Family Coping Strategies Research Articles

Family Coping with Childhood Cancer

Previous studies using nonstandardized instruments measuring coping with childhood cancer, suggested families coped well. The concepts of encapsulation and at-risk behaviors were derived from this literature as coping strategies. Encapsulation strategies normalize the experience and control the meaning of the illness. At-risk strategies include complying with treatment and protecting the child. Three purposes of this paper are (a) describe parents' coping in 45 families whose child has cancer using a standardized instrument (CHIP), (b) compare the findings from this study with previous studies, and (c) explore the concepts of encapsulation and at-risk as family coping strategies using selected items on the CHIP. Internal reliabilities ranged from .71 to .79 on the CHIP's three scales. In this study, correlational and descriptive analysis were conducted. The CHIP's psychometric properties in this study ranged from .76 to .84. The newly developed scales of encapsulation and at-risk had internal reliabilities of .74, .74, .74, and .46 for the fathers and mothers. Using the CHIP scales parents' coping was similar to other samples in which the CHIP was used. With the exception of the mothers' at-risk scale, a cohesive family coping measure was evidenced by the acceptable internal reliabilities on the newly developed scales. Further development of the encapsulation scale will provide a family coping measure useful in testing conceptually based nursing interventions.

Stress, coping, and adjustment in mothers and young adolescents in single‐ and two‐parent families

Compared stress, coping, and psychological adjustment in single (divorced or separated) and married mothers and their young adolescent children. Single mothers reported more daily hassles related to economic, family, and personal health problems, and more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychoticism. Single mothers also reported using more coping strategies related to accepting responsibility and positive reappraisal. After controlling for level of family income, differences in family hassles and coping strategies remained significant. The two groups did not differ on subtypes of symptoms after controlling for income, but single mothers still reported more total psychological symptoms. No differences were found between children in these two family constellations on maternal reports of emotional/behavioral problems or on children's self-reported emotional/behavioral problems, stressful events, or coping. Implications of these findings for adjustment to life in single-parent families are discussed.

Adaptability, cohesion, and coping strategies of unemployed blue-collar families with adolescents

Data from 72 unemployed blue-collar families with adolescents are used to test the hypothesis that families with balanced levels of adaptation and cohesion, as defined by the Circumplex Model, will use different and more adaptive coping strategies to deal with the nonnormative stressor of unemployment and the normative stressor of adolescence, than will families with extreme (very high) levels of adaptability and cohesion. The data do not support the hypothesis but rather suggest that adaptation, cohesion, and adaptive coping strategies are associated linearly instead of curvilinearly.

Invited essay on the psychological aspects of genetic counseling. V. Preselection: a family coping strategy in Huntington disease.

Preselection refers to the "sick"-role assignment given to an asymptomatic individual in a family in which a genetic or other disorder with multiple uncertainties occurs. The selection process is made, often when the preselected person is still a child, without knowledge of who eventually will be affected. The process requires the collusion of the family members for its initiation and maintenance and serves as a major coping strategy to reduce or bind the stresses and anxieties engendered by uncertainty. Preselection is seen often in families in which Huntington disease occurs and is promoted by the delayed age of onset of the disorder and the uncertain gene status of the person at risk.

The influence of divorce on coping in adolescence

The present study explored the relations between family status and coping processes in adolescence. Given the inconsistent findings with regard to the divorce experience, our intent was to determine if coping strategies endorsed by adolescents are related to family status. Further, appraisals of stressfulness, controllability, and perceived outcome of stressful situations were examined in relation to family status and coping strategies endorsed. Adolescents of divorced parents more frequently endorsed theoretically less mature, defensive coping strategies. Sex differences were noted in the intact group, while males and females in the divorce group were more alike in their coping responses. Appraisal variables were differentially related to coping behaviors in each group.

Nurse-identified problems in the management of alcoholic patients.

The purpose of this exploratory study was (1) to identify and rank the patient problems of hospitalized alcoholics that medical-surgical nurses view as difficult to manage, (2) to identify the factors that contribute to the difficulty in care, (3) to identify interventions used by nurses in an attempt to resolve patient problems and (4) to describe relationships between nurses and the identified patient problems. Subjects (N = 83) completed and returned an open-ended questionnaire by listing the physiological and psychosocial patient problems, factors and interventions. Selected demographic and biographic data were also collected. A nursing diagnosis classification described by others served as a basis and was adapted for the nursing diagnosis categories. Nominal data were analyzed using frequency distributions and percentages. The most difficult physiological problems in caring for alcoholic persons were categorized from subjects' responses using the nursing diagnoses of "potential for injury," "alterations in nutrition-elimination" and "fluid volume deficit." The nursing diagnosis categories of "ineffective individual coping," "ineffective family coping" and "noncompliance" comprised the most difficult psychosocial patient problems. A majority of subjects reported having limited classroom and clinical experience with alcoholism; 80% expressed a need for additional inservice education. It is recommended that nursing educational programs include didatic and clinical content about alcoholism, focusing on problem areas identified and on family dynamics, communication, coping strategies and time-management strategies.

