Roles within family dynamics
Within the dynamics of a family, we all have different roles and functions. These various roles can come about because of how our family dynamics play out, or due to our own individual choices, and personalities. The way we choose to interact, and the characters we sometimes play can be a conscious choice, and can also happen unconsciously. Some of the different roles we find ourselves playing within a family dynamic are listed below.
Peace keeper
This role can often unintentionally be played by young people or children. They may often mediate, or reduce conflict between parents who are arguing or experiencing conflict. The peace keeper seeks to reduce tension, alleviate discourse and move the family back into a more harmonious dynamic. The role of the peacekeeper can occur due to unresolved and unconscious anxiety, fear or worry about a potential family breakdown. Young people or children within this role can often find themselves remaining as the child within their family rather than moving towards behaving appropriately for their age.
The scapegoat
Often one family member, who experiences difficulties, is seen as the black sheep of the family while other members are viewed as good or well behaved. This person can become a visible symptom of the troubled family system. For example, one child being labelled as mentally ill, even though their behaviour is adaptive and a means of survival to deal with and live within a fractured or troubled family system. When we use family systems theory to examine an example like the one listed above, we can see that this member of the family could be supported by others to manage and cope in ways which were less detrimental.
The problem as the role
A family member with a problem or issue, may play the role in drawing attention away from much deeper issues within the family, and provide the family dynamic with distraction. This distraction from serves as a way to provide an illusion of harmony, and parents in a family dynamic such as this, may reinforce the apparent bad behaviour of a child so as to avoid addressing their own relationship difficulties and keep the family together.
Our family systems are unique, fragile and fluid. Understanding our position within not only our system but within the wider community, can provide us with a deeper and more enriched way of looking at our interactions with others, as well as how we view and treat ourselves.
