The ABCX Formula and the Double ABCX Model
The ABCX Formula Besides the Truncated Roller Coaster Profile of Adjustment, Reuben Hill (1949, 1958), based on prior research conducted by himself and others (Angell, 1936; Cavan & Ranck, 1938), developed the ABCX Formula, better known as the ABCX Model, to explain “the crisis-proneness and freedom from crisis among families” (Hill, 1958, p. 143). Although Hill referred to the components of the ABCX Formula in his 1949 work, he did not label the components as A, B, C, and X until 1958. The ABCX Formula is the basis of most family stress models, leading Hill to be called the father of family stress theory (Boss, 2002). The ABCX Formula focuses primarily on precrisis variables of families: A (the crisis-precipitating event/stressor) interacting with B(the family’s crisis-meeting resources) interacting with C (the definition the family makes of the event) produces X (the crisis).
A. The Crisis-Precipitating Event/Stressor Hill (1958) used the terms crisis-precipitating event and stressor...