Families & Change
Sixth Edition
This book is dedicated to Patrick C. McKenry (1949–2004) and Sharon J. Price, our mentors and role models
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Families & Change
Coping With Stressful Events and Transitions
Sixth Edition
Kevin R. Bush
Miami University of Ohio
Christine A. Price
Montclair State University
Copyright © 2021 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bush, Kevin R. (Kevin Ray), 1965- editor. | Price, Christine A, editor.
Title: Families & change : coping with stressful events and transitions / [edited by] Kevin R. Bush, Miami University of Ohio, Christine A. Price, Montclair State University.
Other titles: Families and change Description: Sixth Edition. | Thousand Oaks : SAGE Publications, Inc, 2020. | Revised edition of Families & change, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references
Identifiers: LCCN 2020021880 | ISBN 9781544371245 (paperback) | ISBN 9781544371252 (epub) | ISBN 9781544371191 (epub) | ISBN 9781544371269 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Families–United States. | Social problems–United States. | Social change–United States.
Classification: LCC HQ536 .F332 2020 | DDC 306.85–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021880
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Preface to the Sixth Edition
The sixth edition of Families and Change: Coping With Stressful Events and Transitions presents current literature detailing families’ responses to varied transitions and stressful life events over the life span. Scholarly interest in family stress and the adjustment of families to change is not new. During the Progressive Era (1890–1920), the social and behavioral sciences took a specific interest in the social problems facing families as a result of industrialization and urbanization. The primary focus at that time was in social reform and the use of research to help in solving these problems. During the 1920s and 1930s, scholars began to explore the internal dynamics of families with particular emphasis on the well-being and personal adjustment of families and individuals. Researchers became interested in healthy lifestyles, mental health, and child development which led to the development of both family sociology and family therapy (Cole & Cole, 1993).
Two major societal disruptions—the Great Depression and World War II—prompted further attention on how families cope with unprecedented change. Angell (1936) and Cavan and Ranck (1938) identified various family characteristics that mediated the impact of the Depression—that is, family organization, integration, and adaptability. These findings remain largely unchallenged today (Boss, 1987). Hill (1949), in his study of wartime family separations, developed a framework for assessing family crisis—the ABC-X Model. This framework, with its emphasis on family resources and definitions that mediate the extent of the crisis response, serves today as the basis for most stress and coping theoretical models. The 1950s represented a focus on both the integrity of the American family as an institution and traditional family patterns. The social and political revolution of the 1960s, and the technological changes accompanying the greater industrialization, urbanization, and globalization of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s resulted in a proliferation of research on how families cope and adapt to the multitude of changes and challenges they encounter.
In the 26 years between the publication of the first and sixth editions (1994–2020) of Families and Change, our society has witnessed significant familial, social, and global changes. Today, families live in a context filled with stressors associated with time demands, the economy, political strife, global insecurity, and the rapid pace of technological change. From a financial standpoint, families currently face the potential of another economic recession, threats to pensions, investments, savings, and benefits, and the reality of financing extended longevity (e.g., retirement and health-care costs). Technology has advanced so extensively that it has become both a benefit (e.g., convenience, social connections) and an invasive demand. Life has become more impersonal as human connections are replaced by virtual relationships and family time is usurped by screens. Industrialization and urbanization have expanded, leading to denser living environments and the associated stressors of expensive housing, traffic congestion, and increased cost of living. Extended longevity is offering the benefit of more time with family members yet there are associated sacrifices that accompany living longer (e.g., chronic and degenerative illness, caregiving demands, health-care costs).
Based on multiple indications, the stress and change that families are experiencing appear to be intensifying. Stressors inherent to daily life include the discrimination families often