Coping and Resilience in Families with Children with Behavioral Problems //Estrategias de afrontamiento y resiliencia en familias con hijos con problemas de conducta

Abstract

Behavioral problems are one of the main concerns of parents in today's society. There are families that are able to face these problems and get ahead —they are resilient— while others are overwhelmed, and do not know how to act. Lack of emotional self-regulation, effective coping strategies, and resilience contribute to stress increase, affecting health and emotional balance. To know how to act to develop parental resilience, this paper analyzes the coping strategies that adults use to deal with children's behavioral problems and their relation with resilience. With this aim, the 'Coping with Children's Behavior Problems questionnaire' (CCBP) was developed. Participants were 615 parents and mothers of the autonomous community of Madrid. They completed mentioned questionnaire along with the Brief Resilience Scale for validation purposes. Analyses showed the adequate fit of the person-situation model, the way situation influences the use of coping strategies and emotional self-regulation, and the way the type of strategies used relates to resilience.