ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some exemplars from coping research and the literature that highlight the impact of culture and context rather than to consider individual family constructs that impact on the lives of young people. Parent–child interactions and social-skills development provide insights into effective communicative practices both inside and outside the family. Regardless of the diverse nature of family life there is an 'ideal family' in which communications are the index of healthy functioning. Generally, the coping strategies of parents and children followed the same general pattern. As gender differences in coping behaviour have been well-documented, separate analyses were conducted for males and females to examine the mean differences for fathers and sons and for mothers and daughters. Overall, there were more differences than similarities noted between the coping styles of parents and their adolescent children. The issue of children living with parental mental illness has been explored extensively in the literature.
