FAMILY RELATIONS STUDY GUIDE EXAM 4 1 What is family stress Stress the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it Family system uses cognitive affective and behavioral processes to manage stress Family stress is highest with adolescent children Family stress is lowest in young couples and empty nesters Stressful familial issues o Uncompleted tasks o Emotional difficulties in family life o Unstable economic conditions o Major economic investments purchases o Medical expenses o Money for basics of family living o Changing jobs careers 2 A family in crisis Normative vs Nonnormative stressors Normative Stressors o Daily hassles Care giving demands and pressures that arise from day to day tasks involved with raising children o Parenting experiences Can be positive Source of self defined competence and satisfaction for parents as they engage and solve parent child challenges o Some hassles are infrequent and situational o Single parent families may be prone to stress resulting from daily hassles o Cumulative nature of daily hassles for parents Non Normative Stressors o Unpredictable and disruptive to the parent child relationship o Off time development when normative events occur at unanticipated Unexpected circumstances deviance birth defects conduct times o Initial awareness or diagnosis Over an extended period of time disorders etc o Chronic stressors o Child effects stressors Long term demands of child characteristics and responses to 3 Stressors examples Addition of family member Loss of family member Sudden change income social status Ongoing family conflicts Daily family hassles Caring for dependent family member older parents disabled child etc 4 Adjustment vs Adaptation Adjustment o Short term response Avoidance Elimination Assimilation o Might not be enough Adaptation o Desirable outcome Synergize Interface Compromise o Realize the work is worth it 5 Financial issues in families what is middle class o Child bearing stage o Adolescent stage peak stress period o Launching stage college expenses o Retirement stage loss of income Middle Class 15 75 000 per year o More than half the families in the U S 6 Poverty what is it Less than 15 000 per year Inadequate food and decent shelter Inadequate health care Limited transportation No telephone Substandard schools 1 stressor across life cycle Can lead to decreased marital satisfaction emotional stress working a lot Most difficult periods of family life cycle 7 ABC X Model examples know all terms A Stressor Event life event or transition impacting the family unit that has the B Family s ability to cope existing resources family s use of community and potential to change the family social system o Ex Petrino is fired intrafamilial systems SES parents education etc o Ex hire and interim coach staff fan support C Family s perception of stressor definition the meaning the family assigns to the crisis event and the total circumstances that lead to the crisis o Ex we will make it through optimism vs pessimism adjustment vs adaptation X Crisis the demand for change o Ex getting a new coach championship 8 Depression terms suicide terms Depression o Sense of hopelessness pessimism persistent sadness lost of interest in hobbies difficulty making decisions fatigue decreased energy insomnia o Can affect all aspects of life physical career family appetite sleep exercise o Can come on suddenly or develop slowly o Mix of genetics and environment o Women more likely to be depressed More likely to get help more cases reported Post partum depression o NOT normal part of aging o Depression is common NOT normal o Symptoms last for 2 weeks or longer can be mild severe o 2 3 don t get treated 80 that do treated successfully Suicide o It s NOT planned o 20 will have suicide within immediate family o 60 will personally know someone who died by suicide o On average a young person 15 24 dies every 2hrs 12 min from suicide o Men more likely to die from suicide than women Women attempt suicide more often o More people die from suicide than murder o EXCEEDS the rates of homicides o More people die from SUICIDE than HIV AIDS 9 Lowest and highest rates of suicide and depression Suicide o 11th leading cause of death in U S o 3rd leading cause of death of young people o Highest rates 15 20 yr old boys and elderly white males Depression o Women twice as likely than men o Least depressed Hispanic teens 10 Male vs female suicide attempts Men Women o 4 times more likely to die by suicide o Attempt suicide more often than men 11 Predictors of divorce Who is likely to divorce Latino s lowest rate of divorce African American s highest rate Predictors o Infidelity o Incompatibility o Alcohol drug use o Growing apart o Poor communication o Family of origin o Power struggles o Unrealistic expectations o Sexual problems o Decision making o Technology o Reduced proximity 12 Stepfamily characteristic Girls vs boys who does better Stepfamily family in which one or both partners in a relationship have a child or children from a previous relationship Characteristics o At least some members of family have experienced loss o Biological parent and child have longer history and stronger ties to each other o Children s other biological parent doesn t belong to this family and may not than the couple does belong to another family o Children from previous marriage now have 2 families to deal with schedule time with including holidays birthdays etc o Stepparents don t fill biological roles no legal rights o Over 1 3 of all children born now will live in stepfamily by time they are 18 yrs old o 75 all remarriages end in divorce o Girls have harder time than boys adjusting to remarriage withdraw sullen 13 Breaking up with someone different ways best worst Ways to break up o Direct clearly make your wishes known to partner BEST o Indirect unclear in what you want to happen say nothing o Other Oriented concerned about not hurting partner not embarrassing partner manipulating o Self Oriented concern for self at the expense of the partner 14 Rumination vs Reflection Rumination they aren t processing to move on they stay feeling lousy longer and have a harder time with it o mopes dwells and wallows in how lousy it is Reflection seeking meaning in our experiences o Why did this happen What can we learn from them o Recover faster and better able to move on 15 Duck s 5 phases of a breakup focuses on what is going on Personal reach of threshold of unbearable dissatisfaction