Life involves constant change to which both the individual and the family must adjust. Change brings stress-psychological or emotional distress or disruption. A certain amount of family stress is inevitable. While most people try to avoid stress, no family is immune to it. Stress comes in a variety of forms. It can build from a variety of everyday events or from a one-time crisis event and means different things to different people. It is how a family handles and copes with stress that makes a difference. Stressed out families can often lead to more problems and issues. It is a major cause of marital problems and parenting problems.
Definition: Family stress may be defined as an upset in the steady state of the family. Families constantly face stress, tension resulting from real or perceived demands that require the family system to adjust or adapt its behavior. As a result, individuals and families are involved in a delicate balancing act to adapt to changing situations introduced by stressors while maintaining their integrity.
