Collective efficacy following a series of natural disasters

This article examined adolescents' reports of how they cope with a specific social stressor: authority conflict with parents. This situation was presented to 626 adolescents as part of a larger study on coping with stress. Students were requested to report on the intensity of the stress experienced, intensity of emotions, emotion regulation, perceived availability of social support, goal framing, and coping strategies used. Coping strategies split up factor-analytically into two coping patterns, namely fighting the stressor and coming to terms with the stressor. The relations between these two coping modes and various aspects of the students' mental representation of the stressor were examined. It was predicted that the way students frame the coping goal would affect their choice of coping strategies. Direct effects of coping strategy, emotion regulation and social support on intensity of stress were tested as well as moderating effects of the type of coping mode used on the relationship between emotion regulation and experienced stress. It is suggested that some youngsters consider an authority conflict with their parents as a normal aspect of daily functioning, whereas other view it as a developmental challenge.     

Relations between plasma oxytocin,depressive symptoms and coping strategies in response to a stressor: the impact of social support

Background: Social support can serve as a protective factor against the negative impacts of stressors and may thereby promote well-being. As well, exogenous administration of oxytocin has been tied to diminished stress responses and might also enhance the effects of social support.

Methods/Results: In the current study, conducted among female undergraduate students (N?=?67), higher depressive symptoms were related to lower endorsements of problem-focused coping in response to a psychosocial stressor comprising the Trier Social Stress test (TSST). However, the relation between depressive symptoms and problem-focused coping was absent among participants who had a close female friend present serving as social support prior to the stressor experience. Additionally, endogenous plasma oxytocin levels were related to certain coping strategies being favored (e.g., problem-solving, humor, cognitive distraction, self-blame and support seeking) in response to the psychosocial stressor. However, the strength of these relations varied as a function of whether individuals had social support present or not.

Conclusion: These findings confirm the positive impact of social support in attenuating the relation between depressive symptoms and specific coping methods. The results of this study are consistent with view that oxytocin levels are accompanied by particular stress responses, possibly through the promotion of coping methods endorsed.     

Strategies for Coping with Work Stressors and Family Stressors: Scale Development and Validation

Purpose

Both individuals and organizations benefit when workers can effectively cope with stressors in the work and family domains. This study takes an inductive approach to the development of a work stressor coping scale and a family stressor coping scale.

Design/Methodology/Approach

In phase one, a comprehensive list of coping strategies was generated through a multi-step content analysis of qualitative interviews. In phase two, the content validity of the work stressor and family stressor coping strategy scales was established using data from three samples; and in phase three, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity evidence were obtained using data from two samples.

Findings

A multi-step content analysis of qualitative interview data was used to develop a list of 365 coping strategy statements (182 work and 183 family) representing 11 work and 14 family stressor coping strategies. Multiple samples were used to reduce the number of scale items, and establish evidence for the scales’ content, construct, and criterion-related validity. The final work stressor coping scale consisted of 36 items assessing 12 different strategies, and the final family stressor coping scale consisted of 45 items assessing 15 different strategies.

Implications

Findings from the present study suggest that individuals may use a wider variety of strategies to cope with work stressors and family stressors than previously thought, and these strategies may be differentially effective depending on the stressor domain (i.e., work or family) and outcome (e.g., work-to-family conflict vs. family-to-work conflict).

Originality/Value

The inductive nature of our study resulted in a comprehensive and domain-specific scales assessing how individuals cope with work stressors and family stressors.     

Decision-specific reinvestment scale: An exploration of its construct validity,and association with stress and coping appraisals

ObjectiveThis research project aimed to explore the construct validity of the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale (DSRS); more specifically, its links with stress and coping appraisals.DesignStudy 1 validated the DSRS and the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) to the French language, in order to examine the construct validity of the DSRS using the MSRS, the Preference for Intuition and Deliberation (PID) inventory and the Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire (MDMQ). In addition, sex differences in reinvestment were investigated. Study 2 examined stress and coping appraisals of high and low reinvesters.MethodIn study 1, 379 athletes completed the DSRS, MSRS, PID, and MDMQ. In study 2, 100 handball players, classified as low and high reinvesters, completed surveys aimed to assess stressor intensity, stressor perceived controllability, coping effectiveness, subjective performance and coping strategies with the Coping Inventory for Competitive Sport over three games.ResultsIn study 1, we found that intuitive athletes scored lower on the DSRS in comparison to deliberative athletes, whilst no difference was found for the MSRS. Convergent and discriminant validity was illustrated with the subscales of the MDMQ. No sex differences were found regarding reinvestment. In study 2, findings showed that low reinvesters scored higher than high reinvesters in terms of stressor perceived controllability, coping effectiveness and subjective performance.DiscussionIn addition to confirmation of construct validity, these findings strengthen our understanding of how high decision reinvesters perceive a pressured situation. Key applications are derived from our findings informing coaches and athletes in offsetting the negative effects of reinvestment on sport performance.     

