Commentaries and Facts of Life 2004

The Impact Of Relationships On Sex And Reproduction
Seventh Annual CSNS&F Conference
Victoria Harrison, MA
February 26-27, 2004, Houston, Texas

Facts of life are hard to come by. Facts about sex, sexuality, and reproduction are clouded with controversy and opinion. Everyone faces important decisions with limited knowledge. This is anxious. Problems develop. Emotional reactions occur. Without facts, individuals tend to blame themselves or others or acts of God. In the absence of knowledge, some people imagine the best or the worst and act on that. Many pursue the answers of others and follow where experts lead. Perhaps it is a smaller percentage who knows the limits of knowledge, get curious and figure things out best they can. Some of these are scientists. Some are family members. Anyone can do that when they depend more upon themselves and when they can see the difference between thinking and reacting.

Facts of Life 2004, the annual conference of CSNS&F, addresses the impact of reactivity to relationships on biology and behavior involved in sex, sexuality and reproduction. The meeting will illustrate ways that Bowen theory can be a resource for those who wish to address these subjects in their own life, family or work. Speakers, invited guests and audience members will present their best thinking about their own questions and quandaries. Ample discussion will allow people to raise questions about a range of concerns.

• Michael Kerr, Director of Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, will begin this conference with a talk about Bowen Theory and Biology: The Study of Natural Systems. He will present an overview of Bowen theory and describe ways that people use this theory to see and study how relationships regulate biological reactions and influence sex, sexuality, and reproduction. Dr. Kerr will illustrate theory with examples drawn from clinical practice, research in the sciences, and from his own family.

  Murray Bowen's observations about the human family as a natural system, part of the evolution of all life, generated concepts and variables that provide science a fertile field for the study of relationship systems and biology (Bowen, 1978). Dr. Kerr's book, Family Evaluation, is an introduction to Bowen theory and includes an afterward, "An Odyssey Toward Science" by Murray Bowen (Kerr, 1988). His article on "Bowen Theory and Evolutionary Theory" distinguishes the important contributions of each to the study of human adaptation and health. His article on "Family Systems Theory and Physical Illness" in Behavioral Medicine is recommended reading for those who wish to better understand the influences over biology in their own family (Kerr, 1992). You can locate more information about Bowen theory and about Dr. Kerr's work at www.thebowencenter.org.

Science presentations from evolutionary biology, comparative zoology, psychology, and anthropology will provide facts about how relationships in the social group and family influence biology and behavior related to sex, sexuality, and reproduction. Each presenter spans several disciplines of science and brings a healthy appreciation for the limits of knowledge about important areas of human nature and evolution. Those who are interested in thinking about genetics and relationship systems or about different approaches to the study of evolution will find these speakers welcome.

• David Crews, PhD, Ashbel Smith Professor of Zoology and Psychology at University of Texas in Austin, will talk about Environmental and Social Regulation of Sex: Lessons from Evolution, drawing upon research focused on both the evolutionary and physiological mechanisms underlying reproduction (Crews, 1997). Dr. Crews will present research that describes how relationships in the social group and between males and females interact with hormones to regulate neural aspects of sex and sexuality. He will address influences over the mix of male and female biochemistry within each individual and discuss the implications of new research for understanding the range of sexuality in humans (Crews, 1994 and 1999). You can locate further information about Dr. Crew's research and download articles from his website at www.utexas.edu/research/crewslab.
• Toni Ziegler, PhD, Senior Scientist at National Primate Research Center and Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss Social Regulation of Reproduction. Her work with family animals provides knowledge about how communication between parents and with young influences the chemistry and behavior of each and all. Dr. Ziegler will discuss the impact of mother and mate upon hormonal control of male parental care and of mother on suppression of ovulation in daughters (Ziegler, 2002).
• Robert Quinlan, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, will talk about the Impact of Fathers and Extended Families on Reproduction. His research on family life and physiology, using salivary assay as a measure of reactivity to relationships, has focused on development and health of children. Dr. Quinlan will review research that associates the absence of father with accelerated puberty and reproduction in daughters (Quinlan, 2003). His own studies of extended families expand the view to include how the larger family modifies the impact of father and mother (Quinlan, 1996). Dr. Quinlan will discuss the relative contributions of genes and family environment to reproductive development. You can locate further information about this research on his website at www.bsu.edu/web/rquinlan/

The conference, Facts of Life, will conclude on Friday with a focus on Applications of Bowen Theory and the Study of Family Systems in Clinical Practice. Michael Kerr will discuss videotaped segments of interviews with people who use Bowen theory to understand sex and sexuality in their family and life. One tape discusses sex and "togetherness pressures" in a marriage. A second tape addresses the history of factors that play a part for a man who leaves his marriage to pursue a homosexual lifestyle. This thinking illustrates theory as a blueprint for new learning and for addressing challenges faced by families and by those who care for them.

