of stressors often receive fairly common individual definitions that fit approximately into the categories of a classification system. Most classification systems include three common categories: normative stressors, nonnormative stressors, and chronic stressors. An important caution to keep in mind, however, is that specific stressors do not always fit exclusively within a single category, which means that any classification system inherently has imperfections.
Normative Stressors
An initial kind of change, normative stressors, are part of everyday life (e.g., daily hassles) or are longer term developmental transitions that occur normally during the family life course (see Price, Bush, Price, & McKenry, Chapter 1 in this volume).
Daily Hassles
Parents’ daily hassles include constant caregiving demands and pressures from everyday tasks involved in caring for and socializing children (Finegood et al., 2017; Helms, Postler, & Demo, Chapter 2 in this volume). Many everyday child-rearing experiences are sources of self-defined competence and satisfactions by parents as they engage in playful activities with children, solve parent–child challenges, and enjoy the developmental progress of their young (Bush & Peterson, 2008, 2013; Peterson & Bush, 2015). In contrast, other parenting experiences are less positive, such as when Tiffany reports dealing with her children’s whining, their annoying conduct due to underdeveloped self-control, endless cleaning-up activities, loss of sleep, toilet training, constant interruptions, lack of personal time, and seemingly endless errands. Some hassles are infrequent and situational, whereas others occur repeatedly as part of everyday life (Crnic et al., 2005; Crnic & Low, 2002, Kalil et al., 2014; Yoon et al., 2015). By itself, each hassle may have limited consequences, but the cumulative impact of daily hassles may lead to substantial amounts of parental stress (Finegood et al., 2017; Helms, Postler, & Demo, Chapter 2 in this volume; Hennon et al., 2009).
Single-parent families may be subject to problems stemming from the rapid accumulation of daily hassles and other stressors. One reason for this “accumulation” problem is that adult partners are now absent or are no longer sharing the everyday challenges of child-rearing. For example, although Tiffany’s ex-husband pays some child support (he is only inconsistently employed), he is not involved with the children regularly to share everyday tasks. The daily hassles of single parents may be complicated by stress resulting from economic disadvantage, employment conflicts, and limited social support. Single parents often must face an accumulation of challenges that leads to feelings of isolation, exhaustion, depression, distress, and diminished feelings of parental efficacy (Kremer-Sadlik & Paugh, 2007; Ontai et al., 2008). Although many single parents provide positive environments for children, this accumulation of daily hassles may push parent–child relationships gradually in problematic directions over time (Ontai et al., 2008). When daily hassles occur regularly, parents who once were satisfied and competent, may gradually become fatigued, dysfunctional, and subjected to growing stress (Dunning & Giallo, 2012). These evolving circular processes may give rise to unresponsive, and less satisfied parents, along with children who demonstrate acting out and problematic behaviors (Crnic et al., 2005; Crnic & Low, 2002; Neece et al., 2012).
Developmental Transitions
Other sources of normative stress are the developmental transitions of the young, the social meanings associated with these changes, and the resulting need for modifications within parent–child relationships. Developmental transitions have the potential for stressors to accumulate and can result in disruptive change, psychological distress, or, in contrast, a growing sense of parental competence. One of these pivotal times of change and possible stress occurs during the transition to parenthood. Newborns require almost constant care through feeding, cleaning, changing, and dealing with an infant’s sleep patterns. Relentless parental responsibilities during this period include monitoring their infant’s health, applying preventative measures, and arranging treatment for problematic health issues (Medina et al., 2009). Parents who cope effectively are those who sooth newborns when they cry and provide other forms of sensitive responsiveness that foster the establishment of secure parent–child attachment. Sensitive responsiveness involves managing stress so that parenting is attentive, empathic, and reads the infant’s cues accurately. Sensitive parents also avoid high intrusiveness and are emotionally responsive to infants (Solomon & George, 2008).
The birth of an infant often abruptly disrupts the routine patterns of parents in ways requiring concentrated attention to the needs of the newborn (Epifanio et al., 2015). Parents experience sleep disturbances because newborns often wake up every few hours for feeding. Because new mothers often leave the workplace, families with newborns can experience decreases in income, which may increase the stress of fathers as they take second jobs or work more hours to supplement family finances (Medina et al., 2009). The decreased time and energy experienced by marital partners often results in decreased marital satisfaction, less mutual expressions of love, and greater conflict between spouses (Lawrence et al., 2008). How parents manage these potential sources of stress may depend on how well they maintain marital relationships and successful co-parenting (or establish a parental alliance). High-quality marital relationships are predictive of effective co-parenting where parents work together to support each other’s parenting with competence (Bouchard, 2014). Competent parenting involves providing support, resolving child-rearing disagreements, dividing family duties fairly, and managing interaction patterns. Co-parenting involves providing mutual social support and helps reduce stress while increasing parents’ abilities to respond to infants with sensitivity (Schoppe-Sullivan & Mangelsdorf, 2013). Co-parenting also involves being responsive to infants, maintaining couple satisfaction, and diminishing parental stress (McHale & Lindahl, 2011).
Another example of a developmental transition occurs during the adolescent years, when greater stress may be experienced by parents when their role is expected to change toward granting autonomy to the young (Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Kagitcibasi, 2013; Liga et al., 2015). Consistent with normative expectations, parents in the United States often grant autonomy through a gradual process of relationship renegotiation that allows adolescents greater self-determination (Bush & Peterson 2008; Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Kagitcibasi, 2013; Peterson & Bush, 2015). This process of “letting go” in western cultures is not a sudden transfer of authority to the young. Instead, competent parents and developing teenagers engage in renegotiation processes that are necessary, mutual, and accelerate during adolescence (Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Kagitcibasi, 2013; Peterson & Bush, 2013). This letting-go process presents potential stressors, especially when parents resist granting autonomy to the young and resist the need to redefine gradually their roles as authority figures. This effort to delay youthful autonomy may erupt into heightened conflict and stress between adolescents and parents (Bush & Peterson, 2008; Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Peterson & Bush, 2015). Consequently, this desire of adolescents for greater autonomy may result in feelings of distress and separation anxiety by parents who resist this loss of control (Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Liga et al, 2015). Moderate levels of parent–adolescent conflict and distress may be normative energizers for growing autonomy. In contrast, parent–adolescent conflict that escalates to very high levels may lead to greater emotional distance, severe conflict, and greater stress for parents when the autonomy-granting process malfunctions (Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Peterson & Bush, 2015). Many families also experience multiple developmental transitions simultaneously, such as when Tiffany gave birth to Pamela, she was also going through the complexities of Matt’s transition into adolescence.
Nonnormative Stressors
Parents also face stressor events that are nonnormative through unpredictable occurrences that substantially disrupt the everyday pattern of parent–child relationships (Allen, 2017; Hill, 1949; see Chapter 1). Nonnormative stressor events are often sudden, dramatic occurrences that have high potential of disrupting the lives of