This document summarizes key aspects of the Crosby family based on a paper by Jennifer Crosby. It describes the Crosby family as a two-parent biological family that has recently experienced the separation of the parents, Charles and Susan, though they maintain a cooperative co-parenting relationship. The family highly values communication, emotional closeness, shared rituals, and making decisions together. Conflict does arise at times due to strong personalities, but family loyalty and support helps them overcome issues. Secrets are also sometimes kept within subsets of the family.

1. By Jennifer Crosby

2.  “ Today, families define themselves, for themselves, through
their interactions.”( pg. 5).
 The Crosby family is a two-parent biological family consisting
of Charles, Susan and their four children Jennifer, Ashley,
Charlotte, and Charlie.
 Charles and Susan recently decided to separate from one
another, the family still upholds a two-parent family system,
both parent’s share responsibility for the children equally.
 The Crosby family is made up of six individuals with strong
personalities. Although at times there are bumps in the road
the family’s love and support for one another is clear.

3. Ashley, 21
Charlie,15
Susan,50
Charles,53
Jennifer, 23
Charlotte, 17

4.  “Consensual families are high in both conversation and
conformity strategies their communication characterized by
pressure for agreement, although children are encouraged
to express ideas and feelings ”(p.173).
 The Crosby family is connected through their values and
attitudes, conversation is a constant in this household, there is
very little that goes unsaid. The Crosby kids have always been
encouraged to express their personal ideas and feelings.
These characteristics indicate the Crosby family as a
consensual family.

5. “Family members strive for emotional closeness, loyalty, and
togetherness with emphasis on some individuality” (pg.31).
The Crosby family is a close emotional unit, spending as much
time as possible together, sharing important family and
individual accomplishments is important. Loyalty is strong and
important to the Crosby family. There is emphasis on
individuality within the members of this family. All individuals
are encouraged to share their individual feelings and beliefs
without judgment.
“Through their communication family members
develop, maintain, or change their patterns of cohesion”
(pg.31).

6.  “Rituals convey a variety of meanings and messages in
emotionally powerful patterns; they remind members who
they are, how much they care about each other, they reflect
a family’s relational culture,” (pg.113).
 As a family the Crosby’s share many rituals, all special
holidays and occasions (
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, etc.) are
celebrated together.

7.  Decision making is the process by which family members make
choices, reach judgements, or arrive at solutions that end
uncertainty” (pg.194).
 Family decision making is done as a family, if it is something that
will directly effect each member. Ultimately, the final decision
generally falls on the parents.
 When it comes to individual decisions, the family often involved
one another for advice on how to make the final decision.

8.  “The effects of family conflict and the way in which parents
manage conflict can have profound effects on children and
their relationships with family members and others, particularly as
they grow older and develop their own intimate
relationships”(pg.211).
 The Crosby family is made up of six individual members who
although all share the same values and beliefs also hold their
own strong opinions & feelings and are not afraid to voice them.
Conflict arises often as a result of misunderstandings within the
family unit.

9.  “Secrets create or reinforce boundaries- whether between
the family and the outside world or around individuals or
subsystems”(pg.88).
 Secrets within the Crosby family are often between individual
members of the family, however, it is hard to keep secrets
from other members of the family. So often one persons
secret that he/she only wanted to go to one other member in
the family becomes a entire family secret. Within the
family, secrets are important kept secret, there is extreme
loyalty within the family. Which has been tested at times by
outside influences trying to disrupt the family unit.

11.  “If you had to create a mental image or a root metaphor for
your family, what would it be-” (pg.38)
 Being that I chose to do this assignment on my own family, I
decided to take this opportunity to use my family image slide
and speak about it from a personal place. Unlike the image
from the first slide that is recent, this image shows where we
started. Since my parent’s have recently separated this
image allows me to hold onto my family as a single unit.
Although my parent’s are separating there is still a knowing
that the bond that we share as a unit cannot be taken away.

12. Each of these elements help to explain the Crosby
family system. The closeness and loyalty of the
Crosby family helps to keep this family connected,
through the good and the bad the family’s over
arching beliefs and values will get them through
anything.

13. Galvin, Kathleen M., Carma Lee Bylund, and Bernard J.
Brommel. Family communication: cohesion and change. 8th
ed. Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon, 2012. Print.