Recent literature indicates that ministers' families face not only the normative developmental stressors of other families, but an additional set of stressors created by the interface between the family and the church systems. Based upon the Double ABCX model of family stress, particular ministers' families will vary in their ability to adapt to…

This paper addresses the theory and data from differing disciplines regarding the generic aspects of nonnormative crises (those unrelated to ontogeny or stage of the family life cycle) in order to increase understanding of the underlying processes involved. The first part of the paper reviews the literature on the study of family crises,…

A critical review focused on parents, siblings, parent-child interactions, and family systems related to mental retardation is presented. A model is proposed that accounts for the range of possible familial adaptations and the family's coping resources and ecological environments as interactive systems that serve to mediate the family's response…

The Double ABCX model of family stress and coping was evaluated with 86 families raising mentally retarded children. The model evaluates the stressor (A), families' use of resources (B), their perception of the stressor (C), and the stress experiences (X). The causal ordering of the model suggested an ACBX rather than an ABCX relation. (Author/DB)

The newsletter offers perspectives on the provision of family support services for families with disabled members. An introductory article by Madeleine Will, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, stresses the impressive coping skills exhibited by many such families and their relationship to service professionals.…

Four major domains of research are underscored: family response to nonnormative events (e.g., wars, disasters, illness); response to normative transitions over the life span (e.g., parenthood, retirement); the importance of psychological resources and perceptions; and the importance of social support and coping with stress. (Author)

The parents of 48 young handicapped children were surveyed concerning parenting stress, family adjustment, and psychological distress of mothers and fathers, and their relation to child characteristics, family social network, parent belief systems, and coping styles. Results strongly supported the utility of a proposed multidimensional model.…

In the Double ABCX Model, family stress is defined as an imbalance in demands (the A factor: stressor event, related hardships, prior strains), and capabilities or resources (the B factor). The family's definition (C factor) of the imbalance influences its impact. When the family is unable to balance demands and capabilities without making a…

Considerations related to the design and development of a respite care service delivery network for families of developmentally disabled persons are addressed. A five-component model for developing a respite care service network is presented, focusing on the need for competency-based service-provider training and parent involvement. Lastly,…

An inventory with five subscales was developed to identify major kinds of coping used in dealing with recurring marital problems, based on 368 subjects. The final scale of 64 items was studied to determine the scale-score attributes of subjects sorted for age, sex, education, and years married, and for aspects of validity. (Author/TE)

This paper presents a review of the literature on stress and coping in families with children having spina bifida and offers a transactional model to study the parent child interaction in these families. The conclusions drawn from the literature review are the following: both parent and child in the family setting need to be considered as both…

Empirical knowledge of coping usage and coping effectiveness has lagged behind popular interest. To examine the effectiveness of specific coping efforts in a single role area--parenting--panel data from a large metropolitan population were examined. The same coping efforts were assessed using two criteria of effectiveness: the extent to which they…

The paper explores the impact of child variables, parent variables, and family resources (professional and informal supports) on the family's ability to cope with a child with special needs. Child variables include child gender, birth order, severity of handicap, degree of child dependency, extent of attachment, age of the child, and presence of…

Presents a model that integrates individual grief and family grief models and then describes this interaction. Highlights the importance of family processes in each individual's perceptions of the death, as well as each family member's influence on the overall grief reactions and coping strategies of the family system. (RJM)

The prevalence of dementias in the elderly is steadily increasing. While caring for a dementing patient at home, families are subject to tremendous physical stresses and emotional reactions such as guilt, anger, grief, role confusion, depression, resentment, and loneliness. Two group treatment models addressing the mental health needs of…