Information Seekers in the Aftermath of Technological Disaster at Three Mile Island1

Information seekers attending the TMI Public Health and Environmental Information Series six years after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident were found to be more educated, less worried, more cynical of experts, more likely to report disturbances in concentration, and more likely to be male than a normative sample of area residents. Course participants are described as seeking cognitive solutions and as having an underlying agenda of restoring lost faith in experts. Those who had evacuated at the time of the accident manifested the most psychological symptoms among course participants.     

Perception of Control and Faith in Experts Among Residents in the Vicinity of Three Mile Island1

A survey of residents near the Three Mile Island nuclear generating facility four years after the accident explored the relationship of lack of perceived control over their lives, loss of faith in experts, and TMI-related worry as a function of pre- versus post-accident residence. Findings indicate that for residents who moved into the area after the accident, lack of perceived control relates to TMI-specific worry, whereas for those present at the time of the accident, lack of perceived control relates to loss of faith in experts. Pre- versus post-accident residents also differ in perceived lack of control and loss of faith in experts as a function of educational level.     

Perceptions of Three Mile Island and Acceptance of a Nuclear Power Plant in a Distant Community

Links between the accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) and attitudes among residents of a distant community toward a local nuclear power plant were examined. Interviews were conducted about 18 months after TMI with 213 residents of a nuclear host community concerning the effects of TMI, expectations about local events, and attitudes toward the local plant. Residents' perceptions of the importance of TMI in relation to their attitudes were associated with the perceived hazards of the local plant and with changes in attitudes over the past five years. A path analysis showed that the perceived influence of TMI was inversely related to local acceptance of the plant through expectations of local outcomes. Perceived hazards were more strongly related to the perceived influence of TMI than to expected economic benefits. Findings suggested a strong link between a distant event and local expectations and attitudes.     

Cross-cultural differences in coping with sadness

The current study investigated cross-cultural differences in ways of coping with sadness in a multicultural sample (N=140). Anova analyses revealed that Asians and Caucasians are less likely to use confrontive and positive reappraisal coping strategies in dealing with sadness than multicultural individuals. Asians are also less likely to use distancing coping strategies than multicultural individuals. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.     

Sex differences in coping with depression

A Depression Coping Questionnaire (DCQ) was devised to compare strategies for coping with depression reported by male and female college students. Discriminant analysis showed that females were significantly more likely than males to report crying, eating, smoking cigarettes, becoming irritable, and confronting their feelings when depressed. Males were significantly more likely than females to report becoming aggressive and engaging in sexual behavior when depressed. Discriminant analysis data from students in Massachusetts showed significant cross-validation with discriminant analysis data from students in California. Comparison of depressed males and females indicated that depressed males reported behaviors of withdrawal such as spending time alone and using stimulating and tranquilizing drugs. Depressed females reported self-blame. Significant multiple correlations between DCQ questions and depression scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) showed that high BDI scores were associated with isolation and escape in males, and with self-blame and acting out in females. It is concluded that depressed females might benefit most from alleviation of self-blame and adaptive relabeling of depressive symptoms, and depressed males might benefit most from increased self-awareness and active coping.The authors are indebted to Colleen F. Surber, John R. Surber, and Frederick B. Meeker.     

Cross-cultural differences in coping with sadness

The current study investigated cross-cultural differences in ways of coping with sadness in a multicultural sample (N=140). Anova analyses revealed that Asians and Caucasians are less likely to use confrontive and positive reappraisal coping strategies in dealing with sadness than multicultural individuals. Asians are also less likely to use distancing coping strategies than multicultural individuals. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.     

Socioeconomic differences in coping with childbearing

The socioeconomic status of 200 women, who were completing a childbearing year, was found to be significantly associated with their attitudes, affective arousal and coping strategies. Differences in attitude existed toward 11 of 18 aspects of childbearing, working-class women holding more positive attitudes with the exception of their negative attitudes concerning physical problems and labor. Affective arousal, as measured by the application of 12 content analysis scales to the women's recollections, was greatest among working-class women who experienced more mutation, guilt, and total anxiety. This was associated with their tendency to avoid confrontation and be fatalistic in dealing with problems. They were less likely to exhibit instrumental coping by attending prenatal classes, seeking information, or planning. Interactions of socioeconomic status, type of problem, and coping strategy chosen occurred, as did some variations in the reactions of middle- and upper middle-class women.     

Age differences in coping with chronic illness

We examined the correlation between age and six coping strategies in a sample of 151 middle-aged and older chronically ill adults. Coping strategies included cognitive restructuring, emotional expression, wish fulfilling fantasy, self-blame, information seeking, and threat minimization. Older adults were less likely to use emotional expression or information seeking than were middle-aged adults in their efforts to cope with the illness. These strategies were related to age even when numerous illness characteristics (e.g., physical limitations) were used as control variables. Interaction effects showed that older adults who perceived their illnesses as highly serious were less likely than were others to cope by seeking information, reconstruing their illness as having positive aspects, or engaging in wishfulfilling fantasies, and more likely to cope by simply minimizing the illness's threat. Consideration of related research studies suggests that the age differences in emotional expression may be due to age-related shifts in the types of stresses experienced, whereas the age differences in information seeking may be more strongly linked to cohort phenomena.     

A Comparison of Residents Who Moved Versus Those Who Remained Prior to Restart of Three Mile Island1

This study examines the importance of attitudinal and demographic variables in discriminating those residents who had moved prior to the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in 1985 from those who remained. Findings indicate that movers and stayers were discriminated by demographic factors, age, and length of residence in the vicinity. Movers and nonmovers also differed in the interrelatedness of their attitudes pertaining to environmental threat and perceived control. Among those who left, perceived threat of radiation was associated with lack of control; among those who stayed, perceived control was related to faith in experts. This difference was related to a possible defensive adaptation to environmental threat through disassociation of sense of control from worry about environmental threat by those who remained in the area.     

Sex differences in coping with career decision making

Sex differences in coping with career decision making were investigated among 247 undergraduate students. Men and women differed on three of four coping factors. Men scored significantly higher on Self-Efficacy Behavior (p < .05) while women scored higher than men on Reactive Behavior (p < .01) and Support-Seeking Behavior (p < .001) strategies. Coping factors were investigated in relation to career decidedness. Although men and women differed on the coping factors, the pattern of relationships between coping and career indecision was virtually identical for both sexes. Self-Efficacy Behavior (Factor 1) was negatively related to career indecision while Symptom-Altering/Avoidant Behavior (Factor 2) was positively related to indecision for both men and women.     

Psychological Symptoms As Related to Cognitive Appraisals and Demographic Differences Among Information Seekers in the Aftermath of Technological Disaster at Three Mile Island

Psychological symptoms were found to be associated with a number of cognitive appraisal and demographic variables but predicted primarily by perceived lack of control among information seekers in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident. Cognitive appraisal variables were found to be interrelated in a way which suggests that appraisal of control and faith in experts mediate between perceived environmental threat and psychological symptoms among information seekers in the aftermath of technological disaster. Demographic variables such as education and evacuation status are viewed as mediators between environmental circumstances and cognitive appraisals.     

Gender differences in the effectiveness of coping with dysphoria: A longitudinal study

This study examined whether men use more eflective means of coping with dysphoria on their own than do women. Forty-four male and female college students who reported feeling dysphoric were evaluated on their coping styles at three intervals in a six and a half week time span. The findings suggest that men and women do not use significantly different appraisal and coping techniques. For both sexes, problem-focused coping was associated with less dysphoria over time, whereas emotion-focused coping was associated with more dysphoria over time. Keeping anger in was associated with more dysphoria over time for women. In addition, the way in which the situation was appraised influenced the level of dysphoria over time for both sexes.     

Tactical differences in coping with rejection sensitivity: the role of prevention pride

Prevention pride reflects a person's subjective history of success in preventing negative outcomes, leading to a strategic avoidance of errors of commission (e.g., explicit mistakes) in new situations. Two studies examined the impact of prevention pride on the strategies that highly rejection sensitive (HRS) people use to cope with the anxiety of anticipated rejection and the negative feelings elicited by perceived rejection. It was hypothesized that prevention pride orientation would lead HRS people toward covert and passive rather than overt and active forms of negative coping. Results indicated that HRS individuals who were also high in prevention pride reported increased use of self-silencing, presumably to prevent rejection. When rejection was perceived, however, they expressed hostility passively, by reducing positive behavior (e.g., withdrawing love and support) while inhibiting direct, active acts of hostility (e.g., yelling).     

Individual differences in coping with criticism of one's physical appearance among Taiwanese students

When someone is criticized for some failure or deficiency, he or she is faced with a dilemma about whether or how to respond. To date, most research on responses to criticism has adopted a communication approach and has focused on general social complaints. The present study instead adopted the perspective of stress and coping and aimed to delineate possible responses to criticism pertaining to one's physical appearance. We investigated the efficacy of three coping styles, namely acceptance, avoidance, and retaliation in explaining emotional reactions towards such criticism, and we additionally controlled for personality characteristics, in particular assertion and harmony beliefs. A sample of Taiwanese university students (N = 300) was surveyed for their coping styles and psychological outcomes, and personality traits were examined as possible predictors of response options. We found that (1) acceptance, retaliation, and avoidance were three broad coping styles in this problematic social situation; (2) the individual trait of assertion was negatively related to the use of avoidance, while harmony beliefs were positively related to acceptance and avoidance, but negatively related to retaliation; and (3) the use of acceptance and avoidance were positively related to positive emotions, whereas retaliation was positively related to negative emotions. Males tended to use more acceptance. Implications of these findings were discussed in relation to existing studies of communication, stress and coping. Possible influences of the Chinese collectivist culture on people's responses to criticism were also delineated, such as valuing interpersonal harmony and face-work in social situations.     

Racial and body image differences in coping for women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Although more White women develop breast cancer, African American women more frequently die of the disease (American Cancer Society, 2003). Despite higher morbidity among African American women, few studies have included racially diverse samples. The purposes of this study were to explore racial and body image differences in coping and self-efficacy in coping and racial differences in body image perceptions among breast cancer patients. The 92 participants ranged in age from 28 to 86 years (M=57.64, SD=12.48). Participants with higher body image perceptions had significantly higher self-efficacy in coping compared with participants with lower body image perceptions. There were no significant racial or ethnic differences in coping, self-efficacy in coping, or body image perceptions.     

Individual differences in self-reported thought control: the role of the repressive coping sytle

The purpose of the present research is to assess differences between repressors and non repressors in some aspects associated with conscious thought control. Thus, Sixty-three Spanish university students with different combinations of trait anxiety and defensiveness completed the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ) and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). Data analysis showed that subjects with low anxiety (repressors and low anxious) reported higher perceived ability to control unpleasant thoughts and less tendency to suppress than did subjects with high anxiety (high anxious and defensive high anxious). Implications of these results are discussed in relation to recent researches that have explored the association between repression and thought suppression.     

Assessing gender differences in the relationship between religious coping responses and alcohol consumption

The purpose of this study is to see if the use of religious coping responses is associated with alcohol intake. In addition, tests are conducted to see if the relationship between religion and alcohol use varies by gender. Data from a recent nationwide survey (N?=?2173) indicate that greater use of religious coping responses is associated with less alcohol consumption. The findings further reveal that even though women use religious coping responses more often than men, the relationship between the use of religious coping responses and alcohol consumption is stronger for men than for women. This suggests that, with respect to alcohol consumption, men may benefit more from using religious coping responses than women. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.