Coping management styles in families have been examined in a variety of contexts. The necessity to adapt to change within the family system may be precipitated by occurrences outside of the family, such as a house fire or earthquake, or from within the family when divorce, illness, or death of a family member occurs. When a child within the family is diagnosed with a chronic illness, the family needs to change in order to meet the new demands the illness creates. The family management styles (FMS) framework was developed to describe how the child's treatment regimen is incorporated into everyday family life.

Considerable research has been conducted to increase our understanding regarding both the individual child who is experiencing chronic health problems and their families. The ...