Treasured, Pressured-. Gender Difference in Perceived Family Expectations and Their Effects on the Level of Stress Among Selected Firstborns

Abstract

Family dynamics in the Filipino society has always attracted research attention. This is because of the close ties that exist between the members of the nuclear family, a closeness that includes even to the extended kin. This closeness gives way to the definition of complex roles and statuses in the family. One of the areas that hold a lot of interest is the role of the first born in the family. The Filipino family sees the first born as the offspring with the most authority and power among the siblings (Grose, 2004). But the firstborn is also the one whom the family expects the most from. This study aimed to assess the nature and the level of expectation a firstborn perceives from the family, and determine its effect on the firstborn’s level of stress. The study also took into consideration the differences that gender can bring about in terms of these variables. Levels of family expectation and level of stress were measured from fifty-five (55) male and fifty-five (55) female young adults using a survey. Detailed information on the nature of these expectations was gathered from ten (10) male respondents and ten (10) female respondents using in-depth interview. The findings point out that there is a substantial difference in the nature of these expectations due to gender. The male firstborns’ results on perceived family expectations lie on the provision of material resources and security and in taking on a more authoritative figure. The female firstborns, on the other hand, perceive that they are expected to fulfill duties related to the home and provide emotional and moral support to the family members. These findings confirm the Social Role Theory on gender roles (Harrison, 2005). Comparing the mean scores, there is, however, little difference between the level of expectation and the level of stress of the male and the female firstborns. The results of the correlational analysis also suggested that there is no significant association between the level of expectation they perceive from their families, and the level of stress they experience. Upon further analysis, it was revealed that while the firstborns experience a high level of pressure, they employ emotion-focused coping, reappraising the problem as less threatening, in order to manage the stress brought about by these expectations.