“A body of theoretical work that describes family system experiences of crisis (both normative and nonnormative) and the ways in which the family identifies resources, challenges, and strengths in coping strategies and coordinates efforts to maintain or regain coherence and resilience.”

Family stress and resilience theory investigates how families respond to stressors, and how family resilience may prevent these reactions from being negative.

The family stress model addresses the relationships between family stressors, parental relationships, and child outcome. In this model, these stressors (typically economic in nature) negatively impact the parental relationship, which then reflects negatively upon child outcomes.

“An upset in the equilibrium, or steady state, of a family, which requires that the family makes adjustments in order to maintain or regain a sense of coherence.”

The ABCX Model of Family Stress is a framework of the family's experience of and reactions to a stressor event. In the model, A represents a stressor event that provokes change in the family system. B is the family's resources and personal strengths. C is the family's perception of the importance and impact of the event. Both B and C influence the family's response to the stressor event. X represents a crisis, in which family processes are immobilized as a result of the stressor event.