Impact On A Family: The Impact Of Unemployment On The Family

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Unemployment in the Family Most people will eventually have to get a job, become employed to pay bills and help support themselves and their family. However, for many people unemployment can go from being something on a shelf in the back of their mind to reality at any point. Unemployment, defined as “the state of not having a job”, can affect any person or family at any time (Merriam-Webster). Unemployment, as we have seen in the past, has no boundaries and can help bring a nation crumbling down. We have seen how unemployment affects a nation through things such as the economy and the poverty level, but how, if at all, does unemployment affect the daily life of a family when one spouse suddenly becomes unemployed? Does unemployment change …show more content…

However, if the husband of a traditional family were to become unemployed, would their role within the family change? “It was found that in families where sex roles were strictly defined, the most severe marital difficulties developed” (Thomas, Mccabe, & Berry, 1980, p. 519). According to Larson, when a family has traditional family roles there is a significant difference in the way a family operates when the husband becomes unemployed. When a husband of a traditional family becomes unemployed, he begins to lose the authority he had over his wife and children, and the wife’s authority and ability to make decisions for the family increases (especially if she gets a job while her husband is unemployed). As the husband begins to lose his role as the breadwinner and the power to make the finical decisions, his self-esteem begins to decline, and is typically lower than an unemployed husband’s in an egalitarian marriage. Also, due to poor communication between the husband and wife after the husband becomes unemployed, abuse rates can increase. The rise in abuse rates is seen by some as a way for the unemployed husband to hold onto his power when he sees the wife gaining more authority and having more say in the finical decisions. The abuse can also be because the husband feels like he has no authority over his children anymore since he is not in control of the finances. Some children in traditional families may begin to feel as though they don’t have to listen to their father because of his unemployment and the shift in power to their mom, and this can cause a higher rate of abuse. In some cases abuse rates rise because it gives the newly unemployed husband (or father) the feeling of power and being in control. In a family where there are traditional roles, all members, especially the husband, seem

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