This challenging new inquiry liberates the study of family stress from the traditional positivist notions of the ABC-X model, favouring a new systemic paradigm which views stress as a multifaceted phenomenon with multiple causes and coping strategies.

Using a series of qualitative and quantitative studies of different families in stress, the authors outline the various patterns of family responses to stress, the elements of the family system most affected by stressful events and the helpfulness or harmfulness of differing family management strategies.