Examples Of Family Stress And Coping Theory

The “Family Stress and Coping Theory” explains why some families grow from stressful events and others deteriorate. The ABC-X Theory was created by Reuben Hill to explain how families react to stress. “A” represents the stressor, stressors include sudden events such as economic hardship, divorce, abuse, a family members abusing substances, and the like. The “B” is the internal and external family resources, such as a church or friends (families with better social structures and ties tend to fare better in stressful events). The “C” is the perception the family has on the stressor. Families with a more positive outlook--rather than dwelling on the event--usually cope better when faced with adversity. And finally, the “X” refers to family crisis …show more content…
Individual resources being an internal family resource, such as intelligence. However, it has been found that when families have cohesion as an internal family resource that they handle stressors significantly better than families without. Cohesion meaning interconnectedness among the family such as shared interests and values. Flexibility (resilience) is another desirable traits for families coping with a stressor (Madden-Derdich & Herzog, 2005; McCubbin & Patterson, 1983). The “C”--the family 's perception--is another crucial factor to determine how the stressor is dealt with. When facing adversity a family can either react negatively or positively. Negative reactions include; avoiding the subject, repressing emotions, isolation, and hiding the problem. While positive reactions include; seeking support from a professional, utilizing social support, and directly dealing with the problem. Depending on the coping methods the family uses, this can determine if a family crisis will occur and how the family will adapt …show more content…
Applying the ABC-X model of Hill, I can see the stages that my family has been through while coping with our “stressor”. Although my family has been very fortunate to not experience many stressful events, we coped with the few we had negatively and I can definitely see the impact. Even though my family has great external family resources I can really see how the internal ones and the different perceptions on the events impacted our coping in an undesirable way. Our main stressor was an external, unpredicted, and chronic stressor and was dealt with different densities between each family member. Given these factors, the event itself was already very stressful however, I do see how our “C” impacted the