Families of oppositional children : a study of social insularity among rural populations

This study was a descriptive analysis of the social interactions of rural families with oppositional children. It was an attempt to determine if the concept of social insularity, found to exist among certain urban families with oppositional children, was applicable to rural families. Seven families seeking treatment at a rural mental health center for behavior problems with their children participated in the study. Twice weekly, for a period of 6-12 weeks, an interviewer conducted home-based, structured interviews aimed at eliciting detailed information about each individual's social contacts. An expanded, revised Community Interaction Checklist (CIC-R) was used to document the information.

Along the lines developed by Skinner (195^), the interactions were grouped into two categories, "mands" and "tacts." In over half the cases in which a family member reported a contact with another family member, the contact was not reported by the other party. However, once both parties agreed on a common interaction, their agreement on its nature and content was quite good. The results revealed a strong correlation between reported incidences of criticism and negative valence ratings, lending support to earlier operational definitions of manding.

All of the seven families presented at least one of the characteristics of insularity. Five were classified as insular along at least two dimensions of the concept. Two families were unusual in that they reported no conflict, though they appeared to be socially isolated. CIC-R data generated by the mothers was found to be strongly indicative of their families' overall manding rate, and roughly characteristic of their families' average number of daily contacts.

An examination of the sources of manding interactions revealed few commonalities among family members or across families. Of special interest was the finding that mothers frequently viewed others as more aversive than their troubled children.

This study suggests that a family's social contacts alone are sufficient to disturb a family's equilibrium, even if other stressors are absent. It appears that therapeutic intervention with oppositional children must be aimed at multiple sources of conflict in the family system, as the mother/child dyad is frequently not the most significant source of frustration and coercion.