EPA-0995 – Hidden Conflicts or the Phenomenon of Triangulation in the Family Structure

Abstract

Introduction:

Psychosomatic families can usually be characterized by the problem of conflict management, which is associated with the low level of communication among the family members.

Objectives:

One of the characteristic properties of these dysfunctional families is the way they sweep the problems under the carpet and/or triangulation that always involves a pair of the family members and a third person in the conflict situation to divert the attention from the essential problem, which thus remains unresolved.

Aims:

The aim of my study was to explore the manifestation of the hidden conflicts in the family structure if there is at least one psychosomatic patient in the family, as well as to investigate his/her position in the family structure.

Methods:

There were 12 asthmatic and 18 healthy young adults in my study and I used Gehring's (2010) Family System Test (FAST) to learn more about the above-mentioned phenomenon. The applied method gave me the possibility to recognize the characteristic arrangement (triangulation), which is about the third person's involvement in the other two people's conflict.

Results:

Participants with asthma – primarily in the conflict situation - represented triangulation on the board and located their schematic wooden figure between the parents in a triangular shape more often than it was found in the healthy control group.

Conclusions:

Thus in line with the previous studies the special position of the asthmatic patients in their family has been confirmed, and the significance of dyspnoea with its central, fire-fighting role was also found.