The Dynamics of Family Trouble

Abstract

Because families are primary venues for self construction, they are also common sites of identity disruption, loss, and inner turmoil. Sociologists have a long tradition of studying the personal effects of troublesome family circumstances such as separation or divorce, illness, and death. However, scholars of these topics contribute to separate lines of research and rarely build on one another’s work. Drawing from interviews with middle-class parents whose children suffered from a range of problems, this article introduces “family trouble” as a concept that captures the similar social psychological elements of disruptive family events. On a broader level, the article highlights the relationship between the disruption of social order and the disruption of selves.