Coping strategies of people living in multigenerational households: effects on well-being.

Analyses examined whether information about the coping strategies used by family members adds to an understanding about the psychological well-being of individuals. Data from 140 women and their husbands and children who were living in multigenerational households that included a disabled older relative indicated that for the women and children, the best predictors of depression, positive affect, and mastery were their own coping strategies; the coping strategies used by other family members did not add significantly to the predictive equation. For husbands, however, depression was predicted by both their own coping strategies and the coping strategies of their wives. Husbands' positive affect was predicted only by the coping strategies of their wives and children, and their mastery was predicted by their own coping strategies and those of their wives and children.