Chapter 15:Family Change: Stress, Crisis, and Transition

Family Development Stress

• Stressor–Anything that elicits a physiological and/or

psychological response – a stress response• Good stress – eustress• Negative stress - distress

Categories of Common Stressors

• Personal• Social/family• Work• Environmental

Family Life Cycle Developmental Tasks• Changes in Structure– Family structure is dynamic–Must adapt to ongoing changes in the

system• Changes in Family Roles–As structure changes, family roles change–Changes occur in family boundaries

Family Life Cycle Developmental Tasks

• Changes in Family Roles–As roles change, communication changes– Individual growth demands change

Family as a System• Family is a system of interrelated parts• Family members affect and are affected by

each other• Each family must be viewed as a whole• Each family’s goal is to maintain homeostasis

or balance

Figure 15.1: Stages of Selye’s General

Adaptation Syndrome

General Adaptation Syndrome• Describes the physiological responses to

eustress and distress• Stage 1: Alarm Reaction– The brain perceives the stressor and

signals the body to deal with it through neurological and physiological means– The body reacts to the threat– Fight or flight tendency

General Adaptation Syndrome

• Stage 2 : Stage of Resistance– The body continues to battle the stressor

and remains in a state of arousal– Increased level of stress steroids alarms

the body’s organs– Energy eventually becomes depleted

General Adaptation Syndrome• Stage 3: Exhaustion–Chronic unrelenting stress or mismanaged

stress can cause permanent damage– The body over time simply breaks down–People under stress may experience a

variety of symptoms – headaches, nausea, depression, crying, fatigue, anger, racing heart, inability to eat or sleep, and more

Event Based Stress

• A life change event • One that is forever life altering• One that requires significant social and

psychological adjustment

Social Readjustment Rating Scale• Identifies association between life events

and life transitions

• Identifies the impact of these events and transitions on individual physical health and well-being

Transactional Model of Stress• The impact of the stressor is wholly

dependent on our perception and appraisal of the stressor

• Primary appraisal – instinctively evaluate the stressor and assess its significance

• Secondary appraisal – assess how controllable the stressor is and which resources

Locus of Control

• External Locus of Control• The perception that we cannot control what

happens to some aspects of our lives• Internal Locus of Control• The perception that we are in control of our

destiny

Coping Efforts• Strategies used to bring order to, normalize, or

regulate the stressor• Problem management strategies– Aimed directly at attacking the stressor

• Emotional regulation strategies– Help individuals change their perceptions,

interpretation, and the meaning of the stressor

• Meaning based strategies– Techniques that produced positive emotion

Table 15.2: Types of Family Crises

Four Types of Family Crisis• Dismemberment – separation of isolation of

an individual from the rest of the family• Accession – when turbulence occurs due to

the addition of a family member• Demoralization plus Dismemberment or

Accession- family is demoralized because of embarrassing stressors such as imprisonment or suicide of a family member

Figure 15.2: Hill’s ABC –X Model of Family Stress

The ABC’s of Family Crisis

• ABC-X Family Crisis Model – Reuben Hill• Family crisis is a combination of factors and

the outcomes of the event• The A Factor – stress can be normative

development such as the birth of a child, marriage of an adult child, early death of a spouse – are family specific

ABC-X Model continued• The B Factor- refers to the resources the

family has that will help meet the demands of the stressor or crisis – communication, problem solving, coping strategies

• The C Factor – the definition the family assigns to change, transition, stressor, or disruption

ABC-X Model continued• The X Factor – this is the combination of A, B

and C and is totally dependent on the resources the family has to meet the crisis or stressor

Double ABC-X model• Stressors pile up on families• 3 types of stressors that lead to the pile-up– Initial stressor: the first stressor– Family life changes and transitions: things

that take place regardless of stressors– Stressors: those stressors associated with

family’s attempt to cope with circumstances

Double ABC-X model

• The Double B Factor • Resources that family already has – minimize

impacts• Coping resources – self reliance, self esteem

Double ABC-X model

The Double C Factor• The perception of the event or stressor may

be– The family’s perception of the stressor

itself– The family’s perception of the crisis

Double ABC-X model• The Double X Factor • Possible outcomes of stress• Family adaptation – return to pre-crisis level

of functioning• Maladaptive levels of functioning – low-

functioning, ill-functioning, non-functioning• Bonadaptive – level of functioning may grow

and strengthen

Figure 15.3: McCubbin’s Double ABC-X Model of Family Stress and Crisis: Pile-Up

Family Adaptive TasksTo successfully adjust, families must1. Establish the meaning and understand the

personal significance of the situation2. Confront reality and respond to the

requirements of the external situation3. Sustain relationships with family

members and friends as well as with other individuals who may be helpful in resolving the crisis and aftermath

