Chapter 1 Families Coping with Change A Conceptual Overview Why Study Family Problems Today s families live with constant insecurity and stress Examples Job loss and economic change Wars Natural disasters Discrimination Divorce Diverse family forms and accompanying challenges Study of Family Stress Change Defining Stress stimulus or situation Chemical environmental or psychological A stimulus inferred inner state observable response to 14th century meant hardship adversity and affliction 17th century stress in context of physical science In psychology stress was implicit as an organizing framework for thinking about psychopathology Anxiety to denote stress Reinforcement learning theories viewed anxiety as classically conditioned response that led to unserviceable habits of anxiety reduction Existentialists focused on anxiety as a major barrier to self actualization Developmentalists proposed various stage models that demand that a particular crisis be negotiated before an individual can cope with subsequent developmental stages Personal coping resources accrued during the adolescent young adult years are thought to be integrated into the self concept and shape the process of coping throughout adulthood Crisis theorists conceptualized these life changes as crises with the assumption that disequilibrium may provide stress in the short run but can promote the development of new skills in the long run Families experience stress as a result of change good or bad Impact dependent of families perception Factors Influencing Family Problems MACRO larger Economy Natural Disasters Wars Discrimination Changes in gender roles Changing Family MICRO more individual problems Job loss Illness Mental Illness Homelessness Accidents Divorce Remarriage Stress Stress and Health Stress can contribute to a higher chance of illness disease or death Chronic daily living with a handicap mother age faster Acute walk into class and everyone is taking a test that you didn t know about Managing stressor events to avoid crisis can possibly negate some effects of stress on health and wellbeing Social support Resources Study of Family Stress know more about studies from book Universities of Michigan Chicago started studying family stress during 1930s and great depression Reuben Hill referred to as the father of family stress research was the first scholar to conceptualize family stress theory when he made ABC X model and model of family crisis Mind body family connection Human reactivity to stressful situations Family resilience Families grow stronger through stressful experiences Role of Spirituality and Faith in family stress management Study of Family Stress PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder more people experience from natural disasters 911 Caregiver stress Disaster stress after crisis Balancing work and family Shift to emphasis on perception interpretation beliefs Social construction of stress focus in therapy of guiding families to reframe re story construct new narrative to manage stress so it doesn t become crisis Family Stress Theory Recent Developments in the evolution of family stress theory Intro of the mind body family connection emphasis on the measurement of human reactivity during intensely stressful situations Re intro of family resilience Emphasis on spirituality and faith Recognition of post traumatic stress disorder Increased use of disaster teams that are deployed into an arena immediately after a catastrophe emphasis on crisis not stress Emphasis on stress resulting from caring for ill or disabled Re cog that demands created by balancing work and family result in high Emphasis on family perceptions interpretations and beliefs about stress stress levels situations Adaptation of social constructionism Increased use of narrative analysis Social Systems Perspective Strive toward equilibrium Families viewed as living organisms Family is more than sum of individuals as parts Families products of subsystems Individual members dyads ex Sibling dyads very different relationship than parent kid relationship Family products of supra systems Community culture nation Primary focus on entire family unit Embedded in external family environment called ecosystem ABC X Model of Family Crisis and Stress Researchers Developed ABC X model of family stress and crisis from classic research on war induced separation and reunion Other contributions have expanded this model A B C X community A Provoking or Stressful event hurricane Katrina B Family Resource or Strengths had each other had money had good C Definition or Meaning attached to the event by the family Perception of event looked at it as it happens its natural X Stress or Crisis experienced learned to adapt Double ABC X Model of Family Crisis when it rains it pours Double ABC X model Aa Bb Cc Xx Double A refers to the stressor pileup factors that go into it loss of house all of the things that happen to make A even more unbearable unresolved aspects of the initial stressor event changes that occur regardless of the initial stressor consequences of family s efforts to cope Double B refers to B resources the family has and b coping resources developed in response to the stress Double C refers to C perception of stressor event and c perception of the stress or crisis as a result perceptions change endowing situation with meaning Double X refers to X original family crisis stress response and x subsequent adaption Stress Stress not inherently bad Gets you up in the morning to go to class Or finish an assignment helpful Becomes a problem when degree of stress in family system reaches level where family disrupted or individual members become dissatisfied or display physical or emotional symptoms headache or stomach ache or only focused on one thing Stressors and Stressor Events Associated with negative events Associated with positive events Stressor event provokes variable amount of change in family system By definition has potential to raise family s level of stress Myth that happy families should be stress free All families experience stress as a result of change Change brings disturbance and pressure often termed stress Degree of stress dependent on magnitude of event and other moderating factors Normal Predictable birth of a child Non normative unpredictable loss of job sudden illness Types of Stressors Ambiguous loss action Physically absent but still part of the family divorce missing in Physically present but emotionally absent drug alcohol addiction