Introduction
Stress refers to the non-specific rejoinder of the body to any mandate for change. Stress subjectively defies definition, and it is therefore not used mainly by scientists. According to the researchers, stress is the body’s reaction to a specific change that calls for emotional, mental, or physical responses or adjustments. This article overlays the contemporary stresses on families, how the pandemic has stressed families and its challenges. It will also oversee Popenoe’s Argument about family decline, changes in the family in the last 30-50 years with their importance, and finally, the surprising information about contemporary romantic relationships.
Contemporary Stress on Families and the Pandemic
Life is by itself stressful as impacted by multiple areas of life. Families are among the areas in life where stress significantly affects its effect. Relationships are perceived as complex; however, the relationships talked about are not only romantic ones but also any other relationship. There are numerous causes of family stress, and it can straightforwardly leave you feeling stunned. However, it can manage stress, but it is not an easy task.
The common cause of stress in families is financial stress. It causes pressure on individuals and families at large—moreover, it calls for the provision need. Children can even add more stress to families. Children have to get shelter, food, good health, and many other provisions. Importantly these provisions need finances. The financial position might not allow the parents to provide their children with a better and more fruitful life (Kosmas, 2021), or even one may be a single parent and trying the best to make both ends meet. The need to provide for the family’s necessities can be very stressful. Relationship problems are another major cause of family stress. Marriage is complicated. As the relationship grows and more children are born, new levels of challenges arise. Mostly when the schedules fill up, couples may start losing touch with each other. They spend a lot of time away from each other, which primarily makes them forget the reason for their coming together. Dealing with this situation is difficult and stressful. Health problems also add stress to families. When a family member gets sick, this leads to constraints in the family. It may make it difficult for parents to attend their duties to attend to their ill children. Illness wreaks havoc on already-established family schedules. 1n addition, it causes stress on families hence limiting the family’s comfort. Finally, relocation and adding up another family member are other causes of family stress. There are many more causes of family stress but the above-mentioned are the major ones.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made the existing family stress worse. A few weeks after the pandemic hit the world, Fisher launched a survey to collect data on coping with the families. He researched to uncover information about the health, needs, and well-being of families during the pandemic. From prior research, Fisher found that early stress is not impressive for young children and that parents cannot act as a buffer to help alleviate the stress effects. The survey reported that many families are experiencing stress based on finances. The survey went further revealed that the inequalities that existed before had exacerbated the pandemic. A large portion of families is working extra hard to make both ends meet. The imbalances revealed include ethnicity, economic status, race, and special needs. The significant effect found was that kids and parents are not okay.
Popenoe’s Argument and Stacey’s Rejoinder Bidding
Popenoe provided an argument on the family decline. He argued that the family decline of the previous decades was something special He defined it as the end of the family line or simply the decline of a particular family (Debowska et al., 2020). His argument is based on the family stripping down to bear its essentials. The weakening of the family on the bearing of conditions is problematic. Each family needs a long life and emotional and social bond. Many adults in their need for good purpose life have stripped down their families into the nucleus. Any further reduction, especially in the number of family members, is likely to have adverse consequences for generations to come. The family decline has also occurred in the sense that cultural value has weakened in some way. People are less willing to invest their time, money, and energy.
Stacey provided arguments on how we can provoke ethnography with a feminist-based imagination. Stacey’s statement left the volume in a dilemma on the possibilities for feminist ethnography. Moreover, it is considered the latent site for endangering feminist ethnography. Stacey gave his debate on the future of comparing politics. The emphasis was on the similarity analysis, which does not in a way involve meaningless description. Quantitively should emphasize the use of comparative politics.
Stacey’s argument on comparative politics relates much to the family decline. According to postmodernists, the current social changes in families have made families a personal choice, making families more diverse (Khan, 2020). Popenoe argued that modern families have engaged in the chaotic, new, and postmodern stage. In the new family structures, there is more freedom of choice as compared to before. There has been increasing diversity and fragmentation in society today. The new technology has wasted everything.
Stacey further extended her argument on divorce in families. Women have more freedom than before; In fact, they are the driving forces of families. Many women have rejected their traditional role as weaves as related together by divorce rather than marriage. This has, however, freed them from patriarchal oppression. With this argument, Propanone’s Argument relates to Stacey’s Rejoinder.
Changes In the American Family Life
Family life in America has ultimately changed over time. The two-parent households are to declining at a high rate. Families are of late becoming smaller. Cohabitation, divorce, and marriage are on the upsurge. There is excellent drop-in infertility. The fact that circumstances surrounding families have changed accounts for these effects. Family structures have changed at an alarming rate (Pandey, 2020). The mother’s commitment promotes this in the workplace. Many moms have been participating in the labor force as they have become the breadwinners of the family.
There is no longer a dominant family form in America. The increasing and diverse standards of life have triggered all this. Children are now living in single and cohabiting. Dramatically the traditional family has been entirely changed been replaced. Many families have moved to tows leading to the abandonment of these traditional families. Old left rural with the youths and the energetic going to urban areas due to the upsurge in the economy.
Apart from the diversity in the family arrangements, the fluidity of the family has also been affected. Divorce and non-marital cohabitation are now prevailing. In the past, a child born to a married couple was likely to grow well up together. This is less common today due to arrangement changes concerning the status of their parents. Should discuss parental divorce, marriage, death, and cohabitation with family change.
In the modern world, life has changed, which has triggered all these changes. Technology has advanced with the cultural norms changing and the forms of communication fuelled by the internet. The main question is about the impacts of these changes on the modern world. Family needs evaluation since it is an essential aspect of society. Since both parents are participating in the career world, they continuously provide for basic needs. The financial security of the family has grown to a better position. Visually, families are functioning contemporarily well. Support from both parents is positively increasing the families. Though the change in family structure seems negative, we should consider the positive side.
Family life is challenging. Minor support is needed to move the families on the right track ideally. On the other hand, families should choose the best options to cope with these problems. This will lower the family stress. There is a need to seek help from the better experienced on family issues. The family structure is a society by itself. Nothing can function well without the families moving on freely.
Conclusion
The most surprising information from this article is on the family focus on the issue of divorce. The families should focus on a way of making things better rather than divorcing. There should be freedom of expression in marriage, and each partner should give views on family issues. We should reconsider the reason for getting married for families to grow.
References
Debowska, A., Horeczy, B., Boduszek, D., & Dolinski, D. (2020). A repeated cross-sectional survey assessing university students’ stress, depression, anxiety, and suicidality in Poland’s early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Medicine, 1-4.
Khan, M. H. (2020). Stress Management in the Field Workers of ZIN Field Baluchistan. Electronic Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(1).
Kosmas, J. (2021). The Role of Stress in the Association between Food Insecurity and Disordered Eating (No. THESIS). The University of Chicago.
Pandey, D. L. (2020). Work Stress and Employee Performance: An Assessment of Impact of Work Stress. International Research Journal of Human Resource and Social Sciences, 7(05), 124-135.