Family Hardiness Research Articles

Resiliency in Divorced Families

The aim of this cross-sectional and exploratory study was to identify resiliency factors that are associated with family adaptation after divorce. Questionnaires (The Family Hardiness Index, The Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, The Relative and Friend Support Index, The Social Support Index, The Family Sense of Coherence Scale) and an open-ended question were used to collect data independently from parents and children belonging to 68 divorced families in Belgium. Results indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between the three components of family hardiness (commitment, challenge, and control—according to the parents) and the family's adaptation to its changed circumstances. There are also positive correlations for both parents and children between the positive redefining of stressful situations by the family, the social support of the family, and the family's adaptation after divorce. According to the children there are also significant positive relationships between the family's use of avoidance strategies, the parents' educational level, the number of years that the parent had been divorced, and the family's adaptation.

Resiliency in Families with a Member with a Psychological Disorder

The aim of this study was to identify resiliency factors in families with a mentally ill family member. The study population was composed of 30 families, where questionnaires were independently completed by both a parent and a child. The results indicate that family hardiness was an important resilience factor for both the parents and the children. According to the parents the passive evaluation of a crisis situation, or the use of avoidance strategies, was also helpful for the family to adapt. For the children, the extent to which they found support from within the community and the extent to which they experienced emotional support, self-worth, and community support were linked to their view on family adaptation to stressful situations.

Experiences of College-Age Youths in Families With a Recessive Genetic Condition

Growing up in a family with a recessive genetic condition can trigger questions about progeny effect. This study explored perceptions of family hardiness and information sharing by 18- to 21-year-olds about genetic risk. Semistructured interviews, the Family Hardiness Index (FHI), and a Family Information Sharing Analog Scale (FISAS) were used. Participants included 11 youths who had relatives with hemophilia and 4 with sickle cell anemia. Findings revealed seven themes: assimilating premature knowledge; caring for others, denying self; cautioning during development; experiencing continual sickness; feeling less than; magnifying transition experiences; and sustaining by faith. There was no significant correlation between total FHI and FISAS. However, there was a statistically significant difference in FISAS between genetic condition variance. Specifically, higher hardiness was found and information sharing correlated among college youths in families with hemophilia. Additional research can lead to nursing interventions to provide genetic information to youths in families for illness variance.

Family Functioning and Quality of Life of the Family Care-giver in Cancer Patients

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship among quality of life, family coherence, family hardiness, and family resources of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient. Data was collected by questionnaires from 137 families with a cancer patient at a General Hospital and Government Cancer Hospital. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. The score of quality of life showed a significant positive correlation with the score of the level of family sense of coherence, family hardiness, and family resources. The most powerful predictor of quality of life was sense of coherence and the variance was 30%. A combination of sense of coherence and family resources account for 34 % of the variance in quality of life of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient. The results showed that family sense of coherence, hardiness, and family resources were significant influencing factors on the quality of life of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient.

Family Resilience and the Management of Fibromyalgia: Implications for Family Therapists

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is one of the most troubling rheumatic disorders for patients, significant others, and the health care providers who treat them. Responses from 150 participants provided valuable information on the relationship between family resilience and the management of fibromyalgia. Self reported family stressors, strains, and distress were significantly associated with an increase in health problems/functional disability, whereas family hardiness and family social support were associated with a decrease. Family stressors and family strains were also positively associated with the frequency of medication use. Medical family therapy interventions that consider the familial context are recommended for treatment. Additional implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Predictors of Adaptation in Icelandic and American Families of Young Children With Chronic Asthma

The purposes of this international study were to determine the predictors of adaptation and to assess potential moderating effects of parents' sense of coherence and family hardiness on the relationship of severity of illness of a child with asthma and family and caregiving demands as predictors of family adaptation. For both parents, sense of coherence and family hardiness predicted family adaptation. Icelandic mothers perceived their family's adaptation more favorably than did their American counterparts. For the fathers, family demands predicted adaptation. Sense of coherence moderated the effect of family demands on adaptation for both parents. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening individual and family resiliency as a mechanism for improving family adaptation.

