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CHAPTER 11
FAMILY COMMUNICATION AND UNPREDICTABLE STRESS
TRUE/FALSE
interpretation of the events surrounding the stressor event.
positive outcomes of managing the stress.
community or religious support systems.
members of the family to refrain from retelling the experiences during the
crisis.
support needed from extended family members in times of crisis.
family ties for both parents and children.
talk about their dying whenever he or she feels like doing so.
families and also create closeness that did not previously exist.
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discussing most crises such as suicide or divorce.
subside over time, but never completely goes away.
parents of disabled children eventually divorce.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is an example of a C response (in an ABCX model)?
D. The amount of disruptiveness caused by the stressor
2. In crises, families adjust differently. Whether an event becomes a crisis depends
upon three of the following factors. Which one is not as important?
D. How this event might influence role structure, flexibility, and resources in the
family
3. Which of the following is not a factor in the model of family stress?
D. The family’s crisis meeting resources
4. Crises frequently include unforeseen pressures. The death of a child from illness
may involve the following unpredicted stress:
A. The loss of dreams for a child’s graduation or marriage
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5. What is the advantage of the Double ABCX Model over Hills’ earlier ABCX
model?
A. It focuses on pre-crisis areas and how a family got into the crisis.
6. Some spouses whose partners are in nursing homes suffering from Alzheimer’s
redefine their couple relationship and describe themselves as:
D. Separated
7. Bill mourned for Nellie for over a year. After his wife died, he didn’t seem to care to
live. Gradually he began to function in his old, sure ways. He decided to take a trip
and later to sell the farm and close out the house and part with furniture and
mementos of forty-seven years. These behaviors nonverbally signal that Bill has
moved from one crisis stage to another. In which stage is he when he moves away
from “the old home?”
A. Shock
8. According to Knapp and Vangelisti, which of the following is not a characteristic of
a relationship ending or “coming apart”?
D. A recognition of differences
9. Which statement best describes a life course perspective about unpredictable stresses?
A. Events that are very stressful occur according to a timetable in the life cycle.
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10. Burr, Klein, and Associates created a model of coping strategies that focus on which
of the following?
D. The maladaptation or negative outcomes of stressor events that accounts for the
majority of impacts
11. Internet-based support groups can be particularly important to which of the
following populations?
A. Children of divorce
12. Burr et al. added to our thinking about unpredictable stress in the following three
concepts. Which one came from earlier models of stress?
D. Boundary strategies
13. According to recent research, stress is a multifaceted phenomenon with various
levels of change for coping. Which level is it when family members change their
basic assumptions about life and accept values and ideas they previously ignored or
opposed?
A. Level I
14. Which one of the statements below is not a conclusion of research on divorce?
A. Most ex-spouses struggle with trying to separate from each other while working
together as parents
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15. Wallerstein’s long-term studies of divorce indicated which of the following?
D. Most children welcome an end to parental fighting and are prepared for the news
of a divorce
16. Which of the following is the best example of experiencing ambiguous loss?
A. Children of divorce are unsure when they’re going to get to see their non-
custodial parent
17. Boundary ambiguity can make coping difficult for families because:
A. Family members are uncertain about who “belongs”
18. A particularly salient dialectical tension experienced by parents whose child has
died is:
A. The decision to have more children or not
19. Bill mourned for his wife Nellie for over a year. After she died, he didn’t seem to care to
live. Gradually he began to function in his old, sure ways. He decided to take a trip and later
to sell the farm and close out the house and part with furniture and mementos of forty-seven
years. These behaviors signal that Bill has moved from one crisis stage to another. In which
stage is he when he moves away from “the old home?”
D. Reconciliation
20. What is the advantage of the Double ABCX Model over Hills’ earlier ABCX model?
A. It focuses on pre-crisis areas and how a family got into the crisis
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21. Which of the following is an example of a C response (in an ABCX model)?
D. The amount of disruptiveness caused by the stressor
22. Karen becomes pregnant during her sophomore year in high school. After she has the baby,
Karen has to manage the stress of finding childcare for her son during school hours. Which
element of the Double ABCX Model does the stress of childcare represent?
A. A
23. After Jen learned that she was going to be fired from her job, she went through many stages
of crisis and coping. During the _______ stage, she was very angry at her boss and herself.
She found herself to get frustrated easily and be quite impatient during the day.
D. Reorganization
24. During Level______ coping, the family adjusts the rules about rules (metarules) regarding
their stress.
A. I
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Describe the family stressor model using an example of a stressor that a real or
fictional family faced. How did the various parts of the model relate to each other?
Is this a useful model to understand unpredictable stress in families? Why?
2. What does research tell us about the effects of divorce on the family system?
3. Then, using a real or fictional family, briefly describe a severe stress that impacted
one member and explain how the family coped with the stress using the components
of the Double ABCX model. Explain the model components and then give
examples from the real or fictional family. Did their coping strategies lead to
maladaptation or bondadaptation, and why do you think this is so. Support answers
with course concepts.