A panel of speakers and invited guests will discuss the thinking stirred by these presentations. A natural systems theory permits people who think differently about the same concerns to contribute and to learn from each other, without pressures to agree or debate or footnote each other. Each person will integrate the thinking of the conference in his or her own way.

• Mary Greenberg, MSW, PhD, is an animal behaviorist at University of Kansas, who utilizes Bowen theory as the framework for research to examine the complexity of social relationships among individuals in group-living species. Her interests in sex and social stress, conflict resolution and social triangles, will generate lively discussion with speakers and audience alike (Greenberg, 2000, 2001 and 2003).
• Tamara J. Hawk, MSW, is a Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Manhattan, Kansas. She directs educational programs and conferences that bring scientists and leaders in the study of family systems to speak in Kansas. Ms. Hawk's clinical and research interests in eating disorders, adoption, and child welfare will contribute to the panel discussion with speakers and audience (Hawk, 2003).
• Dan Papero, PhD, MSW, faculty at Bowen Center for Study of the Family since 1982, brings his interests in family systems, differentiation of self and brain research to the panel discussion. Dr. Papero has a clinical practice in which he consults to family members and to businesses about how to understand pressures that provoke anxiety reactions and how to make a difference in dealing with symptoms they produce. He is author of Family Systems Theory and Therapy (Papero, 1990).
• Michael Quinn, PhD, directs Center for the Study of Natural Systems and the Family and holds educational programs in Central Texas. He provides consultation to family members and to organizations from his private practice in Austin, Texas. Dr. Quinn is currently working on a grant proposal to National Library of Medicine to support writing a book, Biologic Pathways Between Social Relationships and Health, a review of empirical findings that provide a natural systems account of the interdependence of biological functioning and family and other social relationships. This project has developed as a focus through participation in The Research Seminar at The Bowen Center following 3 years of study in The Special Postgraduate Program in Family Systems Theory and Family Psychotherapy. He brings broad interests in a science of human behavior to the panel discussion.
• Louise Rauseo, RN, MS, a founding member of the Board of Directors of CSNS&F, established programs in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico in 1992. Ms. Rauseo draws upon the study of migration and family systems in research and in clinical practice to address presentations at Facts of Life 2004 (Rauseo, 2000). She is currently working with a community advisory board in El Paso and in Juarez to develop local programs that apply Bowen theory and work with family systems on both sides of the border.

Speakers, guests, and members of the audience will find that Facts of Life 2004 challenge current thinking and stir new avenues to consider. Exposure to a different theory, to new facts, and to unfamiliar fields is a mixed blessing. The experience activates emotional reactions. What does a creature do when faced with a new fact, an unfamiliar idea? It can avoid it. It may see it as more of the same. It may get curious and examine it. People put thinking to work in a variety of ways.

Some people use this conference as a resource for thinking about themselves and problems in their own family. A scientist may use the time to identify variables to include in research design; a teacher may design curriculum. Clergy may think about ways that spirituality and sexuality become confused. A pastor may write a Sunday sermon using concepts from family systems to describe the challenges of being human. A physician may think about how to identify what is going on in the family of patients who do not respond to fertility treatment. Business leaders may consider how sex at work, affairs or sexual harassment, function in an anxious organization. Graduate students attending on scholarships will write about how the presentations relate to their field or family or work. Everyone has a chance to grapple with some important challenge in their life or family or work with the advantage of systems theory and science as a springboard.

