Stress of unmarried motherhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stress of unmarried motherhood - Essay ExampleIf stress is go away untreated, this may lead to life altering health complications that may also affect the child, thus lintel with the challenges of atomic number 53-pargonnthood and social support are of core importance. To start with, it shall be emphasized that single mothers, in this study, refers to those women who were separated, divorced, widowed, or never been married living with at least one child (minor age). The number of single-parent families, majority of which is headed by women, grew substantially since the 1960s as a result of increasing rates of divorce and separation (Avison, Aneshensel, Scheiman, and Wheaton 73). In the most recent census in the U.S., about 84% of 13.7 million single parents are single mothers (Grall 1 Wolf n. pag.) 45% are currently divorce or separated 34.2% have never been married 19% are married (usually remarried) and 1.7% are widowed (Wolf). Wolf added that 79% of single mothers are employed and those who work in full- clip prat are much greater (71.7%) compared to part- snip basis workers (18.4%). In relation to poverty, 27% of single mothers live in poverty and in terms of universal assistance or support, 22% receive Medicaid, 23.5% receive food stamps, 12% receive public admit or rent subsidy, and 5% receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Wolf n. pag.). In connection to stress, it is of the essence(predicate) to understand what stress is all about. According to Dr. Stoppler (1), stress, in general, is related to external (physical environment, job, relationships with others, and all situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations occurring everyday) and internal (bodys ability to respond) factors. When a stressor comes in, our bodys rapid and automatic defense would be a fight-or-flight--a reaction called the stress response (Smith, Segal, R., and Segal, J. n. pag.). The three components of the body involved in response to stress are (1) the he adspring that immediately responds to assoil epinephrine and norepinephrine, (2) the hypothalamus and pituitary gland transmitting signal to the adrenal cortex to release cortisol and other hormones, and (3) the many neural (nerve) circuits involved in the behavioral response (Stoppler 4). Though a certain level of stress can motivate an individual to perform well under oblige (Smith, et al n. pag.), however, a stress-out lifestyle is more likely an unhealthy one because it can affect the souls eating habit that may result either to weight loss ( due(p) to lack of time to prepare healthy foods) or weight gain (to fill an emotional need and partly due to the effect of high level of cortisol during stress that stimulates fat, carbohydrate, and insulin) (Stoppler 1). Focusing on stress among single mothers, Scott (n. pag.) verbalize that most mothers, generally, feel stress in the following areas (1) time demands, (2) finances, (3) relationship demands, (4) protective instincts, (5 ) self doubt, and (6) time alone. A single mother carries all stress in these areas with no male partner to character with, thus parenting is more burdensome to them compared to two-parent family. Studies consistently found out that single mothers have high levels of mental distress and high rates of major depression than married mothers (Avison, et al 73). More specifically, separated or divorced mothers have higher rates of depression, dysthymia (a mood disorder),