Abstract

PADILLA, ERNESTO MARTÍN; FAJARDO GONZALES, CARLOS; GUTIERREZ MORALES, ADRIANA  and  PALMA PRIETO, DANIEL. COPING STRATEGIES FOR CRISIS CAUSED BY UNEMPLOYMENT IN FAMILIES WITH ADOLESCENT CHILDREN IN THE CITY OF BOGOTA. Act.Colom.Psicol. [online]. 2007, vol.10, n.2, pp.127-141. ISSN 0123-9155.

The objective of this article is to describe and understand coping strategies for facing a crisis caused by unemployment in families with adolescent children in the city of Bogota. The conceptual framework for the study is the systemic approach that facilitates a relational and profound understanding of the problems dealt with. The social interpretative approach, based on the principles of social constructivism was the method used in the study, taking into account the relation with second order cybernetics. The qualitative strategy implemented consisted of in depth interviews carried out with six families and triangulated with Mc Cubbin, Larsen, and Olson’s Scale of Personal Evaluation of Family Functioning in Crisis Situations (F-COPES). The main purpose of the scale is to record effective attitudes and behaviours when having to solve a problem. The study concluded that the way in which a family system interprets its reality determines whether or not a crisis will emerge. The coping strategies most used by families were problem restructuring, spiritual support and passive assessment. The strategies that were least implemented included receiving social support such as charity and mobilizing to obtain and accept support.

Keywords : families; unemployment; stress; problem facing.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )