ABSTRACT
This chapter contains information on normative and nonnormative family stressors. It will address questions such as “What are the major stressors that families experience?” “What are some of the factors that lead up to or follow these stressors?” and “What is the role of communication in the experience of different family stressors?” This analysis will show that family stressors each have their own unique qualities and challenges. At the same time, some phenomena are common to most family stressors. For example, most family stressors cause a shift in roles and interactions within the family. Additionally, the family’s functioning before the stressor is usually the best predictor of their functioning during and after the stressor. Stressors amplify problems that are already present in troubled families. Families that function well during times of relative harmony usually weather stressors better than families that have a great deal of conflict and contention. We start this chapter with an analysis of normative family stressors that are associated with the family life cycle (e.g., transition to marriage, parenthood and marriage, launching children, aging). This is followed by an examination of several nonnormative, but still fairly common, family stressors (e.g., marital distress, separation from the family, families with transgender members, work–family conflict).