Hardiness in families of young children with asthma

This paper reports a study (a) to assess whether there are cultural and gender differences in parents' general well-being, sense of coherence and perception of family hardiness when they have a young child with asthma; and (b) to examine the effects of parents' sense of coherence and well-being on family hardiness. Research on hardiness, a resilience factor that fosters adaptation over time, has been widely studied from an individual perspective, but less from the viewpoint of the family unit. In particular, no study was found that assessed how members of a couple interact to affect their family's hardiness. Consideration of this dyadic phenomenon may provide unique insight about how family members interact with each other faced with a challenge, such as the chronic illness of a child. A cross-sectional research design was used with a sample of 137 two-parent families [76 from Iceland and 61 from the United States of America (USA)]. Questionnaires measuring sense of coherence, parents' well-being and family hardiness were used, and demographic data were also collected. The most striking differences in well-being were between mothers and fathers. In addition to a lower average on the total score for the well-being scale, mothers had poorer scores than fathers on the subscales of depression, self-control, vitality, and general health. Family hardiness differed between countries. The regression indicated that the individual's sense of coherence, depression and positive well-being (all actor effects), as well as the partner's anxiety (partner effect) all contributed significantly to family hardiness, as did nationality. Focused interventions for families with young children with asthma should be developed to enable them to feel more confident in using their resources to meet their demands and increase parents' general well-being and family adaptation. Research is needed to develop and test such interventions, particularly with diverse participant samples, encompassing not only a variety of ethnicities, but also a range of children's ages.

Self-Perceived Creativity, Family Hardiness, and Emotional Intelligence of Chinese Gifted Students in Hong Kong

This study assessed the self-perceptions of 212 gifted students regarding their creativity, family hardiness, and emotional intelligence. There were in general no gender and age group differences on these self-perceptions, with the exception that younger students perceived their families as more hardy than did older students. The results of regression analysis indicated that family hardiness and emotional intelligence had separate and direct effects on self-perceived creativity, and their effects were additive, rather than multiplicative, as their interaction terms did not yield significant increment in variance accounted for in the criterion of prediction. Similar results were obtained when different components of emotional intelligence were considered, with some suggestive evidence that family hardiness could interact with specific components of emotional intelligence in the prediction. Implications of the findings are discussed, and caution need to be exercised in the interpretation of these results, as data were cross-sectional and collected only on student perceptions.

Family Hardiness and Social Support as Predictors of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Family Hardiness and Social Support as Predictors of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Evaluation of the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model Among Families Reporting Economic Pressure

ABSTRACT This research evaluates the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model (double ABCX model) examining the effects resiliency resources on family functioning when families experience economic pressure. Families (N = 128) with incomes at or below the poverty line from a rural area of a southern state completed measures of perceived economic pressure, family hardiness, social support, and the McMaster Family Assessment device. The family resiliency model was evaluated using regression and two path analyses. Results of the model evaluation indicate that when family resiliency resources are introduced economic pressure is not a significant stressor influencing family functioning. Family resiliency is a key to the healthy functioning of the family unit moderating distress and decreasing the negative effects associated with economic pressure. Implications for social work practice to enhance family resiliency using community and personal supports are discussed.

Variables Associated with Resilience in Divorced Families

The present study focuses on the salutogenicproperties of post-divorce families andattempts to identify factors that promoteresilience and family well-being. Within thesalutogenic paradigm the focus is on positivecharacteristics and strengths that contributetowards the growth and development of a system.Family coherence is used as an indication ofthe level of recovery after the crisis, and isused as the dependent measure with regard tothe present well-being of the family. Across-sectional survey research design wasused. The 98 participating families wereidentified on the grounds of the nature of thecrisis (divorce) and the developmental phase ofthe family. An open-ended question and thefollowing self-report questionnaires werecompleted by the parent and a child: abiographical questionnaire, the Relative andFriend Support Index, the Social Support Index,Family Crises Oriented Personal EvaluationScales, Family Sense of Coherence Scale, andthe Family Hardiness Index. Results show thatintra-family support, support of the extendedfamily, support of friends, religion, opencommunication amongst family members, and workand financial security were factors promotingresilience in these families.

