Like the strings of a guitar, families vibrate together! In the psychological field, it is really useful to view your stress in the context of your family. The family stress model was developed to explain how financial and economic stressors that affect individuals in a family unit can lead to stress and altered development in other family members!
When parents experience stressors their normal parenting behaviors often become disrupted. This increases the likelihood that the child receives less emotional bandwidth or inconsistent discipline!
These parental disruptions have been linked to behavioral problems and poorer school performance in children and adolescents. These issues hit low-income and minority families the hardest, as they have higher incidences of stress (The latter being connected to stress from racial discrimination)!
Understanding the roles we play in our family dynamics can help us be better family members! Regardless of how hard you try, stress is going to affect the ways you interact with those around you. The important takeaway from the family stress model is that there are many protective behaviors you can engage in to curb familial stress. Regardless of what role you play in your family, exercise, mindfulness behaviors, and social support are all great tools we can employ to maintain meaningful relationships and reduce familial stress!
