Family Stress Management : A Contextual Approach

by Pauline Boss

• ISBN13: 9780803973909
• ISBN10: 080397390X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

Why do some families survive stressful situations while others fall apart? Can a family's beliefs and values be used as a predictor of vulnerability to stress? And most importantly, can family stress be prevented? In this Second Edition, Pauline Boss continues to explore both the larger context surrounding families and stress and the inner context, which includes perceptions and meanings. The author emphasizes the need for a more general contextual model of family stress that may be applicable to a wider diversity of people and families as well as a wider variety of stresses and crises than other models. The goal is to provide a framework for students and professionals engaged in helping families learn how to manage their stress.

Author Biography

Pauline Boss, PhD, is Professor and Clinical Supervisor in the doctoral training program in marriage and family therapy in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
What Is New?	1	(14)
What Is New in Family Stress Theory?	2	(12)
Summary	14	(1)
The Contextual Model: Understanding Family Stress in Science and Practice	15	(24)
Family Stress Versus Individual Stress: A Conceptual Dilemma	16	(1)
Family Stress Defined	16	(2)
Defining the Family: A Matter of Bias	18	(3)
General Systems Theory: The Family as System	21	(1)
Symbolic Interaction as a Base for Studying Perceptions and Meanings	22	(3)
Diversity and Multiculturalism in Family Stress Management	25	(1)
Gender in Family Stress Management	26	(2)
Why a Contextual Model?	28	(2)
Looking Back	30	(5)
The Theory-Building Process for Science and Practice	35	(4)
Definitions: A Guide to Family Stress Theory	39	(32)
The Family's External Context	40	(4)
The Family's Internal Context	44	(2)
The ABC of Family Stress: A Frame for Definitions	46	(1)
Stressor Event (Stressful Event) Defined	47	(3)
Classification of Family Stressor Events	50	(7)
The Primacy of Perceptions in the Contextual Model of Family Stress	57	(2)
The Meaning to the Family of a Stressful Event or Situation	59	(1)
Perceptions of Events Can Be Distorted	60	(1)
Family Stress Defined	61	(1)
Family Crisis Defined	62	(6)
Family Strain (Burnout) Defined	68	(3)
Coping, Adapting, Being Resilient... or Is It Managing?	71	(22)
Coping in Individual Stress Theory	73	(4)
Family and Individual Coping and Resiliency: The Need for a Dialectical View	77	(1)
Family Coping Defined	78	(1)
Deductive Evidence for the Social-Psychological Definition of Family Coping	79	(2)
The Possibility of ``Inherited'' Coping Strategies	81	(1)
A Caution About Coping and Resiliency	81	(4)
Complexities of Coping	85	(2)
The Chain Reaction of Stressor Events	87	(1)
Family Coping Resources	88	(1)
Family Managing as Outcome	89	(4)
Boundary Ambiguity: A Risk Factor in Family Stress Management	93	(20)
The Family's Internal Context	93	(1)
Family Boundary Ambiguity	94	(10)
Normative Boundary Ambiguity in Families Throughout the Life Cycle	104	(9)
The Link Between Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Family Stress Management	113	(10)
Theoretical Roots	114	(1)
Definitions and Differences Between Ambiguity and Ambivalence	114	(5)
Linking Ambiguity and Ambivalence to Family Stress Management, Resilience, and Context	119	(4)
Denial: Barrier or Buffer in Family Stress Management?	123	(12)
How Some Families Break Through Denial	130	(5)
Family Values and Belief Systems: Influences on Family Stress Management	135	(14)
Why Values and Beliefs Are Important	136	(2)
Values and Beliefs as They Affect ``Blaming the Victim''	138	(5)
Values and Beliefs About Gender: Are They Related to Family Stress Management?	143	(6)
The Family's External Context	149	(10)
External Forces With Which Families Contend	150	(6)
Societal Pressure on the Family	156	(3)
Family Crisis: Overcoming Trauma and Victimization	159	(16)
Family Victimization as Crisis	161	(2)
Self-Blame: Is It Helpful?	163	(1)
Chronic Threat of Victimization From Outside the Family	164	(1)
Chronic Victimization From Inside the Family	165	(1)
Cultural Violence and Victimization	166	(2)
The Theory of a Just World	168	(1)
Flaws in the Just World Theory	169	(2)
Empowering Victimized Families	171	(4)
Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?	175	(12)
Where Have We Been?	175	(1)
Where Are We Going? Recommendations for Future Research and Practice	176	(6)
What Is Still Needed?	182	(2)
The Dilemma Remains: Do We Focus on the Individual or the Family?	184	(1)
Final Thoughts	184	(3)
Postscript	187	(2)
References	189	(18)
Index	207	(10)
About the Author	217