Expressed Emotion,Appraisal and Coping by Patients with Recent-onset Schizophrenia: A Pilot Investigation

This pilot study sought to follow up on indications that patients from households with high levels of expressed emotion (EE) differ from those from households with low levels of EE in ways not assessed in typical symptom rating profiles. We examined how patients appraised and coped with a prominent societal stressor. Soon after the start of the Gulf War, 22 patients with recent-onset schizophrenia living in Los Angeles appraised the stressor and completed a coping questionnaire. Results indicated that patients from high-EE homes were likely to use emotion-based confrontational methods to cope with the crisis, while patients from low-EE environments were likely to use avoidance and denial. Patients from high-EE homes thus coped with this non-familial, societal stressor in a way similar to the way in which they have been observed to cope with family conflict: they more readily expressed their anger and frustration than patients from low-EE homes. These pilot data suggest that increased attention should be directed toward those patient behaviours that may be associated with either an increase or decrease in negative affective behaviour from relatives. It may also be fruitful to consider more broadly the adaptive and maladaptive features of the preferred coping strategies of patients from high-EE and low-EE environments.     

Adult attachment styles and stressor severity as moderators of the coping sequence

This study examined the normative temporal sequence of the coping process and whether stressor severity or adult attachment styles moderated that sequence. Participants (N = 75) described a minor or a major stressor. They were given a stack of index cards, representing coping strategies from five different domains. They selected strategies they had employed and sorted them into the order used. Overall, support from partner was one of the first coping techniques used. Adult attachment styles moderated the coping sequence. For major stressors, dismissing attachment predicted later use of support seeking from partner and earlier use of distancing coping, while preoccupied attachment predicted earlier use of emotion‐focused coping.     

The Relationships of Primary Appraisals of Infertility and Other Gynecological Stressors to Coping

Women experiencing infertility, pregnancy, medical gynecological problems, or annual checkups were assessed for primary appraisal of their stressor and types of coping strategies used. Diagnostic category approximated the subjective appraisal of stressor for pregnant (challenge) and checkup (no stress) groups. Most participants in the medical gynecological problems group appraised their stress as a threat, but a few participants chose other appraisal categories. Infertility was associated with two categories of appraisal—loss and challenge. Participants appraising their stressor as a loss made greater use of the coping strategies of Action, Wishful Thinking, and Fatalism than did women appraising their stressor as a challenge, a threat, or not stressful. Women appraising infertility as challenge were less distressed than women in any other group. The bimodal perception of infertility has implications for treating women who seek psychological help.     

Longitudinal analysis of stressors,stress, coping and coping effectiveness in elite esports athletes

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to longitudinally examine the stressors, stress appraisal, coping, and coping effectiveness experienced by elite esports athletes.DesignSix elite male League of Legends (LoL) athletes, competing in the Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS), completed diaries over the 2020 competitive season (87 days).MethodAthletes completed weekly diaries after three events: solo training, team training, and competitive matches. Each diary collected data on the stressors experienced, stressor intensity and threat/challenge perception (appraisal), coping strategies used, and perceived coping effectiveness.ResultsGeneral performance, outcome, critical moment performance, and teammate mistakes accounted for 55% of the stressors reported. More stressors were reported in competitive diaries than in training diaries. Competitive stressors were rated as being more intense than training stressors. There were no differences in overall challenge and threat perception, but performance stressors were more likely to be perceived as a challenge, and teammate stressors were more likely to be perceived as a threat. Problem-focused coping (PFC) was the most frequently employed coping strategy. PFC and emotion-focused coping (EFC) strategies were perceived as more effective at reducing stress than avoidance coping (AC).ConclusionsElite LoL athletes experienced a small number of reoccurring stressors over an 87-day competitive period. Athletes reported more stressors around competitive matches and perceived competitive stressors as more intense than team and solo training stressors. Similarly to traditional sports athletes, PFC strategies were the most frequently employed and, PFC and EFC were rated as being more effective than AC.     

