Stress Within Families: Some Questions and Possibilities

Individual children's capacity to cope with stressors may be predicated by the stress-coping mechanisms utilised by their families There appears to be a paucity of information about families' responses to stressors. It is postulated that there are significant questions about family coping mechanisms, and that research directed towards these questions may provide information of use in programmes which aim to facilitate the development of effective coping mechanisms in children. Assumptions about the delineation of coping mechanisms, the structure of family units, the designation of stressors., and the study of human behaviour are discussed. A brief outline is provided on a research project aimed at defining and analysing family coping behaviour, and at differentiating families that cope effectively with stressors from those that do not. Some initial impression of findings are presented.