Book Offers Help for Families in Crisis

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a crisis, open communication can bring a family through a difficult time with stronger bonds. In Effective Family Communication for Coping with Crises, edited by Lynne M. Webb and Fran C. Dickson, communication researchers offer families strategies for communicating during times of crisis. Each chapter examines family communication during a different type of crisis including the death of a child, mothers with breast cancer, job loss, homelessness, and coping with natural disasters, such as a hurricane.

“We wrote this book to help families find the most effective way to communicate in the face of crises,” said Webb, a professor of communication at the University of Arkansas. “The book provides cases of families dealing with a wide variety of crises, so hopefully readers can take away communication strategies that enable families to cope effectively.”

Effective Family Communication brings together multiple ideas, theories and authors to address the same topic of family communication during crises. In each chapter the author concludes with a research report on a particular crisis with practical advice for families on how they might communicate effectively.

“Research has been done on individuals’ coping mechanisms, but not on how a family unit can cope with crises, and this is what this book addresses,” Webb said.

Families can ignore crisis, flee crisis or cope with crisis, and the authors in this book reinforce the ideas of open communication, positive outlooks and expanded disclosure so that readers can learn how to cope effectively with difficult challenges. 

In an example from a chapter dealing with infertility, University of Arkansas associate professor Trish Amason wrote, “For persons experiencing infertility, their reality of their situation is valid and sharing their circumstances enables them to seek and receive social support — coping is possible through communication. For persons in social networks where a family member or friend is experiencing infertility, that communication is so important in crisis management. Talk matters.”

With its presentation of diverse topics, research and communication strategies, Effective Family Communication can serve as a textbook for graduate courses in both communication and family studies. It also can be used professionally when assisting families in dealing with a crisis, as well as a resource for families experiencing crises themselves.

Webb is a communication professor in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas and has long been involved in the development of the academic specialization known as family communication. Dickson is a professor and department chair of communication studies at Chapman University. Effective Family Communication for Coping with Crises is published by Peter Lang Publishing.