The Family Development Theory

The Family development theory views families’ transition overtime. This theory looks at a specific interest, “the family life cycle”. This theory examines the family as it relates to its life cycle. The family life cycle it describes, starts from marriage and ends with the death of one spouse. Though the Duvall’s life cycle is evident in my family, this is not how most families will be described. Most families are not so “neatly and cleanly segmented”. Not every family goes through marriage and divorce and in some families a child may die first. Yes this theory may be good psychological tools in sustaining marriages conversely are all marriages worth saving. So, this theory I presume can cause families to live a fairy tale life. A glaring example is such: I have learnt of a married couple with children; the man was a homosexual. The wife found out years after from people who had opened the ‘closet’. She refused to have believed. One unfaithful night he tried to make love to her in that unnatural manner which convince her. She was devastated. So, she went to their pastor. What did the pastor do? He used the family development theory. Do you think this theory should have being the approach? I strongly believe it should not because it advised them to continue a family where is conflict of interest and is unhealthy for social wellbeing. However they did went through the Duvall’s life cycle, all the children left the home, her husband died by his male lover and now she is retired from teaching.