CAASP Family Systems 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In family systems theory, what term describes the process by which a family member takes on the emotional burden of the entire family to maintain stability?
- Triangulation
- Scapegoating (Correct answer)
- Differentiation
- Enmeshment
Correct answer: Scapegoating
Scapegoating occurs when one family member is identified as the source of all problems, absorbing family tension so others can maintain stability.
Question 2: A CAASP case manager notices that a mother consistently speaks for her teenager during family meetings, finishing sentences and answering questions directed at the teen. This pattern best exemplifies:
- Parentification
- Enmeshment (Correct answer)
- Disengagement
- Role reversal
Correct answer: Enmeshment
Enmeshment is characterized by blurred boundaries between family members, where one member excessively controls or speaks for another.
Question 3: Which ecological system in Bronfenbrenner's model directly captures the interactions between two or more settings that a child actively participates in, such as home and school?
- Microsystem
- Mesosystem (Correct answer)
- Exosystem
- Macrosystem
Correct answer: Mesosystem
The mesosystem encompasses the interactions and links between the different microsystems a child is part of, such as parent-teacher relationships.
Question 4: In structural family therapy, 'joining' refers to the therapist's technique of:
- Forming a coalition with one subsystem against another
- Building rapport and accommodating to the family's style (Correct answer)
- Restructuring family hierarchy through directives
- Mapping the family's interaction patterns on a diagram
Correct answer: Building rapport and accommodating to the family's style
Joining is Minuchin's technique in which the therapist builds a therapeutic alliance by adapting to the family's language, affective range, and style.
Question 5: A father who was raised in a rigid, authoritarian household automatically enforces the same strict rules with his children without reflection. This intergenerational pattern is best addressed through:
- Structural mapping
- Psychoeducation on parenting styles
- Bowen's differentiation of self work (Correct answer)
- Strategic paradoxical intervention
Correct answer: Bowen's differentiation of self work
Bowen's concept of differentiation of self helps individuals distinguish their own values and beliefs from those absorbed in their family of origin, breaking multigenerational patterns.
Question 6: When working with families involved in the child welfare system, CAASP principles emphasize that services should be:
- Clinic-based to ensure professional oversight
- Family-driven and youth-guided (Correct answer)
- Primarily parent-focused to stabilize the home
- Standardized across all families regardless of culture
Correct answer: Family-driven and youth-guided
CASSP/CAASP core values state that services must be family-driven and youth-guided, recognizing families as primary decision-makers in their children's care.
Question 7: What does the term 'family resilience' specifically refer to in the context of CAASP-aligned practice?
- A family's ability to avoid all crises
- The capacity of a family to withstand and rebound from adversity (Correct answer)
- The financial resources available to a family during hardship
- A legal designation for families who have completed treatment
Correct answer: The capacity of a family to withstand and rebound from adversity
Family resilience refers to the dynamic processes that enable families to adapt positively despite significant adversity or stress.
CAASP Family Systems 2
In family systems theory, what term describes the process by which a family member takes on the emotional burden of the entire family to maintain stability?