Why do some families survive stressful situations while others fall apart? Can a family?s beliefs and values be used as a predictor of vulnerability to stress? And most importantly, can family stress be prevented? In this Second Edition, Pauline Boss continues to explore both the larger context surrounding families and stress and the inner context, which includes perceptions and meanings. The author emphasizes the need for a more general contextual model of family stress that may be applicable to a wider diversity of people and families as well as a wider variety of stresses and crises than other models. The goal is to provide a framework for students and professionals engaged in helping families learn how to manage their stress. 

Why do some families survive stressful situations while others fall apart? Can a family's beliefs and values be used as a predictor of vulnerability to stress? And most importantly, can family stress be prevented? The Third Edition of Family Stress Management continues its original commitment to recognize both the external and internal contexts in which distressed families find themselves. With its hallmark Contextual Model of Family Stress (CMFS), the Third Edition provides practitioners and researchers with a useful framework to understand and help distressed individuals, couples, and families. The example of a universal stressor-a death in the family-highlights cultural differences in ways of coping. Throughout, there is new emphasis on diversity and the nuances of family stress management-such as ambiguous loss-plus new discussions on family resilience and community as resources for support.