Construction of Family Strength Components in the Context of Thai Society

Abstract

The principal objective of this research was to construct family strength components and define their meaning in the context of Thai society during the period of changes (1977-2016) and future trends under the 20-year National Strategic Framework (2017-2036). The researchers employed a qualitative research method to deeply understand family lives under contextual and time constraints through grounded theory. Data used in this research were gathered from in-depth interviews with eleven families that comply with family-strength criteria as stipulated by the researchers.  Research results revealed there were seven family strength components in Thai social context, as follows; component 1: establishment of good family principles, component 2: awareness of responsibilities, component 3: adherence to moral framework, component 4: bonding and support, component 5: balanced monetary management, component 6: conflict moderation and management, and component 7: cultivation of values to be passed on to future generations. The information acquired from this research was more aligned with Thai society than previous research findings in which western concepts were mainly applied in family strength components. The finding of this research was considered a product innovation which can be made by family-related workers in initiating family-strength activities.