ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some of the theoretical threads presented in the first chapter (sense of coherence and its components of meaningfulness, manageability and comprehensibility) as they relate to the stresses and hassles discussed in Chapter 3, and the strains for families discussed in Chapter 4. The theme of the chapter is coping, or how families manage the strains they encounter. Family sense of coherence is discussed, then coping is described through case histories. The chapter next discusses the quite different coping of four of the six families whose decision to move abroad was presented in Chapter 2 (the Gibbs and Jacksons, and the Grahams and Smithers). This chapter and the next two, which focus on social support (Chapter 6) and family ‘co-ordination’ (Chapter 7), serve as transitions between discussions of the stresses of moving abroad for families, and discussions of the effect of the move by two years later.