Family Hardiness and Social Support as Predictors of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

In this study we examined the influence of post-traumatic psychosocial variables on the pathogenesis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The referential framework of the study is based on the integration of the medical model of PTSD contained in the DSM classification system and McCubbin's systemic-orientated psychosocial model of family and social functioning. The research covered 120 subjects — victims of the civil, religious and national conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s — divided into two study groups of 60 as a target and a comparison group. All the subjects were Orthodox Serbs. The target group consisted of 60 subjects, patients from the Institute of Psychiatry of the Clinical Centre of Serbia in Belgrade with PTSD of war genesis according to the criteria of the DSM-III-R without previous psychiatric treatment. The comparison group consisted of 60 subjects who had been exposed to the effect of stress agents of catastrophic intensity of war genesis and who had previously not shown any psychiatric disorder or been treated psychiatrically. The research variables were gender, age, marital status, refugee status, war military service, Family Hardiness Index (FHI), Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE) and Social Support Index (SSI). In the equation of logistical regression low family hardiness (FHI), weaker social support (SSI) and positive marital status (on the border of statistical significance) were separated as significant predictors of PTSD. This study confirms the significance of post-traumatic environmental factors as predictors of PTSD.

Family Resiliency Facto for the Adaptation of Family who have a Congenital Heart Disease

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of family strain, perceived social support, family hardiness, and family adaptation and identify the family resiliency factors for the adaptation of families who have a child with congenital heart disease. The sample consisted of 90 families who had a child diagnosed with congenital heart disease and completed surgical treatment. Data was collected from parents using a questionnaire. Results from path analyses revealed that family strain had a direct effect on both perceived social support and family hardiness, and an indirect effect on family adaptation. Also, the findings revealed that perceived social support had a direct effect on both family hardiness and family adaptation, and family hardiness had a direct effect on family adaptation. Thus, these results indicated that perceived social support and family hardiness had a mediating effect on family strain. Findings provide the evidence for the theoretical and empirical significance of perceived social support and family hardiness as family resiliency factors for family adaptation. Clinical implications of these findings might be discussed in terms of family-centered nursing interventions for the families who have a child with congenital heart disease based on an understanding of family resiliency for adaptation.

Influencing factors on file-up stress of family caregivers with a family member having a chronic mental illness

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing file-up family stress in the family with a family member having a chronic mental illness. Data was collected by questionnaires from 365 families with a member having a chronic mental illness, in an outpatient clinic of a General Hospital and Government Psychiatric Hospital in Seoul. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. The score of file-up stress showed a significantly negative correlation with the score of level of hardiness (r=-.31, p=.00), family support (r=-.13, p=.00), family cohesion (r=-.25, p=.00), and sense of coherence (r=-.26, p=.00). The most powerful predictor of file-up stress was family hardiness and the variance was 11.1%. A combination of hardiness, family support, and sense of coherence account for 14.8 % of the variance in file-up stress of the family with a member having a chronic mental illness. This study suggests that family support, hardiness, cohesion, and sense of coherence are significant influencing factors on file-up stress in the family with a member having a chronic mental illness.

Resilience in Families in Which a Parent has Died

Using a cross-sectional survey research design, the present study aimed to explore and explicate those resiliency factors that enable families to adjust and adapt successfully after the loss of a parent. Thirty-nine families completed questionnaires, including an open-ended question in which they were asked to report the most important factors or strengths that they felt helped their family through the stressful period. Results indicate that intrafamilial support, such as emotional and practical support amongst family members, and family hardiness characteristics, such as the internal strengths and durability of the family unit, contribute to resilience within the family. Individual characteristics, for example positive personality characteristics such as optimism, are equally important. Support from extended family and friends, as well as support obtained from religious and spiritual beliefs and activities, were reported as facilitating successful adjustment to the loss.

