Week 7 final essay
pdf
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Southern New Hampshire University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
123
Subject
English
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
Pages
9
Uploaded by AmbassadorFlagKookabura40
1 of 9 The Impact of Having a Family on a Woman’s Mental Health
Mercedes Taylor Southern New Hampshire University Eng 123-X4064: English Composition II Mark Snyder 16 April 2023
1 of 9 It’s no
secret that Millennial women have either been postponing married and family life, and even deciding to not have children at all (Barroso 2020). Another increasing modern trend is the increasing demand for mental health treatment (American Psychological Association 2021). This persuasive essay will combine the two concepts and show how being married and having children is beneficial to a woman’s mental health.
It is beneficial because being married is socioeconomically advantageous, allows women to receive emotional support and intimacy from their partners, and having children provides intangible feelings of life satisfaction. While this persuasive essay is for the argument of being married and having children, it is important to note that this stance is controversial. This argument is unethical because it infringes upon Section 3.04 in the Amercian Psychological Association Ethics and Principles and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association 2017). This suggestion would be an infringement of Section 3.04, Avoiding Harm, because recommending marriage for the sake of being married may later impose harm to not just the client, but the future family of that client. This argument is also unethical because it implies that women who prefer to focus on their careers and not have children are more mentally ill than married women. Also, this argument is made to understand the ethics of suggesting marriage in family counseling. The most obvious benefit to being married is that it is socioeconomically advantageous. Marriage, to the right partner, will allow women the access to resources and skills that she may or not currently have. The biggest advantage would be an increased financial income. Having an added stream of income would ease financial stressors and tensions. With more money to take
1 of 9 care of regular bills and emergency expenses, women would be less stressed. Lower stress levels will help promote mental health (DeMaris 2022). Another way marriage is socioeconomically advantageous is that it allows access to their partner’
s social network. Networks include family and friends, which means more opportunities to be social within both circles. Having more access to friends will mean that women may receive more emotional support other than what her spouse can provide, which will lead to less social isolation in a healthy relationship, and therefore, better mental health (DeMaris 2022). While an increased social network from family and friends can lead to emotional support, the most support will come from the woman’s spouse in a marriage relationship.
Rudolph (2008) states that in a marriage relationship, the spouses will have a transaction within each other. Not only do they share economic resources, but they also share and benefit from emotional support. This emotional support benefits both parties in union and contributes to a higher psychological being by limiting isolation through one confidant partner (Rudolph 2008). Another indicator of emotional support is physical intimacy. Traditionally, couples who take part in frequent physical intimacy have feel more desired by their partners, and therefore have higher self-esteem and more confidence (DeMaris 2021). Having higher self-esteem and a positive viewpoint of oneself are indicators of higher psychological well-being. Sex is also a known stress-reliever, which will keep a positive mental well-being within a woman. Having a partner will also keep someone more accountable in their lifestyle choices (DeMaris 2021). A quality partner can often hold their spouse accountable by reminding them to either eat better, drink less alcohol, make safer risk management decisions. An accumulation of
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
1 of 9 these healthier lifestyle choices will ultimately lead to better physical health, which will in turn promote mental health. Being healthy, physically and mentally, is essential to bearing and raising children. This persuasive essay is not avoiding the fact that raising children is stressful. Considerable amounts of stress impact a woman’s mental well
-being, so much so that it can affect their children. However, raising children allows adults to have unique life experiences in areas such as happiness-levels, relationships, accomplishments, and perspectives (Lauinger, 2015). Lower happiness levels and stress from having children are temporary, and the types of stressors will change as the child moves through different life stages (Simon, 2019). The types of stressors that come from raising children in various life stages will change. For example, parents with infants worry about sudden infant death syndrome have various levels and types of stress compared to a parent who has a teen that has just started driving (Lauinger 2015). In other words, there will be stress and these stressors will change, no matter what developmental stage a child is in. The most stressful years of raising children, usually within the first 10-13 years, are temporary and will pass. When analyzing stress levels of parents, one must consider that parenthood is a perpetual state. Simon (2019) reviewed the stress levels of parents whose children were ages 13 and under, 13 –
17, and 18 –
29, and 30 or older. This study concluded that parents of children who are 30 or older have higher feelings of life satisfaction compared to those who are childless. The feelings of stress that come from having children will pass and will eventually turn into feelings of satisfaction that will last a lifetime (Simon 2019).
