ESTRESORES Y ESTRATEGIAS DE AFRONTAMIENTO EN FAMILIAS EN LAS PRIMERAS ETAPAS DEL CICLO VITAL Y CONTEXTO SOCIOECONÓMICO

The research focuses on the importance of the family life cycle and its relationship with different contexts in order to gain psychological understanding about families. Using the  Double ABC-X Model of Family Stress and Adaptation , an empirical study was done with 114 families from Montevideo. The aims of the study were to learn about stressors and family coping strategies of families in the early stages of the family life cycle, taking into account the possible differences associated with socioeconomic contexts. The results showed that the families in the two stages studied reported similar stressors and coping strategies. Low-income families reported more stressors and higher use of internal coping strategies. The pile-up of stressors and passive appraisal were identified as vulnerability factors for low-income families with school-age children.