Читать книгу Families & Change - Группа авторов - Страница 16

A stressor event is an occurrence that provokes a variable amount of change in the family system. Anything that alters some aspect of the system, such as the boundaries, structures, goals, processes, roles, or values, can produce stress (Boss, 2002; Burr, 1973; Lavee, 2013; Walsh, 2013a). This variable denotes something different than the routine changes within a system that are expected as part of its regular, ordinary operation. This variable is dichotomous, that is, an event either changes or does not change (Burr, 1982). The stressor event by definition has the potential to raise the family’s level of stress. However, the degree of stress is dependent on the magnitude of the event as well as other moderating factors to be discussed. Also, both positive and negative life events can be stressors. Research has clearly indicated that normal or positive life changes can increase an individual’s risk for illness. Finally, stressor events do not always increase stress levels to the point of crisis. In some situations, the family’s stress level can be successfully managed and the family can return to a new equilibrium.

Description

Figure 1.1 ABC-X Model of Family Crisis

Source: Hill, R. (l958). Social stresses on the family: Generic features of families under stress. Social Casework, 39, 139–150. Reprinted with permission from Families in Society (www.familiesinsociety.org), published by the Alliance for Children and Families.

Researchers have attempted to describe various types of stressor events (e.g., Boss, 1988, 2002; Hansen & Hill, 1964; McCubbin & McCubbin, 2013). Lipman-Blumen (1975) described family stressor events in terms of eight dimensions—these have been updated by adding two additional dimensions based on the research literature: (1) internal versus external, (2) pervasive versus bounded, (3) precipitate onset versus gradual onset, (4) intense versus mild, (5) transitory versus chronic, (6) random versus expectable, (7) natural generation versus artificial generation, (8) scarcity versus surplus, (9) perceived insolvable versus perceived solvable (e.g., ambiguous loss), and (10) substantive content (See Table 1.1 for definitions). The type of event may be highly correlated with the family’s ability to manage stress. Other researchers (e.g., McCubbin, Patterson, & Wilson, 1981; Pearlin & Schooler, 1978) have classified stressor events in terms of their intensity or hardship on the family.

One dichotomous classification that is often used by family stress researchers and clinicians is normal or predictable events versus nonnormative or unpredictable events. Normal events are part of everyday life and represent transitions inherent in the family life cycle, such as birth or death of a family member, child’s school entry, and retirement. These normative stressor events by definition are of short duration. Although predictable, such life-cycle events have the potential of changing a family’s level of stress because they disturb the system equilibrium (Anderson et al., 2013; Henry et al., 2015). These events lead to crisis only if the family does not adapt to the changes brought about by these events (Carter & McGoldrick, 1989).

Nonnormative events are the product of unique situations that could not be predicted and are not likely to be repeated. Examples of nonnormative events would include natural disasters, loss of a job, or an automobile accident. Unexpected but welcome events that are not disastrous may also be stressful for families, such as a promotion or winning the lottery. Although these events are positive, they do change or disturb the family’s routine and thus have the potential of raising the family’s level of stress (Boss, 1988; Lavee, 2013).

There has been much interest in the study of isolated versus accumulated stressors. Specifically, life event scholars (e.g., Holmes & Rahe, 1967; McCubbin & McCubbin, 2013; McCubbin et al., 1981) suggest that it is the accumulation of several stressor events rather than the nature of one isolated event that determines a family’s level of stress. The clustering of stressor events (normative and/or nonnormative) is termed stress pileup. An event rarely happens to a family in total isolation. Normal developmental changes are always taking place and nonnormative events tend to result in other stressors; for example, loss of job may result in a family having to move or marital disruption. By focusing only on certain events or stressors, researchers may fail to capture the complexity in the range and clustering of stressors (Pearlin, 1991; Yeh, Arora, & Wu, 2006).

Table 1.1

Source: Adapted from Lipman-Blumen, J. (1975). A crisis framework applied to macrosociological family changes: Marriage, divorce, and occupational trends associated with World War II. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 27, 889–902.

Researchers have also offered alternative perspectives on stressor events. One such alternative is focusing on daily stressors and their relationship to stress outcomes (e.g., Darling et al., 2012; Harris, Marett, & Harris, 2011; Serido, Almeida, & Wethington, 2004; For review, see Helms, Postler, & Demo, Chapter 2 in this volume). Daily hassles not only parallel major life events in their potential to engender stress, but have an even stronger relationship than traditional life events measures in affecting relationship satisfaction, subjective well-being, and predicting physical health (Falconier et al., 2014; Graf et al., 2016).

Not all stressor events, however, are straightforward or easily understood. As a result, a state of ambiguity is created. Boss (1999, 2006, 2013; Boss, Bryant, & Mancini, 2017) addressed the issue of ambiguous loss that can result from incongruency between physical and psychological/emotional presence or absence. There are two major types of ambiguous loss: (1) a person being physically absent but psychologically or emotionally present (missing children, divorce, a family member in prison, soldiers missing in action, immigrants); and, (2) when a person is physically present but psychologically or emotionally absent (a person that has Alzheimer’s disease or a chronic mental illness, chronic substance abuse; a spouse preoccupied with work; Boss, 1999, 2013). Ambiguous loss not only disrupts family functioning, it results in a lack of clarity regarding who is “in” and who is “outside” the family, as well as what are appropriate roles for family members. This type of ambiguity is the most stressful situation a person or family can experience. Boss attributed this high level of stress to (a) people feeling unable to problem solve because they do not know whether the problem is final or temporary, (b) the ambiguity preventing people from adjusting by reorganizing their relationship with the loved one, (c) families denying societal rituals associated with loss (e.g., funerals, death certificate) that in turn impede their ability to grieve, (d) friends or neighbors withdrawing rather than giving support, and (e) the extended continuation of ambiguous loss which leads to the physical and emotional exhaustion of affected family members (Boss, 1999, pp. 7–8).