Case Study I
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Medicine
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Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Uploaded by jacey993
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Case Study I
Jacey Lamontagne
Department of Home and Family, Brigham Young University - Idaho
FAML 400: Family Theories & Dynamics
Sister Webb
October 14, 2023
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Case Study I
Theory
The theory I will be using to analysis this case study is the Social Exchange Theory. The
idea of this theory is, “human social relationships can be under-stood as revolving around the
exchange of resources valued by the participants” (Smith et al,. 2020, p. 277). To simplify, this
theory goes into the rewards, costs and profits that come from human interactions.
Analysis
The Scanzoni family parents chose to blend their families together rather than have to
single-parent their children. From a social exchange theorist perspective, we will look at this
situation in terms of reward, cost, and profits. It is likely that they anticipated more reward in
joining their families than they did cost. Some of the rewards that they might have identified is
having a dual income, two parents to raise their kids. The father might have thought of the
reward of having a wife to be at home cooking, cleaning, and tending to the kids. While the
mother might have thought of having a provider, protector, and someone to comfort her in times
of stress. Another reward that could have been thought of is that the kids would function better in
a home where a mother and father figure were present. The cost of them joining families is the
contention that has entered their home, the parents’ disagreements has brought turmoil into the
home. Additionally, the two teenagers Sarah and Joey have been acting out and getting into
trouble. I don’t think that the parents anticipated the costs would outweigh the rewards in this
situation. There was no profit gained in this situation, there were so many negative outcomes I
don’t think they even recognize the positive anymore.
Professional Opinion
From a social exchange theorist perspective, this couple needs to analysis the rewards
they have gained in this situation. I think that instead of focusing on the bad really think about
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what is being gained and the profit that is being made from this relationship. I also think it is
important that the parents have a conversation about the different parenting styles they use and
the experiences they went through that made them adopt that parenting style. In this situation it is
going to be vital that the parents try to understand one another perspectives. Additionally, I think
that focusing on what the parent as an individual gains from this situation are not as helpful as
considering what the whole family could gain. This needs to be looked at as a whole rather than
individually. Implementing rules for your children I think would also be helpful in preventing
them from engaging in risky behaviors. If a child perceives that there is a meaningful reward for
their good behavior, they are more likely to perform those good behaviors.
Does Not Fit
Because I am analyzing this situation from a social exchange theorist perspective, we do
not need to consider the ages of the children. Social exchange theory focuses more on the cost,
reward, and profit in the family and not so much on what area of life they are in. For example,
from this perspective it is more important that we focus on that when Mom comes home from
work the house is still a mess and dad is laying on the couch, a cost, so she is not appreciating
the decision she made marrying her husband.
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Reference
Smith, S. R., & Hamon, R. R. (2020). Exploring Family Theories (4th ed.). Oxford University
Press Academic US. https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9780197543139