Type of Limits in Family Dynamics and its Relation to School Failure in Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: to identify the type of limits in family dynamics and the communicative response before school failure in adolescents. It is proposed that adolescents are more vulnerable to school failure according to the structure and functioning of the family system, if we pose the following hypothesis: “the more extreme the limits are, diffuse or rigid, the harder for the adolescent to calculate the risks and to manage school failure”. Methods: cross sectional, qualitative and interpretative study in adolescents from 10 to 19 years old with school failure who were attended at the Gustavo A. Madero Family Medicine Unit of the ISSSTE. Non-random sampling, by convenience. There were six participants belonging to families with the following limits: diffuse, rigid or flexible. The interviews were conducted, semi-structured and audio taped and under the informed consent of their parents and the adolescents. Results: adolescents who presented school failure in family dynamics with flexible limits allowed the transfer and exchange of information, and they presented some resistance to rules established by parents. In families with diffuse limits, adolescents presented unstable communications patterns and neither tolerate nor follow family rules. In families with rigid limits, adolescents showed little interest to communicate with their parents, and the family dynamics were poor. Conclusions: it was confirmed that the more extreme the limits are (diffuse, rigid) the more difficult for the adolescent is to calculate the risks and to manage school failure.