a sign of respect. But, Kennedy is NOT required to refer to her parents using these words.  The instructions on when and how (and to whom) to speak respectfully represent:

To fully understand a family system the focus is placed on individual family members first.

Fast forward 10 years: Mark (with a K) is now married and has 5 children. Mark is a stay-at-home dad.  Much of his day consists of grocery shopping for his family, going on school field trips, and being President of the PTA. These are examples of:

Milo performs well in school and his parents stay off his case about schoolwork, his grades start slipping, his parents get on his case about schoolwork, Milo performs well in school and his parents stay off his case about schoolwork. We can only analyze this scenario depending on how we __________ it.

______ _________ reinforce boundaries.

The family or families in which a person was raised is called:

Lori always laughs at how her son has grown up to be a “mini-me” of her husband.  The two “Milo’s” are always comparing work-out routines, who’s the toughest, and who can lift the most weights.  Sometimes they called each other names and jokingly insult each other’s masculinity.  This example highlights how Lori’s husband played a ____________ role function for their son.

When a member of family feels harmed but chooses to extend mercy to the offending other, s/he is practicing:  

According to Imber-Black the following example represents what type of secret? “Mom has been involved in an affair with our neighbor, Jake, and my sister and I confronted her.  Mom told us NOT to tell Dad.  My sister has now developed an eating disorder.”