Introduction
A family stress theory is a social abstract that tends to explain the observations concerning family strains, which have occurred over the years. In fact, this is considered as a critical aspect of the social life (Babbie, 2004). Like most theories in nursing, family stress theory is an explanation of observations concerning family conducts that can be used to design clinical intervention strategies, predict the behavior and guide further health studies. Even though stress theories are relatively new and still evolving, it has been widely applied in the social, psychological, psychiatric and healthcare intervention strategies (Babbie, 2004). Stress theories consist of the individual and the family anxiety presumptions. However, the individual, family models, and stress management frameworks are applied and remain critical in most family strain-management interventions (Babbie, 2004).
The history of the model
Various studies on the strain concept have advanced overtime in the domestic arena. The evolution in the study of the family strains and the emergence of the family stress theory has led researchers to divide the family strain preposition into four distinct eras (Babbie, 2004). Even though the stages are distinct, the models are closely related and developed from one stage to the other. Both the family and individual stress theories began in the 1920s with researchers particularly concerned with the strains that affected both the individuals and families. The stress theories were developed through researchers in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and sociology (Babbie, 2004). However, its application span across various fields including health sciences.
The first era in the development of the family stress theory started with the studies in the 1920s and ended in the development of the assumption in the mid-1940s (Babbie, 2004). The first era of the family stress theory is associated with the works of Angel in 1936, Cavan and Ranck in 1938, Koos in 1946 and Hill in 1949 (Babbie, 2004).
The researchers established different stresses affecting families resulting from the economic changes (Babbie, 2004).
The second era in the development of family stress theory was advanced via the works of Hill in 1958. In the study, Hill developed the ABCX model, which became the foundation of the current family stress theory. During the second era most of the researches revolved around testing the Hill’s ABCX model (Babbie, 2004).
In the third era, the focus of the studies was on the family strengths, adaptation strategies as well as the concepts of the family systems (Babbie, 2004). The third era depended on the works of McCubbin and Patterson who expanded the ABCX model to double ABCX and FAAR models in 1982 and 1983 respectively. McCubbin and McCubbin also came up with typology and resiliency models in 1987 and 1991 respectively (Babbie, 2004).
The fourth era in the development of family stress theory also saw a transformation to the postmodern stressors with a lot of emphasis on the changing focus to industrial processes, cultural transformations, shared family meanings and contexts (Babbie, 2004). The fourth era is mainly associated with the works of Boss in 2002.
The Major Concept of the Framework
The current applications of the family stress theory are based on the postmodern studies conducted mainly in the fourth era. The main idea is to utilize the modern family setting in explaining the health phenomena as well as to provide guidance to the nursing practice (Votroubek, 2010). Essentially, the whole concept surrounds a clinical setting in which the family forms an integral part of the intervention. The whole idea is to apply the family stress theory in clinical practice particularly, to support healthcare programs during typical family unit transitions as well as in evaluating changes in the family during one of the member’s heightened or persistent poor health (Votroubek, 2010).
Based on the assumptions that a number of realities and truths exists, postmodern interventions is distinct from the notion that realities can be conceived. The postmodern therapies are founded on the idea that families create meanings in their lives through mutual communications (Votroubek, 2010). In fact, the post-modern approach put more emphasis on determining the strengths and resources of the clients. The post-modern approaches steered clear of the concept of pathologizing the clients and disregarded the issue of diagnosis (Votroubek, 2010). The post-modern approaches also kept away from the processes of searching for the underlying causes of the family problems.
Major Assumptions of the Theory Concerning Family and Nursing
Four major assumptions are associated with the family stress model. The theory assumed that most stresses are due to unexpected events (Babbie, 2004). Besides, the theory assumed that stresses that come from unexpected events cause more disruption to families compared with stressors that result from external events including economic downturn, war and related circumstances. In addition, the concept assumed that the increased awareness of anxiety originates from the deficiency of experience of the preceding stressor. Finally, the theory assumed that the stressors originating from uncertain actions are stressful compared with non-ambiguous events (Babbie, 2004). The assumptions remain critical in understanding how the families cope. Besides, the assumptions help the nurses to determine the stressors and the family coping relationships, which in turn led to the establishment of the resilient outcomes.
References
Babbie, E. (2004). The practice of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson.
Votroubek, W. (2010). Pediatric home care for nurses: A family-centered approach. Boston, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.