PSY 3123 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Unemployment Benefits, Alcoholism, Prenatal Diagnosis
28 Apr 2018
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April 4, 2018
The Family Beleaguered: When Problems Come
Who decides when a problem is a problem?
The public decides when a problem is a problem
-Public opinion doesn’t always remain the same
-Ex. Homosexuality used to be viewed as immoral, a crime, a mental illness, etc.
Conflict theory: looks at roles of different groups
-The dominant group tends to have the greatest influence in defining problems
•They have vested interests - have a stake in keeping society as it is
•They are usually among the wealthiest and benefit from the current system, so they may be concerned with he
cost of problems to society and they may wish to reduce problems to curtail the cost
-Gatekeepers: control access to important people or services
•Recognized as having specialized expertise in identifying problems
•Support the power of the dominant group
•Ex. Doctors, police officer, judges, social workers
Not everyone in society defines problems in the same way
-Two groups may see a particular situation as being a problem, but they may differ drastically as to just what the
problem is
The ABCX Model
ABCX model: explains how families respond to stressors based on the recourses they have and how they perceive
the stressor
-A factor: stressor event
•Includes how the stressor event is influenced by the family’s resources and their perception of the event -
determines the family’s adaptation
•Ex. Breadwinner loses job
-B factor: resources that exist within the individual, the family system, and the community
•Families tend to try to solve problems in ways that have worked before
•Ex. Other employable skills, family savings, employment insurance
-C factors: the way that family members perceive the stressor event
•Perceptions are critical in determining the impact of the stressor
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April 4, 2018
•Determines how the family assesses the magnitude of a stressors and how the family assesses the availability
and utility of internal and external resources
•Ex. Is the family concerned about the job loss? Is the breadwinner discouraged or excited to try something new?
-X factor: the crisis; interaction of the other three factors
•An imbalance in the demands placed on the individual or the family by a stressor and their ability to meet the
demand
Types of solutions:
-Functional solutions: increase the family’s ability to solve new problems
•Ex. Stay-at-home spouse finds a job
-Dysfunctional: temporarily reduce family tensions but create problems in the future
•Ex. Depleting all the family’s savings
The Double ABCX Model
Family crises evolve over time, and pressures from various sources accumulate
Double ABCX model: elaboration of the original ABCX model that also includes post-crisis factors (original only
looked at pre-crisis factors)
-Aa factor: pileup of multiple stressors; five general types of stressors can pile up
•Initial stressor and its hardships
•Normative stresses - expected changes that most families go through (ex. Transitioning of an adolescent into a
young adult)
•Pre-existing strains that arose before the stressor
•Family’s efforts to cope
•Ambiguity
-Ex. Not knowing how long the problems will last
-Bb factor: resources that help the family adapt to the situation
•Refers to both existing resources and to new resources that are developed in repose to the demands posed by
the stressor event
•Includes individual resources, family resources, and social support
-cC factor: family’s appraisal of the situation and the meaning they find in it
-xX factor: family’s adaptation to the problem; combination of all factors
•Family efforts need to be coordinated sot hat members can develop a lifestyle to suit the changed
circumstances
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Document Summary
The public decides when a problem is a problem. Public opinion doesn"t always remain the same. Homosexuality used to be viewed as immoral, a crime, a mental illness, etc. Con ict theory: looks at roles of different groups. Gatekeepers: control access to important people or services: recognized as having specialized expertise in identifying problems, support the power of the dominant group, ex. Not everyone in society de nes problems in the same way. Two groups may see a particular situation as being a problem, but they may differ drastically as to just what the problem is. Abcx model: explains how families respond to stressors based on the recourses they have and how they perceive the stressor. A factor: stressor event: includes how the stressor event is in uenced by the family"s resources and their perception of the event - determines the family"s adaptation, ex.