1 of 9 Another way having children affects a parent’s mental health is by allowing for certain relationships to ta
ke place. Lauinger (2015) states ‘the b
est reason to have a child is the creation of a mutually enriching, mutually enhancing love that is the parent-
child relationship.’ Lauinger (2015) also explains becoming a parent is a life-changing occurrence, because parents often embody a new identity to raise their child. This new identity impacts both parent and child in the relationship. In this aspect, the child-parent bond provides a unique and extremely personal life experience parents can have with their own children. This exceptionally intimate and personal relationship will not only affect a woman’s mental health
but their overall life experience. The next way having children can influence a parent’s mental health is by creating feelings of accomplishment. Lauinger (2015) claims that the most powerful gratifying feelings of accomplishment come from involving people. In other words, having an impact on someone else’s life
is gratifying. Lauinger (2015) provides a personal anecdote in which they say positive characteristics in their child and felt feelings of pride and satisfaction because they played a part in fostering the characteristics in their own child. Having gratifying feelings of accomplishment is an aspect of having higher overall life satisfaction and happiness, which in turn leads to overall positive mental health. Finally, the last life experience that having children can provide is the change in perspective they may bring. Lauinger (2015) suggests that having children allows parents to reflect on their feelings and thoughts and see them change on what is truly important to them and their family. Many parents claim they matured after having children and now worry about more important things in their life. Parents also say having children has positively changed their feelings and thoughts. (Lauinger 2015) Having a new perspective may allow women to focus on their current tasks, their goals, and may even allow them to be even more grateful for the
1 of 9 blessings and challenges they have. A fresh perspective rooted in gratitude would allow women the opportunity to reflect on what they have, which would positively affect their mental health. This essay previously mentioned this argument is controversial because there are many arguments that oppose women being married and having children
, and that women don’t need families to keep their mental health. These arguments include the claims the following arguments: single women keep their mental health because they are financially independent, have meaningful relationships with their families and platonic friends, and are not subjected to pregnancy and post-partum risks. Single women who focus on their careers instead of creating their family exhibit higher levels of life satisfaction and higher mental health because they are fulfilled by a career advancement and have financial independence. (Rudolph 2008) Single women can also have an emotional support network from their family and platonic friends, because they have an established pattern of making social connections within their own network. These bonds help aid with keeping higher mental health because there is a lower risk of social isolation (Rudolph 2008). Another counter argument is that single women without children keep their mental health because they do not experience pregnancy or postpartum recovery. Some pregnancy symptoms include depression, anxiety, anemia, diabetes, heart conditions, hypertension, and morning sickness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2023). An accumulation of these symptoms can take a toll on a woman’s mental wellness as well as their physical wellness. Women in childbirth recovery stage may also experience postpartum mood disorders such as ‘the baby blues,’ postpartum depression and even postpartum psychosis (Johns Hopkins Medicine
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
1 of 9 2023). Single women who do not have children are not subject to these symptoms and therefore keep their mental wellness by not having children (Hsu 2020). In this persuasive essay, the argument was made for promoting women to have families to improve their mental health. This controversial argument analyzes the pros and cons of having a family as an additional means to understand the ethics of suggesting marriage in family counseling. Having a family, which includes a spouse and children, wou
ld help a woman’s psychological health by easing socioeconomic stress, promoting emotional support from their spouse, and having children would create a different level of life satisfaction for women. References American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code American Psychological Association. (2021, October 19). Demand for mental health treatment continues to increase, say psychologists.
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/10/mental-health-treatment-demand Barroso, A., Parker, K. & Bennett, J. (2020, May 27). As Millennials Near 40, They’re Approaching Family Life Differently Than Previous Generations
. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/27/as-millennials-near-40-theyre-
approaching-family-life-differently-than-previous-generations/
1 of 9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, Feb. 8).
Pregnancy Complications.
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-
complications.html#Common%20Pregnancy%20Complications DeMaris, A., & Oates, G. (2022). The Trajectory of Subjective Well-Being: A Partial Explanation of the Marriage Advantage. Journal of Family Issues, 43
(6), 1650
–
1668. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/0192513X211030033 Hsu, T.-L., & Barrett, A. E. (2020). The Association between Marital Status and Psychological Well-being: Variation across Negative and Positive Dimensions. Journal of Family Issues, 41
(11), 2179
–
2202. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/0192513X20910184 Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2023). Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression: Mood Disorders and Pregnancy.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-
prevention/postpartum-mood-disorders-what-new-moms-need-to-know Lauinger, W. (2015). “A Framework for Understanding Parental Well
-
Being.” Philosophia
, 43
(3), 847
–
868. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1007/s11406-015-9600-z Rudolph Bell, & Virginia Yans. (2008). Women on Their Own: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Being Single
. Rutgers University Press. Simon, R. W., & Caputo, J. (2019). The Costs and Benefits of Parenthood for Mental and Physical Health in the United States: The Importance of Parenting Stage. Society and Mental Health, 9
(3), 296
–
315. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/2156869318786760
1 of 9
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help