Middle class families have really found themselves on the wrong side of the economy after the recession hit the western countries and the rest of the world. The socioeconomic statuses of these families have changed for the worst though it seems that it is going to take a while before life comes back to normalcy. A social class is rated in terms of some important variables which include, the level of education, the income capabilities and the occupations they take up in the social world not forgetting the wealth the family has accumulated. Considering this, the economy following the great depression as had a great impact on the families especially in the psychological aspect. The global economic crisis has sparked mixed feelings and psychological problems on the various classes of people more especially the middle class who are either laid off from their duties or are totally unemployed.
Following the recession, there was widespread losing of jobs by most people. At the beginning this was seen as normal and that getting another job could not be as hard. But it turned out to be hard and sustaining the acquired jobs has become so hard. Most companies lost their market and thus getting another job became hard, therefore these families whose livelihood had to change abruptly found themselves in trouble catching up with their fate. It became very difficult to cope with an economy where a family income has been stopped and life becoming more expensive. On the part of the middle class family, they could not easily afford the escalating prices of commodities and life becoming generally expensive with a meager salary and therefore this is posing a survival threat to these families.
During this time of the recession, the living conditions of the middle class families deteriorated due to the increased living conditions. For a family that was used to afford life in a not so strenuous way, things became unbearable. This could have pressure on the parents who really have to see ends meet with their less or no income at all. This probably causes psychological and emotional instability by the family breadwinners who are now in constant fear of the unknown and the future they are so uncertain of. This is a blow on the middle class family who are trying to put up with the changing times.
In the recent times the unemployment issue has remained a problem that is being dealt with by many policy makers. The unemployment percentage remains at 10% and is seen not to change so much even after the recession. The taxes and the housing prices are also skyrocketing each passing day yet there is no salary reviews. To the family whose financial flow is becoming minimal each passing day, adapting to this economy is really mind challenging. This in turn affects the family providers with a challenging state whereby they find it really difficult coping and this can be really disturbing because of the so many fears associated with this state of events.
It has been established that children from these families find it hard concentrating in their studies. They are more fidgety and their level of attention dwindles due to psychological disturbances. Due to unemployment of their parents, these children lack the basic needs that could have helped make their lives more comfortable, in return their grades have dropped. Due to the problems that they are in, and what they see happen at home, these children are seen to exhibit some habits that are not common with their counterparts from richer backgrounds. These children get to a point where they do not get provided with the kind of love, care and attention that they used t receive when the economy was a bit stable. Due to this, their lives have been affected severely because with the hard economic times it is not easy on their part too. Their parents do not give them the attention that used to be there previously and their ties have subsequently loosened. To the children and especially the parents, there has emerged tension towards each other which may cause long-term rivalry towards each other.
Loss of a spouse’s job has been established as a major recipe for domestic violence which in turn affects the family unity. Domestic violence among spouses can really work negatively on a marriage. Even children in such families feel the pain of having to live in unstable families because this affects the whole family. When a spouse looses a job and his or her financial benefit to the family is seen no more, it can bring a lot of tension among the spouses because the burden of supporting the family is left solely on one partner. It is usually the case that the partners get uncomfortable and eventually tired of supporting the family alone. Thoughts of distress call in and even communication becomes a problem. A defense mechanism of being harsh to each other is usually the case and this can lead to many other problems in marriage which will in turn affect not only the parents but the children as well.
Not being in a position to save for a family is dangerous because the future may look bleak. This in resultant contributes to the shattered dreams of a family. These dreams that a family may have had about achieving within a specific time frame will have been lost and therefore dealing a blow to the family. Such happenings may affect the middle class family in a bad way. Just living for the present and not having a long-term saving scheme for the future is really saddening because of the fear of the unknown, shattering of dreams may do a lot of harm to the family. This can make the family unstable and this in turn may affect various family relationships, more especially for the parents who may fear ending up not having even a house left behind, for their children in the long run.
Individuals with high levels of adapting show less stress when faced with unemployment. But those who find it hard adapting to prevailing circumstances end up so greatly grieved and the result for this is stress which leads to depression. Individuals deal with problems differently and when it is the case that adapting so fast is a problem, this can negatively affect the family. Middle class families have in the past few years found it difficult fitting into o the hard economic times. The rate at which this adapting takes place may be slow or fast, depending on individual families. For the families that find adapting hard, it can be really hard on them. They might at the end succumb to issues like broken marriages and separation because taking too long to get used to a given kind of life and moving on. Those who show signs of not adapting will find it hard getting quick solutions to their prevailing circumstances and accepting the situation will be quite difficult and hence psychological problems may befall them at the end of the day.
Because the middle class families are not used to financial constraints, coping with unemployment becomes as hard because it brings in more trouble and stress. This stress can make things worse if quick solutions are not sought families may end up trying to escape from the realities of the day by engaging in unwarranted activities such as drug and substance abuse which ha devastating effects on the individual, the family and the society at large and the resultant effect is the psychological distress to everyone, the state not left out. The escape mechanism whereby drugs are involved has got devastating effects on everybody, this result into the unresponsiveness of family members. These members who resort to this will end up not having the ability to take charge and control these stressors of life and this can even lead to loss of self-control and above all loss of life and even the fear of other family members who constantly fear that the drug abuser can be caught on the wrong side of the law.
