HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,

EDUCATION, AND FAMILY

Meeting 3:
Stress and
Family Resilience
 STRESS IN YOUR FAMILY?

• In your family relationship, think about one problem you

have experienced recently!
IMPORTANT because:
• Life stress is unavoidable. It can be happened any time, for any reasons.
• Stressors and adversities in the environment are also diverse
increasingly, which if not responded appropriately will lead to some
psychological problems.
 DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE

• Resilience is the capacity to maintain

abilities and to function competently in
facing various life stressors (Kaplan et al.,
1996; Egeland et al., 1993).
• Resilience is characterized by: the ability to
face adversities, resilience in facing stress, or
rise from trauma (Masten and Coatsworth,
1998).
 DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE

• Lazarus (1993): psychological

resilience is an effective
coping and positive
adaptation to adversities and
pressures.
• Richardson (2002): resilience is
the process of coping with
stressors, difficulties, changes,
and challenges that are
influenced by protective
factors.
 RESILIENCE IS DYNAMIC

• Resilience is not a static trait (Cicchetti and Toth,

1998), that someone has since born, or automatically
persists in a person once he or she has achieved it
(Meichenbaum, 2008).
• Resilience is a dynamic process that includes
positive adaptation in the context of difficult situations,
containing significant hazards and obstacles, which can
change over time and in different environments
(Luthar et al., 2000; Cicchetti and Toth, 1998).
RESILIENCE IS NOT JUST SURVIVING
 STRESS AND COPING
IN RESILIENCE

• The processes that occur in resilience will involve the

presence of stressors, stress, and various strategies
related to coping and adaptation.
• When there is a stressor that causes stress, it will
encourage individuals to bring up coping mechanisms.
• This coping mechanism will be influenced by several
risk and protective factors, both internally and
externally.
 Risk
factors

Stressors Stress Stress Coping

Protective
factors

R E L AT I O N S H I P O F S T R E S S O R S , S T R E S S , R I S K FAC TO R S ,
P ROT E C T I V E FAC TO R S A N D C O P I N G

( E X T R AC T E D F RO M S T R E S S C AU S E S A N D R I S K F AC TO R S , 2 0 1 1 ;
KALIL, 2003; LUTHAR, 2003)
 RISK FACTORS &
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
RISK FACTORS
(RF)
• In contrast to stressors, RF is the factor that
increase the pressure/stress felt by individuals after
being exposed to certain stressors.
• Kaplan (1999): RF is an "early predictor" of
something that is not wanted or that makes people
more vulnerable to things that are not desirable.
• Rutter (1987, 1990): RF is a variable that leads
directly to pathological conditions or
maladjustments.
• Luthar (1999): RF is a variable that facilitates the
emergence of behavioral problems.
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
(PF)
• PF is the factor that strengthens and provides a
positive influence for individuals to be able to come
up with effective coping strategies for the stress they
experience.
• It is a potential tool that can be used as a tool to
design the prevention and management of various
obstacles, problems, and difficulties in an effective
way (Hogue and Liddle 1999; Masten and Braswell
1991).
 RISK FACTORS & PROTECTIVE FACTORS

The stronger the protective factors, the greater the individual's chances of
achieving resilience
FAMILY RESILIENCE
 BASIC CONCEPTS IN FAMILY CONTEXT

• In the family context, the study of stress and

resilience is a perspective to understand the family
from a positive perspective, focusing on strengths
and constructive processes within the family.
• At the family level, resilience is seen in the group
context, so the formulation of the model/theory is
more complex than individual resilience.
• Resilience can be seen as an outcome or as a
process.
 BASIC CONCEPTS

• As a result, resilience is characterized by the family's

success in escaping from stressful situations, to arrive at a
closer stage to the family's goals or mission.
• As a process, resilience refers to the family's efforts to
respond to pressure by exploring the resources they have,
then to find more constructive dynamics, which the family
did not previously have, which later became an inseparable
part of the family.
• The ABC-X model (Hill, 1958) is the most influential
approach to understanding family stress and resilience.
 MODEL ABC-X