Long-term adherence to a physical activity intervention: The role of telephone-assisted vs. self-administered coping plans and strategy use

Objective: This study investigated the role of coping plans and the use of selection, optimisation and compensation (SOC) strategies within an experimental evaluation of a 26-week physical exercise intervention.

Methods: Older women (N?=?86, M _age?=?73.7 years) were randomly assigned to a telephone-assisted or a self-administered coping planning intervention after 6 weeks’ participation in an exercise programme. The number of different coping plans formulated, exercise-specific SOC strategy use and their interaction were used to predict objectively measured long-term adherence to the intervention.

Results: The number of coping plans formulated (β?=?0.28) and goal-pursuit strategies reported (sum score of optimisation and compensation strategies, β?=?0.39) predicted adherence to the exercise programme over 20 weeks. The predictive strength of coping plans increased with decreasing numbers of goal-pursuit strategies (β?=??0.21). Women supported via telephone reported significantly more coping plans than did women in the self-administered coping planning group, F(1,80)?=?9.47, p?=?0.003.

Conclusion: Coping plans have a buffering effect on adherence levels when use of SOC strategies is low. Older women's adherence to physical activities may be improved if they are given direct support in generating coping plans involving strategies of selection, optimisation and compensation.     

Repressors benefit from reappraising a threatening emotional event

Background and Objectives: The malleability of emotion-focused coping was investigated by manipulating the situational context so that dispositional repressors, who typically utilize an avoidant strategy when confronted with a stressor, were led to use reappraisal and then were reexposed to the stressor. Design: A mixed design with one measured between-subjects factor (dispositional repression), two randomized between-subjects factors (performance feedback and coping strategy), and multimodal assessments across phases of the experiment was used. Method: During a face-perception task, participants (170 female and 120 male university students) received bogus performance feedback that was inconsistent with and thus threatening to self-concept. Participants then completed a writing activity encouraging them to perceive a face-perception task as either an invalid (reappraisal) or a valid (control) assessment tool. Afterward, participants continued with the task. Results: A repressive disposition was associated with a defense response (decreased perceived emotion to actors' expressions, increased skin conductance levels, and increased heart rates) during the face-perception task that participants perceived as threatening, but not during reexposure to the event after they had reappraised it as nonthreatening. Conclusions: This research provides a more detailed understanding of the dynamic nature of emotion-focused coping by exploring how the disposition-situation interaction affects self-regulation of emotion.     

Coping with COVID: Use,factor structure,and health behavior implications of specific emotion regulation strategies during the coronavirus pandemic

This series of studies examined U.S. individuals' use of specific emotion regulation/coping strategies during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, investigated the factor structure among strategies during this universally experienced stressor, and the extent to which these factors predicted engagement in COVID-related health-promoting behaviors. In Study 1, participants (N = 520) rated their use of 17 strategies for coping with pandemic-related stress during the past 24 h. Differences emerged in strategy use across demographic groups (age, race, income). Results of exploratory factor analysis suggest a factor structure grouping strategies in terms of goals beyond emotion regulation per se, rather than phases of the emotion process or a binary adaptive versus maladaptive distinction. In Study 2 (N = 264), participants reported daily on their coping strategy use and weekly on their engagement in COVID-specific health behaviors for 22 days. Results of confirmatory factor analysis replicate the factor structure found in Study 1. Some significant associations of coping strategy use with health-promoting behaviors were observed, but these were sporadic and largely involved baseline measures rather than predicting change over time. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Coping rarely takes place in a social vacuum: Exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships

