CH 11 SF Book Notes - Normative and Non-normative Family Stressors PDF

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Normative and Non-normative Family Stressors...

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CH 11: Normative and Nonnormative Family Stressors Normative Family Stressors ● Normative, or predictable, family stressors can be thought of as stages in the life cycle of the family ● “Critical transition hypothesis” ○ When families undergo critical transitions, they are hypothesized to experience stress and changes in family interaction patterns ● Carter and McGoldrick influential taxonomy of family life cycle stages (table 11.1 on p 227) ○ Starts with single young adults leaving home, progresses to the transition to marriage, families with young children, families with adolescent children, launching children and moving on, and finally aging families later in life The Transition to Marriage ● One of the fundamental challenges faced by couples making the transition to marriage is discussion and reconciliation of differing expectations and intentions for their marriage ● People approach marriage with expectations that have been shaped by their families of origin, their friendship networks, and the media ● Holding high expectations for marriage can be beneficial for couples with good marital communication skills, but detrimental to those without such skills ● Another major task for the couple involves the negotiation and reconstruction of changing social networks, problematic problems include ○ Occurs when a spouse (or both) is strongly enmeshed in their family or origin and continues that pattern after marriage ○ Occurs when a spouse marries to gain “independence” and completely cuts off communication with their family of origin ○ Some couples maintain a pattern of interactions with extended family that involves some closeness, some conflict, and avoidance of certain issues Effect of Parenthood on Marriage ● About 90% of all married couples have children and must make the necessary adjustments to accommodate a significant shift in the social structure of their lives ● Prior to the birth of children, a married couple is composed of one dyad ● Birth of child -> now there are three different dyads and a family triad ● Changes in Marital Satisfaction ○ Numerous early studies showed that marital satisfaction declines as the first child is born, two methods ■ Studies that compared married couples w children to childless married couples generally indicated that those with children had lower marital satisfaction ■ Studies that followed couples during their early years of marriage, through pregnancy and birth of the first child, also revealed that marital satisfaction decreased in conjunction with parenthood

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Longitudinal studies, some of which include a voluntarily childless control group, support the conclusion that parenthood hastens the decline of marital satisfaction in early marriages ○ Not all couples experience decreases in marital satisfaction as a result of parenthood ● Traditionalization of Gender Roles ○ Marital changes accompanying parenthood shift to gender roles ○ As many wives approach motherhood they expect that the division of household labor will become more egalitarian after the child is born ○ Husbands often do less household work after child is born ○ Violation of these expectations has been identified as a key ingredient in the declines of wives’ postpartum marital satisfaction ● Planning and Timing ○ The stress of transition to parenthood is closely tied to the timing and planning of pregnancy ○ Most marriages fare best when the husband and wife have a period of time to adjust to their new roles without the added burden of parenthood ○ Planning plays a vital role in the maintenance of marital satisfaction over the transition to parenthood ○ Couples who experienced unplanned pregnancies exhibited greater decreases in marital satisfaction than those whose pregnancies were planned ● The Changing Nature of Marital Interactions ○ Expressions of positive affection decline, conflicts increase, spouses spend less time together as a dyad, they communicate less with eachother,m and focus a greater proportion of their interactions on the child ○ The maintenance of certain interaction patterns may have a prophylactic effect to ward off the declines in satisfaction that characterize the marriages of many first time parents ○ A major culprit in declining marital satisfaction over the transition to parenthood is conflict Launching Children ● “Empty nest syndrome” ● Children Leaving Home ○ Reasons why children move out: school, marriage/cohabitation, desire for independence, military duty, employment ○ The transition demands significant changes in the adult child’s repertoire of behaviors ○ One of the fundamental family interaction tasks facing the child is the recalibration of his or her relationship with the parents ○ A time when children have to recalibrate relationships with their parents to achieve a new level of balance between autonomy and connectedness ● Parents of Children Leaving Home ○ Positive outcomes for parents

■ Mothers reports increases in positive mood and general well being ■ Decreases in negative mood and daily hassles ○ Whatever remorse is associated with the departure is evidently outweighed by these sources of happiness ○ Parents must realign relationships with their adult children ○ As parents launch their children, marriages, in-laws, and grandchildren are often around the corner ○ Parents also face the tasks of situating themselves in an expanding family structure and resolving relationships with their aging parents ● Parent-Child Relationships ○ Role identity theory ○ Evidence suggests that this is a happy time for parents ○ Win-win situation: children acquire their sought independence and the parents appear able to still derive satisfaction and enjoyment from their role as parents, with fewer constraints and responsibilities associated with the newly adjusted role ○ Generally an improved relationship ○ Young adults’ decision to move out has often been explained by social exchange theory ● “Empty Nest” Marriages ○ After children leave home, the marital relationship between the parents regains prominence ○ Opportunities to refocus their attention to their spouse and their marriage ○ Upturn in marital satisfaction The Aging Family ● Stage of the family life cycle is associated with dramatic changes in both family structure and family roles ● Retirement ○ Pivotal transition ○ Spouse of the retiree may have to alter their normal routine to accommodate change ● Changing Health and Caregiving ○ Many elderly people are able to effectively accommodate physical ability and health changes without requiring much assistance ○ The family’s adjustment to caring for its elderly members is associated with the quality of the past relationship between the caregiver and care recipient ○ When family members have a history of positive interactions, the caregiving experience seems less stressful for all parties involved ● Relationship Loss ○ Most stressful form is the death of a spouse ○ Planning for widowhood in advance ○ Family members can be a vital source of social support ○ Three primary factors that influence how well the family adjust to the death of one of its members:

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Timing and concurrent stressors in the family life cycle Function and position of the person prior to his or her death Conflicted relationships with the deceased...