This paper develops a theory of "family capacity" which integrates at the level of the family knowledge concerning the effects of change on individuals generated by psychosocial transitions, with hypotheses as to how these changes are likely to be differently experienced depending on the nature of the social relationships within which the transition takes place. "Family capacity" will vary at times of transition as a function of the relationship between (1) the magnitude of role changes experienced by family members over a period of time, generated by changes in the primary task of the family system, or in its role configuration, and changes in roles in other social systems; and (2) the nature of the "social container" within which the transition is experienced, which is determined by the primary tasks of the institutions at the boundary of the transition, and the relationships that are formed with the family, and the size of the family's social network and its relevance to the transition.
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