Typologies of Resilient Families: Emerging Roles of Social Class and Ethnicity

Abstract

The study of resilient families, or the search for characteristics, dimensions, and properties of families which help families to be resistant to disruption in the face of change and adaptive in the face of crisis situations, is a natural and predictable development in the evolution of family science. Current findings from the studies conducted on resilient families are reviewed and summarized with an emphasis on three emerging issues. The importance of social class and ethnicity is accentuated in a review of current studies conducted on military families. Deterrents to and the need for more research on resilient families are discussed in relationship to the value of prevention oriented family programs. The study of resilient families, or the search for characteristics, dimensions, and properties of families which help families to be resistant to disruption in the face of change and adaptive in the face of crisis situations, is a natural and predictable development in the evolution of family science. Families appear to endure even in the face of adversity, and we are pressed to discover why. This line of scientific inquiry was initially characterized by a heavy investment in descriptive research listing those family strengths which authors inferred from family therapists' testimony and questionnaires (i.e., Curran, 1983; Otto, 1963). This was complemented by efforts to uncover those family resources which facilitate adaptation following a major crisis, a catastrophe or chronic illness (i.e., McCubbin, McCubbin, Patterson, Cauble, Wilson, & Warwick, 1983; Patterson & McCubbin, 1983). In recent times, family scientists have turned to theory building and research which move beyond these descriptive accounts, involve tests of the efficacy of these strengths, examine underlying patterns of family functioning referred to as family typologies (Lavee, 1985; McCubbin, 1986). In an effort to advance this line of research and theory building and foster the development of preventionoriented family-based programs, it would be instructive to review and examine the most recent findings to discern the emerging challenges and paradoxes involved in the study of resilient families. On the basis of a systematic review of the research strategies and findings from recent investiaations on resilient families conducted as part of the Family Stress, Coping and Health Project at the University of Wisconsin, we will attempt to shed some light on the emerging themes as well as paradoxes and present the pressing challenges for family life education and practice.