LEVELS OF MEANING IN FAMILY STRESS THEORY

Major stressful life events, particularly those that have chronic hard ships, create a crisis for families that often leads to reorganization in the family's style of functioning. A major factor in this reorgani zation is the meaning the family gives to the stressful event. Often t he meaning extends beyond the event itself and leads to a changed view of the family system and even to a changed view of the world. Buildin g on other family stress models, we elaborate the family's definition of the stressor into three levels of family meanings: (1) situational meanings, (2) family identity, and (3) family world view. Examples fro m clinical work and studies of families adapting to chronic illness ar e used to illustrate the relationship between these three levels of me aning, particularly as they change in response to crisis. Implications for clinical and empirical work are discussed.