Chapter 11 Family Stress and Crisis Violence among Intimates The Nature of Stress and Crisis Crisis a critical change of events that disrupts the functioning of a person s life o Ex unexpected job loss that alters spending saving and health insurance Family stress tensions that test a families emotional resources can be positive o Ex alcoholism or natural disaster o Acute stress short term stress ex cramming for exam o Chronic stress long term stress ex living with diabetes Responses to Stress o General Adaption Syndrome GAS The predictable pattern one s body follows when coping with stress which includes 1 Alarm Reaction the brain receives a stressor and sends a message to the body so that the defensive forces of the body are mobilized for fight or flight Metabolism increases increased energy Hormone levels rise anxiety 2 Resistance the body continues to battle the stressor by maintaining its elevated state of alert If continuous it can affect your immune system 3 Exhaustion Chronic stress over long periods can be dangerous and lead to depression fatigue frequent headaches insomnia ect The Social Readjustment Rating Scale o Social readjustment rating scale a scale of major life events over the past year each of which is assigned a point value The higher the score the greater the chance of having a serious medical event Designed by Rahe and Holmes Patterns of Family Crisis o Family crisis often follows three distinct phases 1 the event that causes the crisis 2 the period of disorganization that follows 3 the reorganization that takes place afterward o 5 patterns of the effects of stress crises on family functioning Burr and Klein No change Decreased Increased crisis made family stronger Roller coaster most common decline in family function during crisis but rebound after time passes Mixed Coping or Not The ABC X Models o Reuben Hill s ABC X model a model to help us understand the variation in the ways that a family copes with stress and crisis A factors initial event causing the crisis graduation affair moving B factors the resources a family has to meet the demands of a crisis social support money religious faith C factors the meanings families ascribe to the events human nature opportunity God s will X factors the outcome will depend on the combination of ABC o Double ABC X model a model designed to help us understand the effects of the accumulation of stresses and crises and how families adapt with them Double A factor refers to the initial event but also to family life changes and transitions that take place because of it Double B factor includes the resources the family already has and the new coping resources the family obtains from the crisis stress Double C factor takes into account the family s perception of the stressor itself and the perceptions of the aftermath Violence among Intimates Violence is a social problem because o It affects large numbers of people o Violence is not completely random macro level dimensions Intimate Partner Violence o The causes consequences and solutions of violence must address its Intimate partner violence violence between those who are physically and sexually intimate such as spouses or partners The violence can encompass physical economic sexual or psychological abuse How We Define and Measure Intimate Partner Violence o Straus conducted the earliest studies of partner abuse and came up with Conflict Tactics Scale CTS a scale based on how people deal with disagreements in relationships Non aggressive responses discussion cried brought in someone Psychologically aggressive responses insulted stomped out Physically aggressive responses hit threw something choked o CTS research shows men are more likely to be victims of physical aggression than are women o Women are more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence than men Frequency of Intimate Partner Violence o About 4 8 million incidents of intimate partner violence occur among women each year to women 18 20 24yrs greatest risk o Native Americans and Alaska Natives are more likely to suffer abuse including rape o Women are particularly vulnerable when pregnant o Femicides killing of women Types of Intimate Partner Violence o Johnston s 4 patterns of violence Common couple violence arises out of an argument in which at least one partner lashes out physically less frequent and less likely to escalate Intimate terrorism is physical psychological or sexual violence that is motivated by a desire to control the other partner ex text me after class what are you doing let me see who you re with Violent resistance is the non legal term for self defense ex someone attacks you you defend yourself Mutual violent control refers to a pattern of behavior in which both partners are controlling and violent and are battling for control Stalking and Cyberstalking o Stalking is obsessive contact or tracking of another person attention that is unwanted and causes a reasonable person to be fearful Ex sending flowers or gifts and calling a lot o Cyberstalking is harassing or threatening victims electronically Ex email texts blogs Consequences of intimate Partner Violence o Most common are bruises scratches and welts but broken bones severe bruising and back pain can occur o The stress of the violence can lead to conditions that effect and degrade the immune and endocrine system o Psychological emotional effects are extremely hard to heal Coping with Violence Leaving vs Staying o Most women leave but leaving is a process o Women stay in abusive relationships because of learned helplessness the psychological condition of having low self esteem feeling helpless and having no control that is caused by repeated abuse o Men s control tactics Blaming the victim If you weren t so stupid I wouldn t hit you Inducing shame embarrassed they get abused Lowering self esteem you re an idiot and everyone thinks so Creating financial dependency Isolating the victim cut off communication with family and friends Threatening retaliation threatened children women and pets Exploiting love and hope have fantasies their partner will change Exploiting commitment to the relationship can t leave you promised Creating fear of abandonment don t think they can make it alone o Battered Women s Syndrome a recognized psychological condition often a subcategory of post traumatic stress syndrome used to describe someone who has been the victim of consistent and or severe domestic violence Violence in Gay and Lesbian Relationships o Rate
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