ABSTRACT
Because toxic contamination represents a revolutionary change in lifestyle and lifescape, it is inherently stressful. The challenge for its victims, therefore, is to find a way to cope with unexpected and novel turbulent conditions. Toxic victims confront a situation characterized by extreme ambiguity and capable of being construed in varied and contradictory ways. Toxic exposure is associated with persistent levels of significant stress, ranging from the nagging hassles of daily life to the trauma of a major life crisis. For most relationships, coping with toxic exposure involves a mix of destabilizing and stabilizing characteristics, as seen in Legler. The toxic incident in Legler was immensely trying for the predominantly young parents who lived there. In combination with other stresses confronting these couples, the added tension contributed to the dissolution of some relationships and caused problems in others. Toxic exposure places the adults in the family under particularly severe stress.
