Abstract

BRITO, Hélio Soares de. Stress, resilience and vulnerability: comparing families that have adolescent children in school. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2006, vol.16, n.2, pp. 25-37. ISSN 0104-1282.

This study investigated resilience and vulnerability in middle-class families with adolescent children in school. The study considered the risk and protective factors related to the structure and dynamics of intrafamilial conviviality. Quantitative as well as qualitative methodologies were used, with semi-structured interviews, Genogram, and the Structured Interview of Terezinha Carneiro. In addition, the following questionnaires elaborated by Ângela Hernández were applied: "Como é tua família" (How is your family?) to the adolescents and "Como é sua família" (How is your family?) to the adults. Twelve families with adolescent children were analyzed. The analysis of the results showed: the fragility of the matrimonial links and the strength of the multigenerational familial protection network, based on affection and flexible roles; the inadequacy of the used instruments, as they focus on the traditional nuclear family, disregarding new family configurations. It is suggested that resilience is evaluated as the family's capacity to respond to stressful situations. It is recommended that the traditional family bias be disassociated from research instruments, and that interdisciplinary and contextualized studies should be carried out for a better understanding of familial vulnerability and resilience.

Keywords : Familial stress; Resilience; Vulnerability; Risk Factor; Familial protective network.

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