家庭心理學的系統觀點與研究

The Systems Perspective in Family Psychology

本文的主要目的是說明家庭心理學所採用的「整合歷程系統觀點」內涵為何，並討論其對研究歷程的影響。作者首先比較了一般系統理論、家庭系統理論及整合歷程系統觀點三者之間的差異，指出整合歷程系統觀點所關注的焦點超越了「家庭系統」本身，它把家庭知識視為整體，重視家庭互動的過程而非結果，並且致力於不同學科之間的整合，可視為研究家庭的一種科學範型。作者接著從研究問題的形成、研究方法的選用，及研究資料的詮釋等三方面，討論家庭心理學系統觀點對研究歷程的影響。在研究問題的形成上，系統觀點提醒研究者在進行家庭問題的研究時，必須注意到家庭關係的不同向度，將「時間」因素納入考慮，並且以「問題」為中心進行跨學科的整合。在研究方法的選用上，系統觀點主張兼採質化與量化研究的方式，以個人乃至全家人為資料收集的單位，重視長期性資料的收集，力求掌握整體也掌握部分。至於研究資料的詮釋，系統觀點主張研究者可透過家庭成員不同資料的相互比對，形成多重觀點的解釋；亦可透過家庭成員的聚合觀點，對家庭關係提出解釋。兩者皆對家庭心理學的研究有所貢獻。

The purpose of this article is to introduce the 〝integrative process systems perspective〞and its implications on family psychology research. In the first part, the integrative process systems perspective is compared with general systems theory and family systems theory. It is pointed out that systems perspective emphasizes the importance of integrating different disciplines, which makes it more like a〝scientific paradigm 〞rather than a〝theory〞 in family psychology. In the second part, the implications of systems perspective on family psychology are discussed in three ways: First, it is suggested that systems perspective helps forming meaningful research questions by taking 〝time〞and 〝context〞into account. The problem-centered approach also enables a researcher to adopt ideas from other disciplines and thus ask a better question. Second, the systems perspective acknowledges the contributions of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, puts effort on collecting both personal and family data, and allows both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. These flexibilities on the research method provide the systems perspective a chance to see the whole picture of family relations. Third and finally, the systems perspective is helpful in terms of data interpretations. By using systems perspective, a researcher could develop divergent perspectives by comparing data from different family members, or could find a convergent perspective among family members. Both could be meaningful for family psychology.