Repression and effective coping styles

This study investigated the relationship between repressive coping style as defined by Weinberger (1990)—low reported anxiety and high reported defensiveness—and several individual difference measures related to general coping styles. Twenty‐nine studies looking at cognitive, behavioural, and individual difference factors associated with repressive coping were tabulated and reviewed. In the current study 116 women and 32 men were administered a questionnaire including measures of personality, ways of coping, self‐monitoring, interpersonal influence, and locus of control to further explore the repressor coping style. Two measures, as opposed to the usual one, were used to categorize repressors: the use of anxiety and social desirability measures of Weinberger, Schwartz and Davidson (1979) and the Gudjonsson (1981) method using Neuroticism and Lie scales from the EPQ(R). Analysis of variance showed that repressors reported using more positive/healthy and less negative/unhealthy coping styles. The results did not change substantially when more extreme scoring groups were used. Factor analysis of the scales revealed six clear factors relating to ways of coping; again, repressors scored highly on the factor denoting positive coping. It was also found that the Lie and Neuroticism scales of the revised EPQ personality questionnaire of Eysenck, Eysenck and Barrett (1985) could be used as a substitute for anxiety and defensiveness to predict repression with considerable success. However results from both one‐ and two‐way analysis of variance indicated that the two different ways of classifying repressors was not totally inter‐changeable as the overlap in results occurred only with highly significant effects. The results are discussed in the light of previous investigations into repression which suggested that repressors report an overly optimistic way of coping in order to avoid negative affect. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sense of humour and coping styles

This paper reports an investigation on the relationship between sense of humour and coping styles. Svebak's (1974) Sense of Humour Questionnaire (containing three scales for each of his dimensions of the sense of humour) and Lefcourt and Martin's (1986) Situational Humor Response Questionnaire and Coping Humor Scale served as measures of humour, while Plutschik's (1981) Scale for the Measurement of Coping Styles served to assess eight coping styles. A relationship was found between humour and coping for men and women with regard to Minimization and Suppression, and to a smaller extent for Blame, Mapping and Reversal. The relationship was in opposite directions for men and women with regard to Suppression and Replacement. Most humour scales correlated negatively with age for men, and positively for women. Five coping styles correlated negatively with age for men: Suppression, Seeking Succorance, Replacement, Blame and Substitution, the other three positively. For women, however, only two coping styles correlated negatively with age: Suppression and Seeking Succorance, the other six correlated positively. As in other studies on coping, sex proved to be a major moderating variable.     

the relationship between pain and coping styles among hiv-positive men and women

Abstract

Pain in HIV/AIDS patients is associated with compromised quality of life and emotional adjustment. Although previous findings support a relationship between coping styles and subjective pain for various groups of chronically-ill persons, little research has examined the associations between coping and pain in HIV-positive or AIDS patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between pain and coping styles among 105 HIV-positive participants (32 women and 73 men) in a randomized clinical trial designed to examine the effect of group psychotherapy on quality of life and health behavior. Participants completed the Brief COPE, the pain scale from the Medical Outcomes Study-HIV, and a demographic and medical questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis, with pain as the dependent variable, showed that participants who reported coping through denial reported greater pain severity (p < 0.0001). These results suggest that denial as a coping strategy appears to be signficantly associated with pain for persons with HIV/AIDS. However, further research is necessary to determine the causal relationship between pain and coping through denial. These findings also point to the possibility of psychological intervention in order to modify maladaptive coping styles and to ameliorate pain in this population.     

Fixation accuracy and perceptual asymmetry for consonants

Fixation accuracy was related to perception of laterally presented consonants. Small left-eye fixation inaccuracy influenced perceptual performance of 8 men and 8 women.     

