This work explores theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of children and families in general, and to stress-coping phenomena from the child's perspective in particular. It challenges traditional deference to adult assessment by drawing data from both parents and children, revealing significant contrasts between the two. Through open-ended, qualitative measures of children's diaries and drawings, the book offers a glimpse into the inner world of the child and gives scholarly expression to the fact that children can, and readily will, articulate needs and perceptions if given an appropriate vehicle. Chapter 1 reviews various perspectives for the study of stress-coping phenomena. Chapter 2 carries the foundation of the individual's perspective further into family study, reflecting a family perspective on families. Chapter 3 reviews concepts of stress-coping phenomena specifically among children, reflecting the children's perspective on children. Chapter 4 reports on a study of daily stressors, coping responses, and mediating resources as actually experienced and reported in daily journals by a group of 42 healthy school-age children and their parents. Chapter 5 describes the value of the children's spontaneous art work in the journals as enriching, qualitative, descriptive data. Chapter 6 reviews the meaning for research and clinical practice of the literature analyses of chapters 1 through 3 and the actual data reported in chapters 4 and 5. Contains over 450 references.(TJQ)