I391 – Family Studies
This course is designed to promote an empathic understanding of parenting and family life from pregnancy through the first three years of life. Using family systems and attachment theory as organizing frameworks, the course explores the structure and function of families, psychological processes of parenting, and the development of the parent/infant/family relationship within the context of culture and community. Conceptual models of stress and coping guide the exploration of family vulnerability and resiliency. The contributions and challenges of early childhood disability to family relationships are explored. Further, the course provides guidelines for examining the nature of the relationship between the family and service provider and the tenets of relationship-based, family-centered approaches to infant/family work.