Divorce cases are on the rise due to unemployment or /and loss of job. This is due to the tension that surrounds the family. In societies where loss of employment is socially unacceptable, the psychological well-being of the unemployed will be severely affected because of the fear of resentment by partners. This can lead to undesirable treatment of spouses when one looses a job because of the fear of an issue like divorce. During periods of unemployment, spouses tend to have more differences than when it is the case when both partners are working. These differences my lead to psychological dissatisfaction in marriage and the outcome is divorce. In such instances, the families will be not only emotionally affected but also psychologically distressed.
Families that exhibit optimism are likely to get stressed less and on the contrary, those families that are not optimistic are likely to be more stressed. This clearly indicates that with unemployment or loss of job, families look at it differently and this projects how much these families are affected. Lack of positive thinking and being optimistic on finding another job may render the family more harm than thinking positively about things working out somehow. Optimism and pessimists are therefore used in rating the families’ attitude towards joblessness. This can affect the family on the long term because pessimistic thinking may lead to the crumbling down of the family and the future is rendered bleak but if the families members are optimistic, chances are that regardless of the prevailing circumstances, the members will be always looking forward to a brighter future.
Loss of job may lead to disruption and pain. One may have been so much attached t his or her work such that this work seems to be the one that serves individuals with the satisfaction that they get in life apart from being the source of income. Loss of employment and subsequent long term joblessness can ignite feelings of bitterness and pain that can even cause negative physical and mental problems to a person and this can be long term in the end. It is therefore understood that this can directly or indirectly affect other members of the family.
Long term effects of the recession on families is the pain of losing a job and therefore losing a livelihood and adapting to a life that a family is not used to. The middle class family, where most citizens belong and whose contribution to the economy is great becomes less productive and more dependent. When a person is moved from the state of being independent to that of dependent can really affect a person’s psychological stature. In the recent past, more families that were independent before the recession have enrolled to receive aid, such as food stamps. A family shifting places in this way can have troublesome moments even coming to the realities of the day that they have now shifted from middle class level to a lower class.
After losing a job, chances are that individuals will choose to enroll for higher education so as to become competitive enough so as to fit into the job market. But with lack of enough resources to support one go through that education can be so intimidating such that this may result to psychological problems. Already there is lacking of enough resources to help run the families. Such a situation can render members of families hopeless. There also lies in the problem of insecurity in the families because of having lost focus for the future. With an income rated below the minimum dollar a day, this can be a dream that can never be achieved, besides there will be the stress about getting a job even after getting more education.
Most family members have found themselves on the wrong side of their career because with the recession this means that in order to manage, one needs to get any kind of employment that can help the family manage bills. But it is very possible that one seeks a job that he or she is not qualified for. For one, the new job that is not in the individual’s professional field can be very tough. Doing a job is seen to be just for the sake of the money and not doing what one really enjoys doing. In the long-term the individuals may end up performing dismally due to the lack of attachment. As a result of all this, there is no growth in one’s career which is a major blow on the individual’s gathered skill and knowledge. These affected individuals will in the long run feel wasted by the system because they will not have given back to society the accumulated knowledge and skill that they have gathered.
The problem of unemployment seems to be the reason for the escalating cases of terminal illnesses which are thought to be largely caused by stress and depression, such illnesses as hypertension, are affecting most of the middle class families because these families have found themselves on the a situation of straining a lot. They overwork themselves and find themselves not having adequate time to think, reflect and relax. Instead of seeking time to rest and relax a bit, they find it better to d extra work so as to live up to the expectations of the economy. This has made them also spend a lot in trying to manage these ailments some of which have got no cure. In cases where these illnesses have no possibility of being cured, it is really hard on the family members because of the high cost of healthcare and therefore complicating their lives more than they are with the hard economic times. The family as a whole is affected because all members have got a role to play in event that a family member contracts these ailments and this can be distressful more especially when these illnesses threaten a person’s life.
The psychological impact: of the current economy on the middle class and subsequent long-term unemployment on the middle class families have caused financial hardships on the family have been a severe blow on the smooth running of these families. The effects of the recession are felt with a lot of resentment from all over the world. Many people have not yet found their way back to their to their career jobs as many firms are still struggling back to their feet. The family has been the major recipient of the problems that are associated with the recession and therefore the family more especially the middle class has been severely crippled. The family has been deprived of its psychological stance and comfort and thereby causing it to crumble down as the cost of living is on the rise, this is thought to extend for a long time until the economy gets back to its feet, ranging from marital problems to affected family relations, those of spouses and even their children, the families not only the middle class have really found it hard adapting. The psychological well-being of all the people lies in the satisfaction brought about by the security of a job of one’s choice and an income that is heartwarming. In the absence of these two the result is the crumbling of families.