Family Stress Management

Pauline Boss, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota; a Fellow in the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), the American Psychological Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She was visiting professor at Harvard Medical School (1994–95) and the Moses Professor at Hunter School of Social Work (2004–2005). She is former president of NCFR and a family therapist in private practice. In 1988, Dr. Boss wrote the first edition of Family Stress Management with a subsequent edition in 2002. For the third edition, she invited Chalandra Bryant and Jay Mancini to be her co-authors. Each edition has considerably advanced the Contextual Model of Family Stress. With groundbreaking work as scientist-practitioner, Dr. Boss is the principal theorist in the study of family stress from ambiguous loss, a term she coined. Since then, she has researched various types of ambiguous loss, summarizing her work in the widely acclaimed book, Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief (Harvard University Press, 1999). In addition, Loss, Trauma, and Resilience (Norton, 2006), presents six therapeutic guidelines for treatment when loss is complicated by ambiguity. These guidelines are based on her years of work with families of the physically missing during the Vietnam War, after 9/11, and in Kosovo, as well as in clinical work as a family therapist. For families, Dr. Boss wrote the book, Loving Someone Who Has Dementia (Jossey-Bass, 2011), which outlines strategies for managing the ongoing stress and grief while caring for someone who is both here and not here, physically present but psychologically absent. For more information, see her website, www.ambiguousloss.com.Chalandra M. Bryant is currently a professor of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia (UGA) where she teaches courses in family development, intimate relationships, and family theories. Before moving to Georgia, she served as a faculty member at Iowa State University (1998-2003) and the Pennsylvania State University (2003-2010). Her research focuses on close relationships and the ability to sustain close intimate ties. She is particularly interested in the manner in which social, familial, economic, and psychosocial factors are linked to marital and health outcomes. After earning her PhD at the University of Texas, she completed a two-year National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) post-doctoral fellowship. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Family Theory and Review. The International Association for Relationship Research presented her with the New Contributions Award (honoring significant contributions to personal relationships research) in 2002. In 2004 she received the National Council on Family Relation’s Reuben Hill Research and Theory Award (presented for an outstanding research article in a family journal). In 2005 she received the Outstanding Young Professional Award from the Texas Exes Alumni Association of the University of Texas. In 2015 she was recognized as a Faculty Member Who Contributed Greatly to Career Development of UGA Students. Her favorite hobby is hiking. Her nature photographs have been published in a hiking guide.   Jay A. Mancini is the Haltiwanger Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia and Emeritus Professor of Human Development at Virginia Tech. Mancini was the 2013 Ambiguous Loss Visiting Scholar at the University of Minnesota. He received his doctoral degree in child development and family relations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Mancini is a Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). His theorizing and research focuses on the intersections of vulnerability and resilience, and over his career, his research projects have focused on families and time-use, family gerontology, psychological well-being in adulthood, sustainability of community-based programs for at-risk families, community context effects on families, and quality of life among military families.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsChapter 1- Family Stress: An OverviewDefining Family StressDefining FamilyAn Example of Diversity in Family Structure: Grandparents Parenting GrandchildrenWhat Were Our Own Families Like?General Systems Theory: The Family as SystemSymbolic Interaction as a Basis for Studying Perceptions and MeaningsIs There a Family Perception?Problematic PerceptionsDiversity and Multiculturalism in Family Stress ManagementMinority StressAcculturative and Bicultural StressThe Stress of Discrimination and RacismGender and Family StressTrends in the 1970sTrends in the 1980sTrends in the 1990sCurrent TrendsSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsNoteAdditional ReadingsChapter 2- The Contextual Model of Family StressWhy a Contextual Model?The Family’s External ContextCultural ContextHistorical ContextEconomic ContextDevelopmental ContextHereditary ContextSummaryThe Family’s Internal Context (Structural, Psychological, and Philosophical)The ABC-X of Family Stress: A Frame for DefinitionsThe A Factor: Stressor Event (Stressful Event)The Danger of Circular ReasoningClassification of Family Stressor EventsCautions About Defining a Stressor EventThe B Factor: Resources (Individual, Family, and Community)The C Factor: PerceptionThe Primacy of PerceptionsCollective Versus Individual PerceptionsThe X Factor: Family CrisisThe Roller Coaster Model of Family CrisisLinking the ABC-X Model to the Roller Coaster Model of Family CrisisThe Turning Point: Family Recovery After CrisisFamily StrainSummaryPoints to RememberNoteDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 3- Multicultural Perspectives of a Universal StressorThe Stress of Grief and Loss from DeathCultural Perceptions of Death and LossDefinitions of DeathResolving LossSame Religion, Different CultureAfrican AmericanAsianPeruvianIrishJewishIdentity and Status in One’s Family After a DeathApplying the Contextual Model of Family Stress to This Universal StressorWhere Is the Field Now?ConclusionSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 4- Ambiguous Loss: A Major StressorAmbiguous Loss TheoryPremiseTypes of Ambiguous LossEffects of Ambiguous LossIndividual LevelFamily LevelCommunity LevelCore Assumptions for Working With Ambiguous LossInterventions: What Helps With Ambiguous Loss?What Ambiguous Loss Is NotAmbiguity Is Not AmbivalenceAmbiguity Is Not UncertaintyAmbiguous Loss and SpiritualityAmbiguous Gain Versus Ambiguous LossConclusionSummaryPoints to RememberNotesDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 5- Boundary Ambiguity: A Perceptual Risk Factor in Family Stress ManagementMeasurement of Boundary AmbiguityHistory of Boundary AmbiguitySociological and Psychological RootsFamily Therapy RootsEntries and Exits; Gains and LossesNormative Developmental Boundary Ambiguity Across the Family Life CycleExceptions and NuancesEffects of Boundary AmbiguityAssumptions About Boundary AmbiguityWhat Boundary Ambiguity Is NotBoundary Ambiguity Is Not Boundary MaintenanceBoundary Ambiguity Is Not Boundary PermeabilityIntervention for Boundary AmbiguityNew Studies and Future DirectionsSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 6- Family Coping, Adapting, and ManagingDefining Individual and Family CopingIndividual CopingFamily CopingCurrent Trends in Coping ResearchDenial CopingApproach/Avoidance CopingForbearance CopingPreparedness CopingHumor CopingReligious CopingRepressive CopingCoping UglyCoping and the Contextual Model of Family StressFamily Coping ResourcesIndividual Coping ResourcesCommunity Resources for Family CopingIntervention and PreventionPsychoeducation as Effective Family Stress InterventionHow Did This Simple but Revolutionary Idea in Mental Health Treatment Come About?The First Step: Where to Begin?Complexities of the Coping ProcessThe Paradox of Individual Versus Family CopingThe Paradox of Functional Versus Dysfunctional CopingDialectical Thinking: Definition and Early RootsThe Chain Reaction of Coping or the Codetermination of EventsCautions About CopingConcluding Thoughts for Future WorkSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 7- Resilience for Managing StressThe Difference Between Coping and ResilienceDefining ResilienceResilience and Family StressIndividual, Family, and Community ResilienceOrdinary MagicResilience and the Contextual Model of Family StressThe Family’s External ContextThe Family’s Internal ContextRevisiting the ABC-X ApproachAdversity and ResiliencePositive, Tolerable, and Toxic StressIntensity of AdversityThe Era of ResilienceResilience Theorizing and Research Over the YearsIndividual ResilienceFamily ResilienceFamily Science Conceptual Frameworks Focused on ResilienceLife Course TheorySymbolic Interaction TheoryFamily Stress TheoryAn Example: Application to Military FamiliesA Third-Wave Family Resilience FrameworkResilience Frameworks Focused on Particular SituationsResilience-Informed Professional PracticePrevention and ResilienceUse of Family Resilience FrameworksCautions About ResilienceTroublesome TheorizingThe Cost of ResilienceRebellion and Opposing the Status QuoConclusionSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 8- Families, Communities, and NeighborhoodsDefining Community and NeighborhoodSense of CommunityVirtual Sense of CommunityCommunity and NeighborhoodCommunities and the Contextual Model of Family StressResearch Findings on Families and CommunitiesInformal Connections and RelationshipsFormal System Programs for FamiliesNeighborhood RiskExposure to ViolenceOther Dimensions of CommunitiesThe Social Organization FrameworkInformal NetworksThe Physical EnvironmentCommunity CapacityResults for FamiliesThe Value of Social Connections for FamiliesResilient CommunitiesFour Types of CommunitiesFluid and Dynamic CommunitiesSocial CohesionCommunities as Place and Force for Prevention and Intervention With Distressed FamiliesCommunities as PlaceCommunities as ForceCommunity Family TherapyConclusionSummaryPoints to RememberNoteDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsChapter 9- Future Challenges to Family Stress ManagementHealth DisparitiesClimate ChangeWidening Economic Gulf Between Low and High Income FamiliesIncreasing Work Pressures and Economic ConditionsTerrorismConflict Driven by Religious DifferencesFamily Caregiving Challenges and DilemmasTransgender Trends and ChallengesIncreasing Focus on CommunityViolence in CommunitiesFamilies on New ShoresAdditional Factors to Consider About the Study of Family StressConclusionSummaryPoints to RememberDiscussion QuestionsAdditional ReadingsReferencesIndex

"I am excited to introduce my graduate social work students to this significantly revised third edition of Family Stress Management. Grounded in the latest research literature and clearly written, this book offers its readers an integrative framework, the Contextual Model of Family Stress, that advances understanding of and practice with families facing adversity and positive challenges. Particularly noteworthy are the expanded discussions of multiculturalism, diversity, resilience, and community. Bravo and many thanks to Pauline Boss, Chalandra Bryant, and Jay Mancini for this third edition!"