This article seeks an answer to the question, `Do families and care managers have a similar view of family coping?' Using a coping inventory influenced by the transactional stress-coping model, family carers and their care managers were interviewed separately about successful family coping. The findings support the view that families report more successful coping strategies than seem to be acknowledged by care managers. Some tentative explanations for these differences are offered, including ways in which caring and coping are socially constructed by each group as well as by structural factors in the work environment.
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