Family Adaptive Tasks

• Preserve a reasonable emotional balance by managing distressful feelings in response to the situation

• Preserve a satisfactory self-image and maintain a sense of competence and mastery

Family Violence• Violence perpetrated against family

members by an offender who is related to the victim biologically or legally

• Batterers – current or former spouses, parents, guardians, children, siblings, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces

Figure 15.4: Domestic Partner Violence by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

Domestic Violence Categories• Physical Violence – hitting, punching,

pushing, slapping, biting, or throwing something at the victim

• Emotional violence – controlling the amount of contact with others, name calling, criticism, controlling spending, excessive rule making

More Domestic Violence

• Sexual violence – marital rape, battering rape, and forced sexual acts

Measuring Domestic Violence

• Measured in two ways– Through survey interviews with victims– Through statistics gathered by police

The BatteredCharacteristics of the battered• Lower educational levels• Teenage parents• Women who are single parents• Women who have witnessed a parent being

battered

Prevalence of Domestic Violence• 1 in 4 women have been physically or

sexually abused by an intimate partner• Women are more likely than men to be

victims• 3/4 of the people who commit family

violence are men• 74% of family violence victims are white,

13.6% are African American and 10.1 % are Hispanic

More Domestic Violence Facts• Girlfriends are more likely to be injured by

their boyfriends during family violence than are wives by their husbands

• 15% of all violent acts between intimate partners are perpetrated against men

• 18% of family murders are siblings who kill siblings

Figure 15.5 Primary Populations Served by Domestic Violence Shelters

Domestic Homicides• Everyday an average of 4 women in the U.S.

are killed by their intimate partners• Of all murders in the U.S., 21.5% are

committed against family members• Intimate partner violence is the leading

cause of death among pregnant women• Whites are more likely to die at the hands of

their partners than other races

Violence Against Children• Each year over 3 million children experience

some type of maltreatment or abuse by a caregiver– 61% are neglected– 19% are physically abused– 10% are sexually abused– 5% are psychologically abused– 2% experience medical maltreatment– 17% experience abandonment

Figure 15.6: Types of Child Abuse and Neglect by Percentage of Total Abuse

Figure 15.7: Who Abuses Children?

Violence Against Same Sex Partners• 6,523 incidents of domestic violence among

same sex partners• 44% of victims were men, 36% were women

and 2% were transgendered• 44% were white, 25% were Latino, 15% were

African American and 6% were Asian

The Signs of an Abusive Partner• The Batterer • Low self-esteem• Blame others for their behavior• Typically extremely jealous• Use sex as their weapon of aggression• Need to control and dominate and become

master manipulators

The Cycle of Violence

• Tension Building – victim senses an explosive, violent episode is about to occur, fear builds, she tries to stay out of his way; goal is to prevent batterer from becoming violent

The Cycle of Violence

• Acute Battering Incident – destructive, out of control, brutal, violence has escalated into an acute battering incident, can become deadly, verbal abuse, severe beating, possible rape, victim does not usually fight back

The Cycle of Violence

• Respite Phase – often called the “honeymoon,” abuser apologizes, may give victim gifts, express his regret, victim may have sense of renewed hope

Figure 15.8: The Power and

Figure 15.10 Lenore Walker’s Cycle of ViolenceP. 512

Family Coping and Resilience• Major Types of Coping Skills–Appraisal focused – attempt to

understand why crisis occurred and attempt to find meaning in circumstances that caused crisis–Problem focused coping – allows family to

confront the situation by seeking information about the crisis

Family Coping and Resilience• Emotion focused coping – crisis evokes a wide

range of feelings and emotions– Progressive desensitization: gradually allow

increasing exposure to aspects of the stressor– Emotional discharge: venting of anger,

frustration, confusion, disappointment– Resigned acceptance: family ultimately

accepts the situation, recognizes nothing will change the course their family has taken

Family Resilience• A family’s ability to function during times of stress,

adversity, crisis, and transition• Resilience Processes – Family belief system– Making meaning of adversity– Positive outlook– Flexibility– Connectedness– Communication