ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of various family lifecycles on the background and context of living with pain, especially with regard to dysfunctional families where abuse occurs, as well as structural inequities giving rise to disempowerment and strain. The family was the main arena for both social and personal reinforcements, and family considerations had a strong impact on the organization and priorities of their paid work. The woman in the family was the one who arranged her life in order to take proper care of the children and despite work ambitions, she prioritized family commitments before paid work if those were in conflict. Efforts to manage the family budget could explain much of the unequal balance of domestic and parental responsibilities. Chronic pain occurs within a multilayered context: the person’s family of origin, his or her current family, worklife, and culture. Chronic pain inevitably alters and constrains the life course in ways that can be described as ‘biographical disruption’.
