Family Management Style Framework Research Articles

Genetic Testing and the Family

The family experience of genetic testing is explored in this article. Two family stories are presented to illustrate how families define and manage the ethical and social issues that emerge during 2 types of genetic testing: mutation analysis for Huntington's disease and genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. These 2 families were purposefully selected because their stories exemplify the complexity of the genetic testing experience. In addition, the story of the family living with Huntington's disease shows how negative consequences can occur for the individual tested, other family members, the marital relationship, and the family system, even when the test results indicate that the individual does not carry a deleterious gene mutation. Both of the families presented in this article participated in an ongoing study, Family Experience of Genetic Testing: Ethical Dimensions , in which 118 family members from 67 families have participated. The guiding framework for this research was the family management style framework developed and refined by Knafl and colleagues.

Further Refinement of the Family Management Style Framework

This article reports the authors’ efforts to expand the family management style framework and describes the revised framework. Framework development was based on a review of results from 46 studies focusing on family response to childhood chronic conditions. The review contributed to modification of the original framework and further specification of the three major components of the framework—definition of the situation, management behaviors, and perceived consequences. The implications of the revised framework for family research and practice and current efforts to develop a standardized measure of family management style are discussed.

Reconstructing reality: Family strategies for managing childhood cancer

The purpose was to describe strategies used by the family in response to childhood cancer and to relate those strategies to two different conceptual frameworks. A longitudinal, prospective, grounded theory study was conducted with a sample of 32 members of seven families who had a child recently diagnosed with cancer. All family members 5 years and older participated in three semistructured home interviews. Constant comparative analysis was used. The core process in which families engaged was reconstructing reality, using strategies of managing the flow of information, reorganizing roles, evaluating and shifting priorities, changing the future orientation, assigning meaning to the illness, and managing the therapeutic regimen. These strategies support a Family Management Style framework for viewing family management of pediatric cancer.

The sociocultural context of families with a child with myelomeningocele.

The purpose of this article is to describe in greater detail the sociocultural context of, and its level of supportiveness for, families with a child with myelomeningocele. Using the Family Management Style framework and a semistructured interview guide, the authors interviewed 30 mothers and fathers in this qualitative study. Families were stratified by age of the child with myelomeningocele. Fifteen categories reflecting components of the sociocultural context were identified. Across the fifteen categories, three major themes emerged: (a) Sharing Information, (b) Interpersonal Interactions, and (c) Supports/Hindrances. Levels of supportiveness across the three themes were described as supportive, moderately supportive, moderately nonsupportive, and nonsupportive. An exemplar case is presented for each. To assist families better, nurses need to assess each family's sociocultural context and its perceived level of supportiveness in the course of managing the child's chronic condition. Families require developmentally appropriate and current information specific to their situations. Interpersonal interactions should be individualized with a goal of empowering the family. Nurses should also determine supports or hindrances that may be modified through the plan of care.