Hardiness of Foster Families and the Intent to Continue to Foster

ABSTRACT Recent research in the area of foster care has examined a number of external factors that may influence foster family retention. However, insufficient research has been devoted to the question of foster family hardiness, or internal strengths of foster families, and how it may affect retention. Hardiness in families means that families possess a belief that they can control or influence events of their experience, feel deep commitment, and anticipate change as a positive challenge. Additionally, hardy families exhibit a confidence in their abilities. Utilizing the Family Hardiness Index, this research reports findings from a study of 82 foster families from one southeastern United States metropolitan area. Foster families who reported an intent to continue to foster scored higher on the Family Hardiness Index than families from a non-clinical sample. Foster families who reported an intent to continue also scored higher than those foster families who reported they did not intend to continue. Logistic regression indicated that higher levels of hardiness and fewer years of licensure as foster parents were significantly associated with intent to continue to foster. The study also discusses implications of hardiness screening of prospective foster families and its potential value for improving support to and retention of foster parents, thus increasing stability and service efficacy for the children they serve.

A new methodological approach in nursing research: An actor, partner, and interaction effect model for family outcomes

Methodological and statistical challenges have been identified in family research when the parental dyad is under study. The purposes of this article are to review the literature on methodological and statistical procedures in research on families, and to introduce an analysis technique that is new to the nursing literature, the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). The use and interpretation of the APIM method is illustrated through an example of families of young children with asthma. In the APIM an actor effect is the impact a person has on his or her own outcome, whereas a partner effect is the impact a member of a dyad has on his or her partner's outcome. The main findings from the data example indicate that family adaptation is influenced by the actor effect of resiliency factors (sense of coherence and family hardiness), the partner effect of caregiving demands, as well as by both the actor and partner effects of family demands. The APIM method gives new insight into how parental data can be analyzed by taking both the individual and the partner contribution into account when studying family phenomena. Knowing how outcomes may be influenced not only by individuals (via an actor effect) but also by their partners (through a partner effect) enriches our understanding of how families function.

Family Hardiness and Adaptation in Family with Adult who have Mental Retardation

Family Hardiness and Adaptation in Family with Adult who have Mental Retardation

Adolescent Perceptions of Their Family System, Parents' Behavior, Self-Esteem, and Family Life Satisfaction in Relation to Their Substance Use

ABSTRACT A path model was utilized to determine the relationship of demographic, family system, adolescent perceptions of parental behavior, and youth characteristics to adolescent substance abuse. Self-report questionnaire data were collected from 214 high school students at two high schools in a southwestern state. Results showed direct positive relationships of adolescent reports of parental substance use and adolescent reports of parental support with adolescent reports of substance use. Indirect relationships were found for school, gender of the adolescent, family hardiness, family coherence and parental substance use to perceived parental support to adolescent substance use. Implications are presented for prevention and intervention at multiple levels of the family system in relation to adolescent substance use.

Comparison of family stresses, strengths, and outcomes after trauma and surgery.

This study aimed to compare family stresses, strengths, and outcomes after motor vehicle crashes, gunshot wounds, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. A multivariate descriptive design based on the resiliency model of family stress was used. A convenience sample of 127 family members participated within 2 days of admission to the intensive care unit. Family stresses were measured using the Family Inventory of Life Events and the Acute Physiology, Age, and Chronic Health Evaluation Scale (APACHE III). Family strengths were measured by the Family Hardiness Index and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale. Family outcomes were measured by the Family Member Well-Being Index and the Family Adaptation Scale. Family members ranged in age from 18 to 80 years (Mean, 42 years). Most of the participants in the study were women (64%) with previous intensive care unit experience (83%). The patients ranged in age from 19 to 78 years (Mean, 44 years). Multivariate analysis of variance was used to control for group differences in family member age, education, and income along with patient age and race. The results indicated that family members of patients who have experienced motor vehicle crashes, gunshot wounds, or coronary artery bypass graft surgery reported no significant differences in family strengths of hardiness and family outcomes of well-being and adaptation. However, families of patients with gunshot wounds reported significantly more stress (F = 7.94; P< 0.01) and less use of coping strategies (F = 4.33; P< 0.01) than families of patients who have experienced motor vehicle crashes or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Interventions that address family stress and develop or mobilize coping are needed for selected families after admission of a family member to the intensive care unit.