• This model consists of four components that must

be analyzed to understand family stress and
resilience.
• A is a stressor or pressure experienced by the
family.
• B is a family resource in the face of pressure.
• C is the family's meaning of the pressure.
• X is a disturbance or impact experienced by the
family due to the pressure. X is defined as
stress/crisis condition.
 MODEL ABC-X

A (Stressor event)
• Stressors can come from within or from
outside the family.
• Stressors also have different pressure
weights.
• Stressors can be single, sequential, or
simultaneous.
 MODEL ABC-X

B (Resources)
• Family resources can come from within
or from outside the family.
• Families may have more than adequate
resources or relatively limited.
 MODEL ABC-X

C (Perceptions)
• The way the family perceives the
stressor will determine the way in which
it digs and allocates resources.
• The right perception will make the
pressure easier to overcome.
 MODEL ABC-X

X (Stress/Crisis)
• The family's response to stressors is as same as
feedback in systems theory.
• The response to stressors usually consists of an
acute phase and a reorganization phase.
• Acute phase is usually characterized by the loss
of homeostasis in the family.
• Reorganization phase is characterized by a real
family effort to respond to pressure.
 CASE

• Adrian and Susi have a long-distance marriage because they both have to work
in different cities. They have been married long distances for ten years. They
currently have two adolescent children. The two children live with their mother,
who is also busy with her career. As a result, the relationship between parents
and children is tenuous. One day, the mother received a report from the school,
that the eldest was involved in a fight with a friend, while the youngest had
started experimenting with drugs. Adrian, who received a report about the
condition of his children, became angry and accused Susi of neglecting their
children. Susi did not accept her husband's accusations, so a fierce argument
broke out between them, which led to a divorce.
Based on the ABC-X model, analyze:
a. Stressors: ….
b. Resources: ….
c. Perception: ….
d. Stress: ….
 CASE

• Adrian and Susi have a long-distance marriage because they both have to work
in different cities. They have been married long distances for ten years. They
currently have two adolescent children. The two children live with their mother,
who is also busy with her career. As a result, the relationship between parents
and children is tenuous. One day, the mother received a report from the school,
that the eldest was involved in a fight with a friend, while the youngest had
started experimenting with drugs. Adrian, who received a report about the
condition of his children, became angry and accused Susi of neglecting their
children. Susi did not accept her husband's accusations, so a fierce argument
broke out between them, which led to a divorce.
Based on the ABC-X model, analyze :
a. Stressors: long-distance marriage, adolescent children
b. Resources: Adequate economic conditions, lack of communication between
Adrian and Susi
c. Perception: Adrian accuses Susi of neglecting the children.
d. Stress: Conflict/argument that leads to divorce, children’s behavior problem
 CRITICISM AND ADVANTAGES
OF MODEL ABC-X

CRITICISM ADVANTAGE

• Only describe the • The father of family

pre-crisis variables stress theory
(A, B, C) until the
crisis occured (X)
• A linear and
deterministic model
 DOUBLE ABC-X MODEL
(MCCUBBIN & PATTERSON, 1982)
 MODEL ABC-X à
SOME COPING STRATEGIES THAT MAY APPEAR:

• Cognitive strategy
• Communication strategy
• Emotional strategy
• Changing relationship patterns
• Spiritual strategy
• Optimizing the environment
• Self-development
• Flexibility and tolerance for ambiguity
• Violence, denial, etc.
 RECOMMENDED REFERENCE

• Day, R.D. (2010). Introduction to Family

Processes. New York: Taylor and Francis –
page 233-249.
• Howe, T.R. (2012). Marriages and Families in the
21st Century: A Bioecological Approach. West
Sussex, Wiley-Blackwell – page 37.
• Segrin, C. and Flora, J. (2011). Family
Communication. New York: Routledge – page.
30-33.