Family Crises and ABC-X

thechildrenscenterinc.org

     A crisis can be defined as a traumatic event or experience that pushes the individual or a group to the point of breaking, and often past that point.  It is often as families face difficult crises that they become tested and either are made stronger or made to break under the pressure.

     Reuben Hill, a social scientist, once wrote a paper describing the kinds of patterns and outcomes that occur during a family crisis.  His model is called the ABCX-model.  The A stands for the actual event that the family is faced with.

       Often when we think of a crisis the most traumatic or difficult event we can think of comes to our minds.  But typically we don't experience those.  They are more rare.  It is the day-to-day experiences that are found to be the most influential in the course of an individual and family life.  These challenges are called normative because they generally occur in every life.  They include financial difficulties, developmental stages, and academic stressors.  Non-normative events are those which are more often unique to the individual.  They take the form of natural disasters, life-threatening illnesses, or addictions.  

     Next is B, both the resources that are available and what the family does with them.  

     These resources include physical, mental, spiritual, financial, and social resources.  Typically it isn't the kind of crisis that determines whether a family will be able to overcome it, it is what resources they have that matters.  Even then, if the individuals do not use their resources then it

doesn't matter whether they have them or not.  


     Cognition is represented by the C, or how the family views the crisis.  

     Every individual within a family perceives a specific crisis differently than the other members do. They also have different resources available to them -- even though some of them are probably the same.  Because of this, it becomes very important that each member of the family groups is communicating their feelings and experiences with the other members.  As they communicate it will become clear whether they need help to alt their perception of the crisis.  Some ways of thinking about traumatic events are much healthier than others.  

     Have you ever heard of learned-helplessness?  It is both a way of thinking and a way of behaving. A person can reach the point of learned-helplessness when they feel as though they do not have power to change a situation.  It is when they are in this state that they are unwilling to try even if they have the opportunity to improve their circumstances.  Learned-helplessness is a dangerous way of thinking.  It can lead to the death of individuals and families because people give up.  That is why cognition is so important in the pattern of a family crisis.    

     We can change the way we think about our circumstances by first becoming aware of our thoughts, assessing our thoughts, and then changing our thoughts.  When we learn to recognize faulty reasoning or demoralizing ideas then we can change them.  Turn a destructive mental process into a 
productive and uplifting mindfulness.  And this goes back to communicating with family members.  It is easier to recognize unhelpful and incorrect attitudes if you are talking about them with people you care about and who care about you.


     X is the cumulative experience of the event.  


     Individuals and families do not have to come out of normative or non-normative events broken and weaker.  In fact, crises and stressers will often bring a family closer together.  But it is only after resources have been used properly and all family members are aware of each others' needs -- including their own -- that they can help each other to heal. 

Caldwell K, Boyd CP.  Coping and resilience in farming families affected by drought. Rural and Remote Health 9: 1088. (Online) 2009. Available: http://www.rrh.org.au