Traditional approaches to family stress theory have underscored the importance of the family as a reactor to stress, as a manager of resources within the family system. In contrast, the active process of employing coping strategies within the family and in transactions with the community have received limited consideration in both research and theory building. This paper examines three studies of family coping strategies employed in adapting to family separations. Through analysis of coping strategies which vary according to the severity of the stressors (family separations) an attempt is made to clarify the role of coping behavior in family stress theory. Three concepts of Community Norms, Interpersonal Supports, and Collective Supports are introduced into the family stress framework, along with new propositions. Family coping behavior, which is an active, rather than reactive process, is viewed as a vital if not critical aspect of family stress theory. (Author)