Comparing coping styles: Awake and asleep

This is an investigation of the relationships between the three parameters of dreaming: frequency, duration and intensity, and the three dream content factors: Personal Avoidance, Eroticism and Adventuresomeness on the one hand, with Plutchik's eight coping styles. Results show that three of the coping styles: Seeking succorance, Blame and Substitution relate most frequently with frequency, duration and intensity of dreaming, whereas Blame and Seeking succorance relate most frequently with the dream content factors. Men and women's data are in the same direction with regard to the relations of Reversal and Substitution with the Eroticism factor, of Substitution with frequency, and Replacement with duration of dreaming.Men and women's data are in the opposite direction with regard to the relationships of Blame and Personal Avoidance, Eroticism and Adventuresomeness, and Seeking succorance with Adventuresomeness, and frequency, and Blame and Reversal with intensity of dreaming.Of the sixteen variables investigated, we found that ten differentiated between older and younger men, and ten between older and younger women. Six of these differences were in opposite, and two in the same direction for men and women, the rest being sex-specific.     

Shame coping styles and psychopathic personality traits

The convergent validity of the primary and secondary psychopathy scales of the Levenson, Kiehl, and Fitzpatrick (1995) Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRPS) were investigated by contrasting correlations between the two SRPS scales and self-report adaptive and maladaptive shame coping scales. The results, from a sample of 305 undergraduates, supported the convergent validity of the SRPS primary (selfish, uncaring, manipulative interpersonal style) and secondary (impulsivity and self-defeating behavior) scales; both possessed small but significant negative relationships with adaptive shame coping and small but significant positive relationships with externalizing shame coping. An opposing pattern of convergent validity was evidenced by partial correlations (controlling for SPRS scale covariance) that indicated the SRPS primary scale had a negative relationship and the secondary scale had a positive relationship to internalizing shame coping.     

An asymmetry in transmodal perceptual learning

Transmodal perceptual learning was examined in a canonical same/different paradigm. Subjects naive to vibrotactile stimulation and unfamiliar with the task were asked to discriminate sequentially presented shapes moving laterally across an aperture. On all trials, the shapes were presented either visually and then vibrotactually or in the opposite modality order, and on all trials the shapes moved in opposite directions. Analyses of the data revealed that although perceptual learning was evident in both groups, the rate of the learning was more rapid in the visual-vibrotactile group. This interaction of modality order and practice was significant and was considered in terms of E.J. Gibson's theory of perceptual learning and in terms of the constructs, suggested by J.J. Gibson, of available and accessible information-in-stimulation and the education of attention.     

Belief systems and coping styles as mediating variables in the relationship between hostility and illness

The present study investigated the relationship between hostility, belief systems, coping styles, and illness. Hostility is of interest when considering the stress-illness relationship because it has been associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease as well as general mortality. The results suggest that individuals prone toward hostility are more likely to succumb to illness and adhere to irrational beliefs than individuals not so oriented. In addition, hostile individuals were found to employ different, and perhaps less adaptive, coping styles than their low hostility counterparts. It was concluded that the belief systems and coping styles typically employed by individuals prone toward hostility may be important mediating variables in the relationship between hostility and illness. These factors may also be important to take into account in treatment programs designed to reduce illness risks for such individuals. Finally, this study suggests that stress-induced impairment of health for hostility-prone individuals may begin much earlier than the vast majority of the literature currently suggests.     

Brain functional connectivity correlates of coping styles

Coping abilities represent the individual set of mental and behavioral strategies adopted when facing stress or traumatic experiences. Coping styles related to avoidance have been linked to a disposition to develop psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and major depression, whereas problem-oriented coping skills have been positively correlated with well-being and high quality of life. Even though coping styles constitute an important determinant of resilience and can impact many aspects of everyday living, no study has investigated their brain functional connectivity underpinnings in humans. Here we analyzed both psychometric scores of coping and resting-state fMRI data from 102 healthy adult participants. Controlling for personality and problem-solving abilities, we identified significant links between the propensity to adopt different coping styles and the functional connectivity profiles of regions belonging to the default mode (DMN) and anterior salience (AS) networks—namely, the anterior cingulate cortex, left frontopolar cortex, and left angular gyrus. Also, a reduced negative correlation between AS and DMN nodes explained variability in one specific coping style, related to avoiding problems while focusing on the emotional component of the stressor at hand, instead of relying on cognitive resources. These results might be integrated with current neurophysiological models of resilience and individual responses to stress, in order to understand the propensity to develop clinical conditions (e.g., PTSD) and predict the outcomes of psychotherapeutic interventions.     