ObjectivesDespite widespread acceptance that coping is an interpersonal phenomenon, sport psychology research has focused largely on athletes' and coaches’ ways of coping individually. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore coping from an interpersonal perspective (i.e., dyadic coping) in coach-athlete relationships.Methodology and methodsAntecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping were discussed with five coach-athlete dyads. We conducted individual interviews with athletes and coaches and then one interview with each coach-athlete dyad. Interviews were analyzed using dyadic analysis and composite vignettes were created to present the data. Methodological rigor was enhanced by focusing on credibility, resonance, rich rigor, significant contribution, and meaningful coherence.ResultsFive themes were identified. These represented the essence of dyadic coping (theme: the essence of dyadic coping), antecedents of dyadic coping (themes: lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor), and outcomes of dyadic coping (theme: protection and support). The first theme captures coaches' and athletes’ understanding of dyadic coping. The antecedent themes represent the factors that were necessary for dyadic coping to occur. Protection and support relates to the positive nurturing environment that was discussed as an outcome of dyadic coping.ConclusionThe results extend published research by exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in sport. The findings highlight that dyadic coping was prevalent in coach-athlete relationships when various antecedents (lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor) existed. Protection and support were pertinent outcomes of dyadic coping that contributed to personal and relationship growth.     

The assessment of surgery-related coping: The coping with surgical stress scale (COSS)

Abstract

Surgery can be regarded as a major stressor for any patient. High preoperative emotional arousal may negatively influence adjustment during surgery as well as the postoperative recovery rate. Consequently, the strategies individuals employ for coping with this stress are of prime importance for the quality of their adaptation. This paper reports the construction and empirical assessment of a new instrument for measuring strategies employed to cope with surgical stress. Factor analysis of this instrument, the Coping with Surgical Stress Scale (COSS), yielded five factors: Rumination, Optimism and Trust, Turning to Social and Religious Resources, Threat Avoidance, and Information Seeking. Internal consistencies of the corresponding subscales were satisfactory. Results concerning external relationships of the COSS with dispositional coping, state and trait anxiety, and indicators of perioperative adjustment showed that the COSS is a useful instrument for measuring surgery-related coping.     

The role of meaning in gastric cancer patients: relationships among meaning structures,coping, and psychological well-being

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Research demonstrates that the experience of cancer invariably violates patients’ meaning structures, prompting them to use coping strategies to alleviate stress and enhance well-being. The current study aimed to examine the mediating effects of coping strategies in the relationship between global and situational meaning and psychological well-being in gastric cancer patients.

Design and Method: One hundred eighty-seven patients (96 women and 91 men) with gastric cancer completed questionnaires measuring meaning in life, changes of beliefs and goals, coping, and psychological well-being. Participants were between 27 and 82 years of age. They were diagnosed with gastric cancer from 1 to 3.2 years ago. Using Structural Equation Modeling, both the direct and indirect associations between meaning structures, coping, and psychological well-being were examined.

Results: Meaning in life exerted significant indirect effects on psychological well-being through three coping strategies: problem-, emotion-, and meaning-focused. The relationship between changes of beliefs and goals and psychological well-being was also mediated by coping.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that coping strategies are mediators in the relationship between global and situational meaning and psychological well-being. They also provide empirical evidence that in severe cancer-related stress conditions both meaning structures and coping strategies influence patients’ psychological well-being.     

Psychological,endocrine, and neural correlates of attentional bias in subclinical depression

Background: Our knowledge with respect to psychological, endocrine, and neural correlates of attentional bias in individuals with high vulnerability to developing depression – the subclinically depressed, still remains limited. Design: The study used a 2?×?2 mixed design. Methods: Attentional bias toward happy and sad faces in healthy (N?=?26) and subclinically depressed individuals (N?=?22) was assessed via a neuroimaging dot-probe attention task. Participants also completed trait and state psychological measures and provided saliva samples for cortisol analysis. Results: The subclinical group showed attentional bias toward happy faces; past use of problem-focused coping strategies when dealing with a personally relevant stressor as well as state levels of anxiety, together, contributed to this bias. In the control group, the happy attentional bias was positively correlated with activity in the right caudate. In the subclinical group, the bias was negatively associated with the left fusiform gyrus and positively with the left inferior parietal lobule and bilateral putamen. We observed group differences in association between cortisol levels during the task and neural activity during happy attentional bias processing within the key regions involved in attention. Conclusions: The attentional bias toward happy faces may reflect an active coping attempt by the subclinical participants.     

Mental toughness, stress, stress appraisal, coping and coping effectiveness in sport

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mental toughness, stressor appraisal, coping strategies and coping effectiveness among a sample of athletes. Participants were 482 athletes (male n = 305; female n = 177), aged between 16 and 45 years (M age = 20.44 years, SD = 3.98). In support of a priori predictions, mental toughness was associated with stress intensity and control appraisal, but not the type of stressor experienced by athletes. Total mental toughness and its six components predicted coping and coping effectiveness in relation to the self-selected stressor. In particular, higher levels of mental toughness were associated with more problem-focused coping, but less emotion-focused and avoidance coping. Coping effectiveness was influenced by the coping strategy employed by the athletes.     

Spécificité des stratégies de coping des patients en rémission de la maladie de Crohn : une étude qualitative

IntroductionCrohn's disease (CD), a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, has strong psychological and social repercussions related to the specificity of the symptomatology. To better understand how patients cope with the disease, coping strategies have been studied but without taking into account the specificity of the CD experience.ObjectiveOur objective is to identify the perceived coping strategies used by patients in relation to their illness experience.MethodUsing a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis with 33 CD patients in remission were conducted.ResultsOur results highlight that some of the coping strategies used are not taken into account by the coping scales frequently used in the literature. Indeed, the illness experience appears to be fundamental in the establishment of new strategies based on the experiential knowledge patients use to reduce the stress induced by a potential relapse. Moreover, coping strategies based on positive emotions are also implemented, and they enable patients to make sense of the disease.ConclusionThe coping strategies, i.e., “experiential knowledge” and “positive emotions”, may shed more light on the complexity of the illness experience of CD patients and allow us to make recommendations concerning the psychological support of patients.     

Effects of an experimental social stressor on resources loss,negative affect,and coping strategies

This experimental study, grounded in Hobfoll's conservation of resources (COR) theory, assessed the effects of manipulating a social stressor on loss of psychological resources, negative affect, and coping strategies. Israeli student volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: (1) social stressor (n = 66) and (2.) nonstressor (n = 59). The social stressor, aimed at reducing participant's personal resources, was experimentally induced via the Trier Social Stress Test protocol. The protocol consisted of a mock job interview administered under evaluative conditions, followed by performing a difficult arithmetic calculation task. The nonstressor condition involved a neutral interaction with an experimenter, followed by performing a relatively easy mental calculation task. Consistent with our hypotheses, the social stressor, compared to the nonstressor condition, resulted in statistically significant lower mean levels of psychological resources, higher levels of negative affect, and increased emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping. Furthermore, under the social stressor condition, compared with the nonstressor condition, negative affect was more strongly related to loss of psychological resources and various coping strategies. Overall, the data provide experimental support for key tenets of COR theory     

Coping mediates between social support,neuroticism, and depression after earthquake and examination stress among adolescents

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the mediating role of coping strategies in the relationships between neuroticism, social support, and depression in two groups of adolescents: earthquake group and examination group. Adolescents facing earthquake stress (earthquake group, N=219) completed measures of neuroticism, perceived social support, coping strategies, and self-rating depression. Similarly, adolescents facing examination stress (examination group, N=241) completed the same measures. Results indicated that the earthquake group reported more use of secondary control engagement coping, whereas the examination group reported more use of primary control engagement coping. In addition, neuroticism was more strongly associated with coping in earthquake group and coping strategies explained significantly larger part of the relationship between neuroticism and depression. In contrary, perceived social support was more strongly associated with coping in examination group, and coping strategies explained significantly larger part of the relationship between perceived social support and depression.     

Developmental changes in coping: Situational and methodological influences

Abstract

Previous studies on the development of coping have shown rather inconsistent findings regarding the developmental trajectories for different coping dimensions. The aim of this study is to search for possible influences that might explain these inconsistencies. The analysis focuses on methodological influences (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional assessments) and situational influences. Two samples of children were traced longitudinally with yearly assessments from grade 2 to 5 (sample 1, N =432) and from grade 4 to 7 (sample 2, N =366). A third sample (N =849) was added with cross-sectional assessments from grade 2 to 7. The assessed coping dimensions were related to (a) problem solving, (b) seeking social support, (c) palliative coping, (d) externalizing emotional coping, and (e) avoidant coping. The use of the coping strategies had to be assessed for six stress-evoking situations. The results show only small differences between the longitudinal and the cross-sectional coping assessments. There are, however, clear situational influences on the choice of the coping strategies and also on the resulting developmental trajectories.