Deck 11: Family Communication and Unpredictable Stress

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of a C response (in an ABCX model)?

A) The number of previous stressors
B) The meaning given to the stressor over time
C) The resources available after the crisis
D) The amount of disruptiveness caused by the stressor

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In crises, families adjust differently. Whether an event becomes a crisis depends upon three of the following factors. Which one is not as important?

A) The way the family defines the crisis and views it as a barrier to their goals
B) How long the couple has been married and if this marriage is a second one for either or both
C) The family's history with crises
D) How this event might influence role structure, flexibility, and resources in the family

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is not a factor in the model of family stress?

A) The size of the family
B) The stressor event
C) The family's definition of the event
D) The family's crisis meeting resources

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Some spouses whose partners are in nursing homes suffering from Alzheimer's redefine their couple relationship and describe themselves as:

A) Married widows
B) Old friends
C) Single
D) Separated

Question 5

Bill mourned for Nellie for over a year. After his wife died, he didn't seem to care to live. Gradually he began to function in his old, sure ways. He decided to take a trip and later to sell the farm and close out the house and part with furniture and mementos of forty-seven years. These behaviors nonverbally signal that Bill has moved from one crisis stage to another. In which stage is he when he moves away from "the old home?"

A) Shock
B) Recoil
C) Depression
D) Reorganization

Question 6

Which statement best describes a life course perspective about unpredictable stresses?

A) Events that are very stressful occur according to a timetable in the life cycle.
B) Fewer changes occur with unpredictable stresses such as death or disabilities because they cannot be prevented or outcomes changed.
C) Change depends upon the impact of the stressor upon the family and may delay or accelerate developmental aspects in the lives of family members.
D) Change is conceptualized as systematic shifts through a sequence of stages.

Question 7

According to recent research, stress is a multifaceted phenomenon with various levels of change for coping. Which level is it when family members change their basic assumptions about life and accept values and ideas they previously ignored or opposed?

A) Level I
B) Level II
C) Level III
D) Level IV

Question 8

Which of the following is the best example of experiencing ambiguous loss?

A) Children of divorce are unsure when they're going to get to see their noncustodial parent
B) Spouses of Alzheimer's patients who no longer remember them
C) Parents of children diagnosed with a life-threatening illness
D) Survivors of an accident where several people were killed

Question 9

A particularly salient dialectical tension experienced by parents whose child has died is:

A) The decision to have more children or not
B) The decision to discuss it openly or grieve silently
C) The decision to grieve separately or together
D) The decision to stay married or divorce

Question 10

After Jen learned that she was going to be fired from her job, she went through many stages of crisis and coping. During the _______ stage, she was very angry at her boss and herself. She found herself to get frustrated easily and be quite impatient during the day.

A) Shock
B) Recoil
C) Depression
D) Reorganization

Question 11

A family's ability to do well in the face of adversity is called _____.

A) Cohesion
B) Support
C) Resilience
D) Esteem

Question 12

Which one of the following stages of family crisis is marked by blaming, anger, and bargaining?

A) Denial
B) Reorganization
C) Recoil
D) Depression

Question 13

Xavier's family just found out that his youngest sister has cancer. They have the finances to pay for the treatment that will cure the cancer. Which component of the ABCX does this represent?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) X

Question 14

The severity of stress depends, in part, upon the family's resources and their interpretation of the events surrounding the stressor event.

Question 15

The accumulation of stressors affects most families in the same way.

Question 16

Experience with crises becomes a resource when a family suffers again.

Question 17

Maladaptation, an outcome of the family's stress over time, refers to the positive outcomes of managing the stress.

Question 18

Resilient families are those that rely heavily on each other rather than community or religious support systems.

Question 19

Rituals for dealing with death may help family members through the grieving process.

Question 20

Instead of dissolving a family system, divorce alters it.

Question 21

In the ABCX model, A represents the crisis.

Question 22

Soon after a crisis, a wise communication strategy is to get the affected members of the family to refrain from retelling the experiences during the crisis.

Question 23

A family member who is dying should be permitted, even encouraged, to talk about their dying whenever he or she feels like doing so.

Question 24

A crisis such as suicide or a drug arrest may force openness in some families and also create closeness that did not previously exist.

Question 25

"Conspiracies of silence" is a term pertaining to the taboo nature of discussing most crises such as suicide or divorce.