Family Stress Management Mid-term

Family – a continuing system of interacting persons bound together by a process of shared

rituals and rules even more than by biology

 You do not have to be related to someone to consider them a part of your family
system.
 Families are living organisms because they grow and change
 Families have structure with boundaries to maintain
 The family boundaries must be maintained from within the family

Family Stress – pressure or tension in the family system.

 Stress is normal and sometimes can even be desirable

 It is inevitable because people change over time
 Family stress does not have to turn into trouble
 Stress disturbs the equilibrium of the family. Coping is used to maintain equilibrium

Stressor event – life events that impact the family unit and have the potential to change the
family system.

 Is an occurrence that is of significant magnitude to provoke change in the family system

 Stressor event does not equal stress

Perception – how a family or individual sees a stressor event

 Perception is important because it determines how an event is viewed by the family and
individuals within the family
 How the family sees the stressor determines how they handle it

Symbolic Interaction – from the conceptual perspective

 Focuses on interaction within a family and on symbols of interaction, such as language

or rituals
 Shared meanings are influenced by the outside world – community & society

Normative/Non-normative Stress

 Normative stress – events that are expected to occur

o child birth, marriage, changing jobs, death of an elderly parent, caring for an
aging parent
 Non-normative stress – caused by events not expected, unusual
o Divorce, dying young, jail, terminal illness, rape

Chronic/Acute Stress

 Chronic stress – is ongoing, has a long duration

 o Diabetes, substance abuse, discrimination
 Acute stress – an event that lasts a short time but is severe
o Failing a test, injury, loss of job

Ambiguous/Non-ambiguous Stress

 Ambiguous stress- do not know the facts surrounding the event. So unclear that you
are not sure it is happening.
o Family member’s cancer is in remission, father abandons family
 Non-ambiguous stress – when the facts are clear & available about the event. No
question about what is happening

Volitional/Non-volitional

 Volitional – events that are wanted or sought out

o Job change, pregnancy, going back to school
 Non-volitional – events that are not sought out, but just happen
o sudden death of a loved one, losing a job

Accumulation/Isolated

 Accumulation – events that pile up, one right after the other, so that there is no
resolution before the next one occurs
 Isolated – an event that occurs alone. It can be pinpointed easily

Family Context – the surroundings, circumstances, environment, background, or setting in

which the stress or crisis takes place.

 It is important to take into account the contexts of family stress within community and
cultural contexts in which a family resides to understand why and how families are
stressed, as well as to understand how families respond to stress.
 Includes the environment in which the family is embedded – family ecosystem
 External context – stress caused from outside the family. Things the family cannot
control such as unemployment, terrorism, illness, natural disasters
o Historical context – time in history in which an event occurs
 Great depression, recession
o Economic context – the state of the economy influences how the family reacts
to a stressful event.
o Developmental context – the stage in the life cycle of both the family and
individual members in which the stressful event occurs.
o Hereditary context – (genetic context) affects the health and physical strength
of the family members. Some families are healthier than others
o Cultural context – the culture that the family lives within. May belong to a
subculture that sets its own rules.
 Internal context – stress caused from within the family. Things the family can control
o Structural context – form and function of the family boundaries
 o Psychological context – the family’s perception, appraisal, definitions, or
assessment of a stressful event.
o Philosophical context – the family’s values and beliefs. An individual family can
have their own specific rules.

Crisis – a disturbance in the equilibrium that is so overwhelming, a pressure that is so sovere, a

change that is so acute that the family system is unable to function normally .

 When a family is in crisis, boundaries are no longer maintained

 During crisis the family hits bottom, then hopefully reaches a turning point
 A crisis is very often a turning point for a family, leading to major change in their
structure, interaction patterns, or both.

Coping – how a family or individual handles a stressful event. Management of a stressful event.
Coping is cognitive, affective, and behavioral.

Coping strategy – strategies used alone or in combination to bring about family adjustment.

 Fight or flight – an attack or escape from stressful event

Resilience – a family’s ability to handle stress or crisis. Doing well in the face of adversity. The
ability to bounce back from an event.

 Refers to the characteristics, dimensions, and properties of families which help families
to be resistant to disruption in the face of change
 Families that learn how to cope with challenges and meet individual needs are more
resilient to stress and crisis
 Physiological strengths, psychological resourcefulness, and interpersonal skills that
enable them to respond successfully to a challenge
o Risks include stressors and demands on the family system
o Protective factors include resources and coping strategies utilized by the family

Family Resources – the properties, attributes, or skills that individuals or families have at their
disposal when adapting to stressor events.

 Personal or individual resources

 Family system resources
 Social support

Boundary Ambiguity – not knowing who is in and who is out of the family

 Physical presence – bodily present but does not function as part of the family
o Person is vegetative state or has Alzheimers
 Psychological presence – not physically present, but still effects the family’s functioning
o Incarceration, kidnapping, abandonment
Ambiguous loss – loss where closure has not taken place. Grief or distress associated with loss
that is uncertain.

 Family member missing or kidnapped

Ambivalence – a family member feels conflicting emotions about a stressful event or crisis

 A child is upset about their father leaving the family, but feels guilty because the family
is happier without him.
 Ambiguity happens in the family structure, while ambivalence happens inside the
individual
 Not all ambiguous loss leads to ambivalence

Denial – the refusal to believe what you see or hear. Refusal to believe an event is taking place.

 Denial can be dysfunctional if it goes on too long

 Denial is only functional for a family during the early stages of a crisis
 Denial usually occurs when the stressor event is ambiguous

Family values and belief systems – influence how stressor events are handled.

 Fatalism – belief that everything is controlled by a higher power

 Mastery oriented – belief that we control our own destiny