In this chapter, readers will learn:

That there are many “stressor events” that can create stress in family life.

That some of the stressor events are more serious than others. Also, some of them come from the environment, and others come from inside the family.

That there are developmental processes and predictable patterns in the way family stress is managed. Recent research has identified five different ways families respond to stress.

How research about families has begun to identify coping strategies that families can use to deal effectively with stressful situations.

That family stress theory has taken many forms. One of the most used is the ABC-X model of family crisis.

That some simple coping strategies seem to be helpful and several can be less effective in certain stressful situations.

How recent research has begun to identify coping strategies that deal with more fundamental changes in family processes.

About some coping strategies that are helpful with certain types of stressor events (e.g., death or economic loss) but not helpful with other stressors.