Using Family Systems Theory to Address Emotional Distance and Conflict in Ghanaian Marriages
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21638684 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Moses Addai (0009-0007-9449-1304, Geographical, and Ancient Sciences, University of Padova, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Family Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1066-4807 • E-ISSN: 1552-3950 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10664807261457920 |
| OpenAlex | W7164158194 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
Emotional distance and recurrent conflict threaten marital satisfaction, family stability, and psychosocial well-being. In Ghana, marriage is embedded in kinship, religion, customary expectations, gender norms, economic responsibilities, and extended family participation. This conceptual article applies Family Systems Theory, especially Bowenian concepts of differentiation of self, triangles, emotional cutoff, nuclear family emotional process, family projection, and multigenerational transmission, to emotional distance and conflict in Ghanaian marriages. The article argues that marital distress should not be reduced to individual weakness, poor communication, or moral failure. Rather, it should be understood as a relational pattern sustained by emotional reactivity, unresolved family-of-origin issues, social pressure, unclear boundaries, and culturally shaped expectations. The main contribution is a six-phase Ghanaian Culturally Sensitive Family Systems Counseling Model that includes safety screening, systemic mapping, de-escalation, differentiation-building, reconnection and boundary repair, and maintenance. The article recommends systemic assessment, de-triangulation, boundary negotiation, emotional reconnection, differentiation-building, and ethical integration of cultural and religious resources. It also stresses that family systems counseling must not minimize intimate partner violence, coercive control, or gendered domination
Conceptual framework · Conceptual model · Distress · Emotional distress · Family systems · Family systems theory · Family therapy · Psychosocial · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Families in Therapy and Culture
Families and Family Therapy
The Differentiation of Self Inventory
Why Power Matters
Prevalence and associated factors of intimate partner violence against women in Ghana
Premarital Counseling Practices among Christian and Muslim Lay Counselors in Ghana
Marital power play in patriarchal society, a qualitative study of Ghanaian religious wives' perspectives
Women's Autonomy and Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana
Common presenting problems in religious lay counselling practice in Ghana
Conflict Handling in Ghanaian In-law Relationships
Marital Instability in an African Society
The Sociodemographic Correlates of the Timing of Divorce in Ghana
Marital Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Among Ghanaians
Research on Divorce
The Timing of Divorce
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |