Storytelling and Coping With Stressful Events1

Three studies explored the coping benefits and limitations of stories people hear about others undergoing similar stressful events. In Study One, cancer patients reported that positive stories about other patients were preferable to and more helpful than negative stories, yet negative stories were more commonly told. Study Two manipulated the valence and source of stories told to college students facing midterm exams. Stories with positive endings and those relayed by expert sources were regarded more positively than negative stories and those told by nonexperts. Study Three manipulated the valence and informativeness of stories in a similar college sample. Positive and informative stories were rated more favorably, although these effects were independent of each other. Implications for social comparison and social support are discussed.     

Spouses' Perceptions of Each Other's Coping Ability with Possible Stressful Life Events and Marital Quality

This study examines the effect ob marital quality of spouses' appreciation of partner's coping ability with possible stressful life events. Results show that while higher appreciation of partner's coping ability contributes to marital quality in wives, only the extent of being threatened by stressful life events and sense of being needed by partner for support when confronting with stressful life events contribute to marital quality in husbands.     

Maternal Coping Skills as a Moderator Between Depression and Stressful Life Events: Effects on Children's Behavioral Problems in an Intervention Program

In this study, I report secondary analyses using data from the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP). The IHDP included parent-targeted as well as child-targeted components as an integral part of early intervention programs. I examined three questions: (1) Do the IHDP early intervention services enhance adaptive maternal coping skills? (2) Do maternal coping skills moderate the relationship between stressful life events and maternal depression? (3) Are maternal coping skills associated with children's behavioral scores? Mothers in the treatment group have more adaptive coping skills than follow-up only mothers, and these effects are moderated by maternal characteristics. Adaptive coping skills moderate the effects of negative life events on maternal depression. Adaptive maternal coping skills are significantly associated with fewer behavioral problems for children at age three. These effects are moderated by the intervention. Implications for early intervention programs are discussed.     

Stressful Life Events,Psychopathology, and Adolescent Suicide: A Case Control Study

The relationship between stressful life events and adolescent suicide was assessed in 67 adolescent suicide victims and 67 matched community controls. In the year before death, suicide completers were more likely to have experienced: (1) interpersonal conflict with parents and with boy/girlfriends, (2) disruption of a romantic attachment, (3) legal or disciplinary problems. Legal or disciplinary problems were more commonly associated with suicide in conduct and substance abuse disordered youth. Interpersonal loss was more commonly associated with suicide in substance abuse as well. Even after controlling for psychopathology, legal and disciplinary problems in the past year were associated with an increased risk of suicide.     

Attachment to God,Stressful Life Events,and Changes in Psychological Distress

Considerable research shows that social relationships, attachments, and support systems promote emotional well-being. The present study adds to this literature by examining the connection between attachments to God and psychological distress. Analyzing longitudinal data (two waves) from a study of Presbyterian (PCUSA) elders and rank-and-file laypersons, results show that: (1) a secure attachment to God at baseline is associated with a decrease in distress over time; (2) a secure attachment to God buffers against the deleterious effects of stressful life events on distress; and (3) an anxious attachment to God exacerbates the harmful effects of stress. In these analyses, a secure attachment to God is a more robust predictor of changes in distress than many, more commonly studied variables including race, gender, SES, and church attendance. Future research should therefore replicate and extend this line of promising scholarship by examining additional outcomes such as psychiatric illness, physical health, and even mortality risk.     

Stressful Events and Coping Responses Among Older Adults in Two Sociocultural Groups

In this study of the way 32 men and women between the ages of 60 to 90 coped with stressful situations, two instruments were used: the Life Experiences Survey and the Ways of Coping Checklist. Overall, health-related concerns were more frequently reported by older adults than any other stressful event. When coping responses were categorized according to four modes—intrapsychic, inaction, direct action, and information seeking—the Appalachian group was found to use the information-seeking mode; the Cherokee group, the intrapsychic mode. Significant differences were found between males and females in coping modes and life-stress categories. When groups were combined, significant correlations were noted between life stress, particularly health-related stress, and the coping modes of intrapsychic and information seeking.     

Role of Stressful Life Events in Homelessness: An Intragroup Analysis

The present paper describes the results of an analysis of individual differences—using multidimensional strategies—in stressful life event data collected from a representative sample of homeless people (N = 289) in Madrid, Spain, which revealed the existence of three subgroups within the sample. Each subgroup can be defined by the following differentiating characteristics: The first cluster (n = 124) was characterized by economic problems; the second (n = 80) by health problems, alcohol abuse, and death of one or both parents; and the third cluster (n = 50) by an accumulation of stressful life in childhood events and alcohol abuse. In order to define the subgroups, the article also examines the differences found in other variables such as total duration of homelessness, mental and physical health status, and social support availability, among others. The existence of such subgroups within the homeless population emphasizes the importance of designing different interventions for each of these groups, adapted to their diverse needs.     

Stressful Life Events: A Revision and Update of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale

The widely used and cited Social Readjustment Rating Scale developed by Holmes and Rahe (1967) was comprehensively revised and updated. The new instrument, containing 51 major life events, was administered to a national sample of 5000. Respondents were asked to rate the stressfulness of each life event on a 1–100 scale. Completed surveys were returned by 3122 individuals (62.4%). Responses were analyzed using repeated measures MANOVA and profile analysis. Major results included: (a) statistically and practically significant differences in mean ratings for the 51 life events; (b) five overlapping themes in the top 20 rated life events—death and dying, healthcare, crime and the criminal justice system, financial/economic issues, and family-related issues; and (c) an amazing level of agreement concerning perceived life event stressfulness, regardless of gender, age, or income level.     

Stressful Life Events and Distress in Breast Cancer: A 5-Years Follow-Up

Background/ObjectiveEnvironmental factors such as psychosocial stress have demonstrated to have an impact on the breast cancer (BC) course. This study aims to explore the impact of psychotherapy and stressful life events (SLE) on BC survivors’ illness trajectories.Method68 women with BC underwent Positive Psychotherapy or Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management and 37 patients were included as a control group. The effects of distress reduction and SLE on their 5-year recurrence were investigated. Additional analyses examined the effect of receiving vs. not receiving psychotherapy and of the type of therapy on survival and disease-free interval, DFI.ResultsA one-point decrease of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) after psychotherapy predicted a lower risk of 5-year recurrence, OR = 0.84, p = .037, 95% CI = 0.71-0.99). Also, a one point-increase in the number threatening SLE (OR = 1.92; p = .028, 95% CI = 1.07-3.43) was related to higher 5-year recurrence.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the necessity of studying not only a given situation (i.e., psychotherapy, SLE) but its specific impact on individuals.     

Timing of Stressful Life Events Affects Stability and Change of Neuroticism

Neuroticism is a predictor of many health problems. To study the determinants of within‐subject change in neuroticism, three hypotheses were tested: (i) subjects who experienced stressful life events (SLEs) show an increase in neuroticism; (ii) high baseline neuroticism moderated this effect; and (iii) recent SLEs had a greater impact on neuroticism than distant SLEs. Data came from the Finnish Twin Cohort. Neuroticism data were collected in 1975 and 1981 and SLEs data in 1981 (n = 21 085). By entering baseline neuroticism as a predictor for neuroticism at follow‐up, the outcome measure was change in neuroticism. Changes in neuroticism were predicted from SLE indices or their interaction with baseline neuroticism. Timing of SLEs was taken into account by distinguishing recent from distant SLEs. To control for confounding by shared genes and environments, both within‐twin pair and between‐twin pair effects were tested for monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs separately. Neuroticism's six‐year stability was high (r = .58, p < .001). Exposure to SLEs modestly increased neuroticism (βs > .55, ps < .001), unconfounded by shared genes. This effect was not moderated by high baseline neuroticism. Recent SLEs (.09 < βs < .15) had more impact than distant SLEs (.03 < βs < .11; ps < .01). In conclusion, the findings strongly supported a model of environmentally driven SLEs causing dynamic fluctuations around a person's set point of neuroticism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Links Between Stressful Life Events and Proactive and Reactive Functions of Aggression

Recently, more attention has been devoted to understanding how stressful life events might relate to proactive and reactive aggression. Findings suggest that stressful life events are more strongly linked to reactive, than proactive, aggression; however, it is unclear whether the impact of stressful life events on proactive and reactive aggression might vary as a function of the level of exposure to or type of stressful life event. The current study examined how level of exposure to stressful life events (i.e., witnessed, experienced, and learned about) and stressful life event types (i.e., war zone exposure, sexual victimization, interpersonal violence, and other trauma exposure) related to proactive and reactive aggression. The sample was comprised of 500 undergraduate students (M = 18.96, SD = 1.22, 49.6% male) recruited from a Midwestern university. Findings indicated that all three levels of stressful life event exposure (i.e., experienced, witnesses, and learned) were associated with reactive aggression; however, only witnessed stressful life events were associated with proactive aggression. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.     

When Times Get Tough: Savoring and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples Coping with a Stressful Life Event

Background and Objectives: When couples face a stressful life event, this can adversely impact relationship satisfaction. Because savoring positive experiences is thought to enhance intimate relationships and there is evidence that savoring buffers the negative effects of stress at the intrapersonal level, this study examined savoring as an interpersonal resource for couples who experienced a stressful life event.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-eight opposite-sex couples completed measures of impact of event, savoring, positive affect, and relationship satisfaction.

Results: Results from actor-partner interdependence models found that: (1) For couple members who reported a relatively low impact of event, their own savoring was positively predicted by their partner’s impact of event; (2) For women, their own savoring the moment predicted their own and their partner’s greater relationship satisfaction; (3) The relationship between one’s own impact of event and relationship satisfaction was buffered by one’s partner’s savoring the moment; and (4) The relationship between one’s own savoring and relationship satisfaction was mediated by one’s own positive affect.

Conclusions: The findings support the study of savoring as an interpersonal resource in times of stress and have implications for couples-based interventions.     

Negative Life Events, Patterns of Positive and Negative Religious Coping, and Psychological Functioning

Religious coping may or may not be adaptive depending upon whether such coping is positive or negative. We investigated the potential moderating effects of positive and negative religious coping patterns on the relationship between negative life events and psychological functioning. Questionnaires included measures of negative life events, positive and negative religious coping, and psychological functioning, and were completed by 336 adult, Protestant church members. Even after controlling for religious participation, negative events were related to increased use of positive and negative religious coping and decreased psychological functioning. Moreover, negative events and positive religious coping produced an interaction effect on depression, such that the high use of positive religious coping buffered the deleterious effects of negative events.     

Negotiating the Reality of Visual Impairment: Hope, Coping, and Functional Ability

A consecutive sample of 63 adventitiously blinded American military veterans in a interdisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation program participated in this study examining the relation of hope to self-reported functional ability level. Scores from a modified oral administration of the Hope Scale and the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory basic coping styles were used as predictor variables to test regression-based models of mediation and moderation relations to functional ability level. Results support a mediating role for hope in the relation between a proactive sociable style and perceived level of functional ability.     

生活事件、负性自动思维及应对方式影响大学生抑郁的路径分析

对321名大学生施测青少年生活事件量表(ASLEC)、自动思维问卷(ATQ)、特质应对方式问卷(TCSQ)及流调中心用抑郁量表(CESD),以探讨生活事件、负性自动思维及应对方式对抑郁的影响模式。结果:(1)相关分析发现:生活事件、负性自动思维、消极应对方式均与抑郁呈显著正相关(p<0.01),生活事件与负性自动思维及消极应对方式呈显著正相关(p<0.01)。(2)路经分析发现:有六条显著路径影响抑郁。应对方式对抑郁产生直接的影响;自动思维可以直接影响抑郁,同时也可通过应对方式间接影响抑郁;生活事件对抑郁的直接影响不显著,其影响是经由负性自动思维及应对方式的中介作用而间接实现的。     

Distribution of Traumatic and Other Stressful Life Events by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, SES and Age: A Review of the Research

Much research has shown that reports of stressful life events are related to a wide variety of psychiatric and physical health outcomes. Relatively little research exists, however, on the distribution of the events according to gender, age, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status (SES). Such information would help identify groups at greatest risk for further investigation. This paper presents a review of the relevant studies. We find that traumatic (e.g., life threatening) events appear to be more frequent for men, while men and women differ more consistently on types rather than on overall numbers of stressful events other than traumatic. Traumatic and other stressful events tend to be more frequent in low SES and racial/ethnic minorities groups, and finally, both traumatic and other stressful events are reported more by younger age groups in samples 18 years of age and older. The limitations and implications of these findings for further research and preventive interventions are discussed, especially the need for more detailed information about individual events.     

On the Calamity Theory of Growth: The Relationship Between Stressful Life Events and Changes in Identity Over Time

The purpose of the current study was to provide evidence for a relationship between stressful life events and changes in identity over time. Previous research has indicated that individuals retrospectively report a variety of life events to be precursors to identity changes. The current study examined the relationship between the extent to which individuals reported stressful life events to occur in their lives and subsequent changes in identity over an interval of approximately five months in a sample of adult women. It was hypothesized that stressful life events would predict increases in identity exploration over time, along with decreases in identity commitment. The results indicated that the hypotheses were supported. The findings are discussed in terms of the current literature on identity development in adulthood.     

Relationships Between Social Support, Social Coping and Life Events in the Relapse of Schizophrenic Patients

The vulnerability-stress model for schizophrenia posits that relapses are at least partly determined by interacting triggering and protecting psychosocial factors. This study examined social support and general coping style in 42 consecutively admitted DSM:III schizophrenic patients, who were followed prospectively for up to four years. In a second part of the study, a subgroup of the patients were interviewed using the Life Event and Difficulty Schedule 9 months after discharge or at relapse. Patients contented with low social integration had a higher relapse rate over four years than patients lacking of social provisions, but wanting more. We found an excess of life events three weeks before relapse compared to events reported in the non-relapsing group. Suggesting a buffering effect of social factors, time between life event and relapse was significantly extended among patients with a high availability of attachment and a coping strategy characterised of active support seeking.     

Adverse Life Events, Coping and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Urban African American Youth

African American youth residing in low income urban neighborhoods are at increased risk of experiencing negative life events in multiple domains, increasing their risk for internalizing and externalizing behaviors. However, little is known about youth’s differential responses to life event stress, or protective processes and coping strategies for urban African American youth exposed to adverse life events. Thus, the present study examined whether variability in predominantly low income, urban African American youth’s responses to life event stress are accounted for by the type of life event experienced or the type of coping strategies used. Participants were a community sample of 353 urban African American youth (52.8 % girls; age range 8–12 years) who participated in the Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project. Youth reported about their experiences with adverse life events, coping strategies, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results indicated that violent life events were uniquely associated with externalizing behavior, while discrimination and economic stress were uniquely associated with internalizing behavior. The utility of coping strategies varied by gender, such that avoiding problems was protective for girls who experienced violent life events, but not for boys. For boys, exposure to violence was significantly positively associated with externalizing symptoms regardless of the amount of avoiding problems coping used. Findings suggest that interventions to develop coping strategies may need to be gender-specific as well as tailored for the types of stressors common for low income urban youth.