Nursing and Family Stress Theory Essay

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

“The purpose of this paper is to apply the Family Systems Stressor-Strengths Inventory (FS3I) to a family and present an analysis of the finding.” For the purpose of this paper the family will been known as the Hyppolite Family. The family discussed in this paper is considered a traditional nuclear family living in a single family home. Included is a Father Andrew Hyppolite (AH) age 38, a mother Katharine (KH), age 36, and four children Zoë , Timothy, Sarah, and Scott, whose ages are 9, 7, 5,3. Andrew and Katherine have been married for 10 years. The mother is a stay a home mom who performs household duties and children activities. The husband Andrew works outside the home at an Accounting Firm. Both parents have a

According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2008) “Each family is an unexplained mystery, unique in the ways it meets the needs of its members and society” (p. 550). Family nursing is a special field that involves the nurse and family working together to achieve progress for the family and its members in adjusting to transitions and responding to health and illness. The Friedman Family Assessment Model serves as a guide in family nursing to identify the developmental stage of the family, environmental data, family structure, composition, and functions as well as how the family manages stress and their coping mechanisms. From this data, three nursing diagnoses with interventions are developed.

The story brings to the forefront on how parents need to anticipate the family needs and take proactive steps to ensure healthy family dynamics during any stressful or critical situation. A family that has functional dynamics has the ability to offer support, concern and love to each other when a chronic conflict or

Families, as units, are extremely complex and vary drastically from one another. A person might be under the impression that his or her own family is nothing special, especially if they are accustomed to their family’s routines. After analyzing my own family through the sociological lenses of an assortment of scholars, it is now clear that it is not as simple as it seems. Sociologically analyzing my family through the divorces that have occurred in my life makes it clear that divorce can have an impact on a variety of family dynamics, such as my parents and their jobs and domestic duties, the amount of involvement they have with their friends and family, as well as my financial dependence on my parents.

Family nursing is not all about patient centered care, it is focused on the needs of the family as a whole (Nursing theory). The main goal for family nursing is to improve any health concerns by assessing the needs,problems,influences, and strentghs of the family (Journal of nursing). There are four four types of approaches to family nursing. The four types of approaches to family nursing are, family as context, family as client, family as system, and family as component of society (the book). The purpose of this paper is to define, discuss, and give examples of the four types of approaches to family nursing.

Through assessment of the overall themes, trends, and patterns of the nuclear and extended family, the Sinclair family has been through many conflicts and stresses, and each family member has fought hard to maintain and keep the family connected together, despite long distances, separation, addiction, developmental delays, aging, and many more stressors. Though there are many theoretical approaches to take with the Sinclair family at any given point in “Down in the Delta”, including Family Development Theory, Family Systems Theory, Family Crisis/Stress, or Social Exchange Theory. This paper will focus on Structural

Family identity is important to develop who they will be in the world, a family's values, goals and vision help build a strong foundation that will mold someone into a productive member of society. Family relationships are the building blocks that lead to strong moral values. Respect, honesty and trust are all developed with family members. The stronger the bond in the family, the stronger the moral values will be as a person grows up. If the family doesn’t have strong values, skills will develop based off the environment. This can be a tough thing to learn, not

-A succinct philosophy of family nursing is seen in The Association for the Care of Children’s Health standards stating the expectation for healthcare providers to facilitate family/professional collaboration at all levels of care, and to recognizing family as the constant in the patient’s life whereas the healthcare providers will fluctuate (p.40, 2003).

Think back to when you were a child and you became ill. All you wanted was the protection and guidance of your mother to take care of you. If you had older siblings, maybe they were the ones that helped make you feel better. Even as we grow older, we rely on our family for support when we are not well. When a family member is ill, it is not just that one person that suffers. When an illness strikes a family member, it oftentimes includes the whole family to deal with the illness also. There are different approaches that a nurse can utilize when dealing with family nursing. Approaches include family as context, as a client, system and a component of society. In this paper, I will discuss where and how these approaches are utilized.

Families play a large role in the lives of every person to ever live. If one is born without a family, their lives will be much different than one who is born with a family, whether that family has a positive influence on said person or not. Every member of a family shapes a person’s identity, especially when they are growing up. If a child grows up with irresponsible parents that do not care for their child or adhere to their needs, the child will most likely grow up to become a person of a similar fashion with similar characteristics as their parents because that is all they have experienced and that is the only way that they

Stress becomes greater at the transition points while the family tries to find balance and realign relationships

Families are seen as a sociological unit that play a significant role in a person's development into adulthood. Miller (2014:2) suggests

The family unit as a whole is suffering due to marital strife due to, spiritual and emotional issues taking place in the home amongst couples and parents and their children.

Several nursing theory models are available to assist the nurse in assessing and evaluating a family, creating a care plan for a family, and determining which interventions are most applicable to the family’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses. The Neuman’s Systems Model, created in 1983 by nursing theorist/educator Betty Neuman, is a theory that encompasses the family as a whole rather than focusing on the individual patient, and offers ways in which the family can react to outside stressors and return to a whole state after the stressor is gone. Newman believes that each person is a layered, multi-dimensional being and identifies methods of coping with outside stressors that include three types of interventions that help the patient and family cope with these stressors.