Changes in coping style following traumatic brain injury and their relationship to productivity status

The use of maladaptive coping strategies following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to be associated with increased depression and a lower productivity status. What is not known is whether coping behaviours change following TBI and if they do change whether these changes account for significant variance in outcome. Seventy-three significant others of TBI survivors were recruited at the time their friend/family member was injured and followed prospectively. They reported on their friend/family member's pre-injury and 6-month coping behaviours using the Coping with Health Injuries and Problems Scale. The use of emotional pre-occupation coping (p = .02) increased significantly and approached significance for distraction coping(p = .08). These changes in coping also accounted for significant variance (22%, p = .02) in productivity status over and above that accounted for by demographics and injury severity. Whether maladaptive coping changes can be prevented with a view to improving outcomes is a question that now needs to be explored.     

Regional brain electrical activity in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accident

This study examined whether patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) would show an abnormal pattern of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetries, which has been proposed for particular types of anxiety. Patients with PTSD (n = 22) or subsyndromal PTSD (n = 21), traumatized controls without PTSD (non-PTSD with MVA; n = 21), and healthy controls without MVA (n = 23) underwent measurement of EEG activity during baseline and exposure to a neutral, a positive, a negative, and an accident-related picture. Differences in brain asymmetry between groups were observed only during exposure to trauma-related material. PTSD and subsyndromal PTSD patients showed a pattern of enhanced right anterior and posterior activation, whereas non-PTSD with MVA participants showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, posterior asymmetry in nontraumatized healthy controls varied with gender, with female participants showing a pattern of higher right posterior activation. The results support the hypothesis that symptomatic MVA survivors are characterized by a pattern of right hemisphere activation that is associated with anxious arousal and symptoms of PTSD during processing of trauma-specific information.     

A controlled evaluation of cognitive behavioural therapy for posttraumatic stress in motor vehicle accident survivors

Seventy-eight motor vehicle accident survivors with chronic (greater than 6 months) PTSD, or severe sub-syndromal PTSD, completed a randomized controlled comparison of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), supportive psychotherapy (SUPPORT), or a Wait List control condition with two detailed assessments. Scores on the CAPS showed significantly greater improvement for those in CBT in comparison to the Wait List and to the SUPPORT conditions. The SUPPORT condition in turn was superior (p=0.012) to the Wait List. Categorical diagnostic data showed the same results. An analysis of CAPS scores including drop-outs (n=98) also showed CBT to be superior to Wait List and to SUPPORT with a trend for SUPPORT to be superior to Wait List. The CBT condition led to significantly greater reductions in co-morbid major depression and GAD than the other two conditions. Results held up well at a 3-month follow-up on the two active treatment conditions.     

Intrinsic-extrinsic religious orientation and individual coping style

The relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation and the use of specific coping strategies was investigated among 58 volunteers who ranged in age from 17 to 57 years and who reported experiencing either high or low stress. Dependent upon the amount of stress, age interacted with religious orientation to influence the use of two coping strategies, turning against an object and turning against self.     

Two studies of psychiatric morbidity among motor vehicle accident survivors 1 year after the crash

We assessed the psychiatric co-morbidity associated with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (1-2 years) secondary to personal injury motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in two studies. In Study 1, we compared the results of SCID assessments for 75 treatment-seeking MVA survivors (51 with PTSD and 24 with symptoms but no PTSD). In Study 2, we compared similar results among 132 MVA survivors who had been followed prospectively for 12+ months after their accidents (19 with PTSD, 32 who had PTSD but who had remitted, and 81 who never met criteria for PTSD). We found comparable levels of current co-morbid major depression (53%), any mood disorder (62-68%), generalized anxiety disorder (26%) and any anxiety disorder (42%) for both groups of participants with chronic PTSD. These rates of co-morbidity were higher than those found in non-PTSD comparison groups with similar MVA histories.     

Personality,dream content and dream coping style

One hundred and thirty Ss completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and a Dream Analysis Questionnaire (DAQ), based on retrospective recall. Differential dream content was self-rated on three parameters: frequency, duration and intensity. Factor analyses identified three specific dimensions of dreaming: ‘Personal Avoidance’, ‘Eroticism’ and ‘Adventuresomeness’. It was clear that, on the frequency and image-intensity categories, dream content related overwhelmingly to Neuroticism. Personality , as measured, was clearly related to the salience (e.g. clarity of imagery, emotionality) of dreams. Given the specificity of dream content, the results suggest the presence of a person-specific coping style, primarily affective in nature. The findings are discussed in light of the continuum or parallel model of the dream-waking cycle. Implications for the cognitive modification of aberrant dream images or fantasy processes are briefly reviewed.     

Attachment style and coping resources as predictors of coping strategies in the transition to parenthood

The relations among adult attachment style, coping resources, appraised strain, and coping strategies were examined in a prospective study of married couples having their first child (N= 92). Attachment and coping resources were measured during the second trimester of pregnancy, and parenting strain and coping strategies were assessed when the babies were about 6 weeks old. Results supported a theoretical model proposing that attachment is predictive of coping resources and appraised strain, and that attachment, resources, and strain are predictive of coping strategies. Results also highlighted the complexity of associations among attachment, stress, and coping: Gender differences in mean scores and predictive associations were obtained, and some interactions were found between resources and strain in predicting coping strategies. The findings support the utility of integrating theories of attachment and coping in explaining couples’adjustment to important developmental transitions.     

Cognitive motivation correlates of coping style in decisional conflict

Can personality traits account for the handling of internal conflicts? The authors explored how individual differences in information-processing style affect coping patterns displayed before making important decisions. Need for cognition and need for cognitive closure were linked to the major tendencies identified in the conflict theory of decision making: vigilance, hypervigilance, and defensive avoidance (buck passing and procrastination). A sample of 1,119 Belgian human resource professionals completed the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire, the 18-item short-form Need for Cognition Scale, and the Need for Closure Inventory. Ordinary least squares regression analysis indicated that significant relationships existed between need for cognition, need for closure, and conflict decision-making styles. The authors also found significant effects of gender and age.     

Explanatory style and coping with controllable events by student-athletes

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between explanatory style and the appraisal and coping of 66 major college football players with respect to stressful but controllable events in the academic and the athletic domains. A path analysis showed that for controllable events, a “pessimistic” explanatory style-in which bad events are attributed to internal, stable, and global causes-predicted appraisals of adequate resources to cope with demands, which in turn predicted increased attempts to cope.     

Emotion regulation mediates the effects of temperament traits and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms on affect in motor vehicle accident survivors

ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to investigate the associations among temperament traits postulated by the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT), posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD symptoms), emotion regulation strategies, and affect in the 280 motor vehicle survivors (MVA).MethodsTemperament was measured with the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour–Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI), the level of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms was assessed by the PTSD Clinical Inventory (PTSD-C), emotion regulation was tested with the Polish adaptation of the Inventory of Cognitive Affect Regulation Strategies (ICARUS), and affect was evaluated by the Polish version of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS).ResultsGreater emotional reactivity was associated with grater negative affect (also by maladaptive regulation) and lower positive affect whereas greater activity was linked to grater positive affect (also via adaptive regulation). Furthermore, greater PTSD symptoms were related to greater negative affect (also through maladaptive regulation) and lower positive affect. However, PTSD symptoms were not linked to adaptive regulation strategies.ConclusionThe findings significantly extends our current knowledge on the associations among temperament traits, PTSD symptoms, emotion regulation strategies, and affect in the motor vehicle survivors.