Links between mothers' coping styles, toddler reactivity, and sensitivity to toddler's negative emotions

The extent to which engaged maternal coping styles moderate the association between toddler's temperamental reactivity and mothers' sensitivity to children's negative emotions was examined in 89 mother-child dyads. Primiparous mothers completed a measure of coping styles prenatally. When toddlers were 16 months old, mothers completed a measure of perceived toddler temperament and a self-report of how they respond to toddler negative emotions, and maternal sensitivity and temperamental reactivity were observed during emotionally arousing tasks in the laboratory. Mothers' disengaged coping style was positively associated with self-reported insensitive responses to children's negative emotions. Engaged coping moderated the association between toddler temperamental reactivity and both self-reported insensitive responses and observed maternal sensitivity, such that temperamental reactivity was more strongly linked with less sensitive maternal behavior when engaged coping was low.     

Emotional vulnerability and coping styles for resolving decisional conflict

This investigation supplements the study by D. Bouckenooghe, K. Vanderheyden, S. Mestdagh, and S. van Laethem (2007) on the role of cognitive dispositions in coping patterns for resolving decisional conflict. Literature suggests emotional vulnerabilities may significantly affect decision making. Thus, the present authors assessed the role of trait anxiety and depression in decision coping styles as specified by I. L. Janis and L. Mann's (1977) conflict-theory model. The participants--100 young adults--completed the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (J. A. Taylor, 1953), Beck's Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. M. Garbin, 1988), and the Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire (L. Mann et al., 1998), which measures 4 coping strategies: vigilance, buck-passing, procrastination, and hypervigilance. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis, controlling for demographic and lifestyle factors, revealed trait anxiety and depression as significant predictors of procrastination and hypervigilance. Depression failed to predict buck-passing but functioned as an important moderator variable whereby trait anxiety better predicted hypervigilance in nondepressed participants. Consistent with past research, emotional dispositions failed to predict vigilance. Overall, these findings implicate emotional vulnerabilities in the quality of decision making but raise important questions about their unique and conditional effects.     

Relationship between exercise professionals' behavioral styles and clients' adherence to exercise

Exercise professionals (n = 15) were tested to assess whether specific personal traits or behavioral styles were associated with their clients' adherence to exercise. Assessments with the Personal Profile and the Personal Strengths Profile yielded one trait, "Controlling," that showed a mean difference (z = 2.99, p < .01) between the high and low adherence groups of professionals. Controlling was also significantly correlated (rs = .66, p < .01) with clients' adherence. This trait may be consistent with the interpersonal delivery requirements of interventions known to support adherence to exercise. Limitations and practical implications across exercise venues and types of participants were discussed.     

Caregiving styles and anxiety among couples: coping versus not coping with cardiac illness

Background and Objectives: partners’ caregiving efforts are not always beneficial to both recipient and provider. Bowlby’s conceptualization of caregiving style as a stable predisposition may clarify such caregiving effects. The relationship between caregiving style (compulsive and sensitive) and anxiety among couples coping with cardiac illness and a matching control group not coping with cardiac illness were assessed. We hypothesized that one’s compulsive caregiving would associate positively, and one’s sensitive caregiving would associate negatively, with one’s and one’s partner’s anxiety across contexts (cardiac and non-cardiac) and gender. Design: A comparative design of 131 couples with a diagnosis of husbands’ acute cardiac syndrome and 68 matched couples in the community was applied. Methods: The Adult Caregiving Questionnaire and the Brief Symptoms Inventory were administered. Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that one’s compulsive caregiving was positively associated with one’s anxiety, across most contexts. Multi-group analyses revealed that the associations between one’s compulsive caregiving and one’s partner’s anxiety levels differed depending on gender and context. Conclusions: The distress which emerges in an individual who takes on a caregiving role and in his/her partner seems to result not only from the demands of the concrete caregiving situation but also from one’s and one’s partner’s developmental history.