Impact of mental illness in families of mental health professionals.

Family burden and coping strategies were investigated in 84 experienced mental health professionals with family members suffering from chronic major mental illnesses. The sample was nationally recruited from ads in professional journals. Personal reactions of respondents involved cognitive and attitudinal changes in conceptions of psychotic disorders and guarded relations with colleagues with respect to self-disclosure and case involvement. Financial and emotional burdens were substantial, with ongoing stressful life events, aversive patient behaviors, and poor treatment histories. In rating family coping strategies, mental health professionals showed a high degree of concordance with nonprofessional family members in assigning priority to education on symptoms, medications, and patient management techniques. Involvement with self-help groups and physical separation from patients were rated higher than individual or family therapy as aids in coping for families of the mentally ill.

Identifying Stressors and Coping Strategies in Two-Generation Farm Families

This study examined the stressors and coping strategies of two-generation farm families. Results identified fourkey factors creating stressors for family members. Also, four main strategies that family members used to cope with stressors were identified. Significant differences in stressors and coping strategies were found between generations and among fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters-in-law. Implications for researchers, practitioners working with farm families, and educators were discussed.

Family Coping Strategies and Chronic Illness in the Mother

The purpose of the current study was to describe the types of coping strategies household families use to manage problems that affect them when the mother has a chronic illness. Data presented are cross-sectional data from first occasion interviews collected as part of a larger longitudinal study of 125 families (Lewis, Woods, & Ellison, 1983) in which the mother has either breast cancer, fibrocystic breast disease or diabetes. The instrument used to collect data on family coping was the Problem Centered Family Coping Interview (Lewis, 1983). Study families reported a mean number of 4.02 coping strategies per family. Using content analysis, 55 mutually exclusive coping strategies were identified from open-ended interview questions. These 55 categories were combined into 10 composite categories by content area for purposes of statistical analysis. The most frequent composite category reported by the study sample was alterations in household management which represented 38% of the types of strategies employed by these families. The type of chronic illness in the mother did not differentiate the families by categories of management strategies.

Coping Strategies of Families of Seriously Ill Adolescents

This paper compares the coping strategies of two groups of families coping with unusual stresses: families of diabetic adolescents and families of adolescents who were psychiatrically hospitalized in early adolescence. The coping strategies of these two groups of families are also compared to the coping strategies of a group of families of non-patient adolescents. Analyses indicate that families of ill adolescents find a greater variety of coping strategies helpful than families of non-patient adolescents, in particular relying more heavily on community resources. The coping of the families of adolescents with a history of psychiatric illness was characterized by greater family passivity and less confidence in family problem-solving ability. The coping of families with diabetic adolescents was characterized by greater reliance on active internal and external means of responding to stress, such as reframing family problems, using church and religious resources, and seeking support from extended family. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of the particular stresses with which these special families cope.

Family measurement techniques: The family coping strategies scale

Family measurement techniques: The family coping strategies scale

Families: What Makes Them Work.

Foreward - Reuben Hill Purposes and Overview Families Across the Life Cycle Description of the Study Circumplex Model of Families Marital and Family Types Marital and Family Strengths Family Stress and Change Family Coping Strategies Personal Health Behaviors Marital and Family Satisfaction Predicting Family Types Predicting High- and Low-Stress Families Families with Adolescents Summary and Conclusions Appendices

Family reactions and coping strategies in response to the physically ill or handicapped child: A review

This article reviews a broad range of clinical and research material investigating the coping processes of individuals and families, particularly in response to a serious illness or handicapping condition in a child family member. The interactive effects of family and illness are established; then several theoretical, descriptive and empirical theories of coping are presented. Coping responses of family members and the family unit as a whole to minor illness, to chronic illness and handicapping conditions, to childhood cancer, and to death in childhood are all discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and benefits for the physician and other health care professionals in adopting a family-oriented treatment approach.

Planning nursing interventions for family members of adult cancer patients

Summary This article describes the results of an exploratory study identifying components of family coping during the cancer experience. Forty-one family members of adult cancer patients completed the 30-item Likert-format Family Coping Strategies questionnaire, which was compiled by the researcher as a result of pilot study findings. Items with which the majority of the study respondents strongly agreed and disagreed are listed. A rank-ordering questionnaire entitled Specific Family Needs was also completed by the study responents, which prioritized helpful nursing interventions for family members. Implications for nursing practice are also outlined as a result of study findings.

Divorce: A Crisis of Family Transition and Change

This paper presents a conceptualization of a normative process of divorce as a crisis of family transition. With the integration of family stress and systems theories, a series of five transitions are identified as normative. Within each of these transitions, stresses associated with major role transitions and common family coping strategies are identified. Rather than dissolving the family, divorce culminates in its redefinition from a nuclear to a binuclear system. The continuation of meaningful attachment bonds between parents and children can reduce major stresses associated with this complex process of family change.