The annual conference series is designed more for the opportunity to learn and think than for networking or socializing. One audience member said, "This is like study hall. That was my favorite class." People make the best use of this conference when they prepare with a focus on questions or projects of their own. What do I want to work on during these two days? What are the questions I want to address? What do I want to better understand in my own family? Often people write on two pages of paper at once, one for the speaker's comments and the other for the thinking stirred of their own. Books and articles written or recommended by speakers will be available for sale and signing throughout the conference. Videotapes will be presented during lunch and lunch will be catered at the conference facility. Registration includes lunch for Thursday and Friday.

Even with careful consideration about conference details, the success of the meeting depends upon the efforts of each. People figure out for themselves how to deal with conference challenges and how to make the most of thinking. People move around and stretch as needed. People organize their time, with others and alone, in order to balance reactions stirred with their best thinking.

I measure the value of this annual meeting based upon how the thinking is used by those who attend. The number of those who attend is one among several evaluation criteria. The meeting has been small but with a high percentage who put theory and science to good work in their family or field. The conference expenses are paid by registration fees and through scholarship donations, AV sales, and other contributions. Those who attend and some who do not make this conference possible as a resource for development of knowledge based upon Bowen theory and research in the natural sciences.

References and Recommended Reading

• Murray Bowen. 1978. Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. Jason Aaronson: NY.
• David Crews. 1994. Animal sexuality. Scientific American 270: 108-114. 1998. Biology and relationships: Adaptation in nature. Family Systems 4: 99-106. 1999. Sexuality: The environmental organization of phenotypic plasticity. In Reproduction in Context. K. Wallen and J. Schneider (eds.). M.I.T. Press: Cambridge. 473-499.
• Greenberg, M., Pierotti, R. 2000. Conflict and resolution in primates - all too human? Science 290 (5494): 1095-1096. 2003. A Review: Unusual Sexual Behavior as a Possible Mechanism for Reducing Social Stress. (unpublished manuscript on nonhuman animal behavior)
• Greenberg, M. 2001. Book review, Natural Conflict Resolution, with an introduction to social triangles. Family Systems Forum 3: 3-4.
• Tamara J. Hawk. 2003. Family Process, Togetherness, and the Development of Eating Disorders. Presentation at Kansas Conference on Bowen Theory, Lawrence, Kansas.
• Michael Kerr. 1988. Family Evaluation. Norton: New York.
• 1992. Family Systems and Physical Illness. In Behavioral Medicine.
• Robert Quinlan. 2003. Father Absence, Parental Care and Female Reproductive Development. Evolution & Human Behavior. 24 (6): 376-390.
• Robert Quinlan, Mark Flinn, R. Turner, M. Decker and B. England. 1996. Male-Female Differences in Effects of Parental Absence on Glucocorticoid Stress Response. Human Nature, 7(2):125-62.
• Louise Rauseo. 2000. Emotional Process in Society: The Influence of Population Density and The Poverty of Differences. Family Systems Forum, Winter: 10 - 13.
• Toni Ziegler. 2002 Parent-daughter Relationships and Social Controls on Fertility in Female Common Marmosets. Hormones and Behavior. 42:356-367.

February 26 & 27, 2004 • Houston, Texas Houston Arboretum and Nature Center at 4501 Woodway Drive Houston, Texas

Conference Location and Lodging

Center for the Study of Natural Systems and The Family is pleased to hold Facts of Life 2004 at The Houston Arboretum & Natural Center on 4501 Woodway in Houston's Memorial Park. The 155-acre nature sanctuary is convenient to the heart of Houston and Galleria shopping and restaurants. Five miles of woodland trails will be open for walking during conference breaks. Lunch and refreshments are included int he price of registration.

CSNS&F has reserved a block of rooms for $80.00 a night at the nearby Drury Inn Galleria located at 1615 West Loop South. The Inn is walking distance from the Conference Center. Complimentary Happy Hour and Hot Breakfast Buffet are provided for guests. A pool and workout room are available. Please make your reservations by February 10, 2004. Call 1-800-325-0720 and ask for rooms reserved for Facts of Life.

Both the hotel and the conference location are convenient by shuttle from Hobby Airport ($15) and from Bush Intercontinenal ($20).

CEU's Provided. Advance Registration is $250.
(Advance Registration will be complete only upon receipt of payment)

For further information or advance registration, contact: Victoria Harrison
713.790.0226 or vaharrison@sbcglobal.net