Associations between childhood adversity and daily suppression and avoidance in response to stress in adulthood: can neurobiological sensitivity help explain this relationship?

Background and objectives: Although it has been postulated that psychological responses to stress in adulthood are grounded in childhood experiences in the family environment, evidence has been inconsistent. This study tested whether two putative measures of neurobiological sensitivity (vagal flexibility and attentional capacity) moderated the relation between women’s reported exposure to a risky childhood environment and current engagement in suppressive or avoidant coping in response to daily stress.

Design and methods: Adult women (N?=?158) recruited for a study of stress, coping, and aging reported on early adversity (EA) in their childhood family environment and completed a week-long daily diary in which they described their most stressful event of the day and indicated the degree to which they used suppression or avoidance in response to that event. In addition, women completed a visual tracking task during which heart rate variability and attentional capacity were assessed.

Results: Multilevel mixed modeling analyses revealed that greater EA predicted greater suppression and avoidance only among women with higher attentional capacity. Similarly, greater EA predicted greater use of suppression, but only among women with greater vagal flexibility.

Conclusion: Childhood adversity may predispose individuals with high neurobiological sensitivity to a lifetime of maladaptive coping.     

Predicting adolescent posttraumatic stress in the aftermath of war: Differential effects of coping strategies across trauma reminder,loss reminder,and family conflict domains

Background and Objectives: The vast majority of youth who lived through the Bosnian war were exposed to multiple traumatic events, including interpersonal violence, community destruction, and the loss of a loved one. This study examined factors that predict post-war psychological adjustment, specifically posttraumatic stress, in Bosnian adolescents. Design: Regression analyses evaluated theorized differential relations between three types of post-war stressors – exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and intrafamilial conflict – specific coping strategies, and posttraumatic stress symptom dimensions. Methods: We examined 555 Bosnian adolescents, aged 15–19 years, to predict their long-term posttraumatic stress reactions in the aftermath of war. Results: Findings indicated that post-war exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict, as well as engagement and disengagement coping strategies, predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. Secondary control engagement coping responses to all three types of post-war stressors were inversely associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, whereas primary control engagement coping responses to family conflict were inversely associated with hyperarousal symptoms. Disengagement responses to trauma reminders and family conflict were positively associated with re-experiencing symptoms. Conclusions: These findings shed light on ways in which trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict may intersect with coping responses to influence adolescent postwar adjustment.     

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.     

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.     

成就目标定向与小学生数学学习投入的关系:学业拖延和数学焦虑的中介作用

采用问卷法对708名小学高年级学生进行调查,以考察成就目标定向、学业拖延、数学焦虑与数学学习投入之间的关系,结果显示：（1）掌握定向和表现-接近定向均能直接正向预测数学学习投入,而表现-回避定向的直接预测作用不显著;（2）掌握定向、表现-接近定向和表现-回避定向均能通过学业拖延来间接预测数学学习投入;（3）掌握定向和表现-回避定向均能通过数学焦虑来间接预测数学学习投入,但表现-接近定向不能通过数学焦虑来间接预测数学学习投入;（4）三种成就目标定向均能通过学业拖延经数学焦虑的多重中介作用来预测数学学习投入。这表明成就目标定向不仅能直接预测,还能通过学业拖延和数学焦虑的多重中介作用,来间接预测小学生数学学习投入。     

Predicting attitudes towards seeking medical care among Nigerian immigrants in the UK

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the relationships between acculturation, religion, and coping styles; as well as their predictive potentials in relation to socio-demographic factors, on access to medical help among Nigerians in the UK. This is a cross-sectional study using questionnaires for data collection (N?=?297). Results revealed negative correlations between assimilative behaviours and religious behaviours and between religious behaviours, denial and religious coping. High levels of religiosity and coping through behavioural disengagement and self-blame predicted poor attitudes to medical help; but those who used instrumental support, emotional support, and active coping showed more positive attitudes to medical help-seeking. No gender differences in medical help-seeking were found, but older people sought medical help more than those who were younger; while affiliation to the Christian religion predicted positive attitudes towards medical help seeking. These findings have implications for policy development towards tailored interventions that can enhance healthcare utilisation among immigrants.     

Conviction,character and coping: religiosity and personality are both uniquely associated with optimism and positive reappraising

ABSTRACT

Optimism and positive reappraising seemingly mediate religiosity’s association with well-being. Yet past studies linking religiosity and cognitive coping typically use a bivariate design; thereby ignoring rival explanations. Given previous evidence that agreeableness and conscientiousness (personality traits that co-vary with optimism, positive reappraisal usage and religiosity) largely nullify the association between religiosity and social support, hierarchical regression modelling of cross-sectional survey data – Australia (N?=?195), Japan (N?=?931) and the USA (N?=?5999) – is employed to incrementally validate religiosity’s association with optimism and also positive reappraisals. Although religiosity remains a statistically significant predictor of these coping styles, including agreeableness and conscientiousness typically reduces the strength of association. These cross-cultural results lend weight to the hypothesis that religiosity is a potential, albeit small, influence on cognitive coping styles. Prospective research is now needed to establish whether changes in religiosity precede changes in coping as theorised.     

Coping,mastery, stress appraisals,mental preparation,and unit cohesion predicting distress and performance: a longitudinal study of soldiers undertaking evacuation tasks

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the associations of psychological and military variables with distress and performance evaluation among 168 Israeli soldiers who took part in evacuating fellow Israeli civilians in the summer of 2005 during the disengagement from Gaza. Coping, mastery, stress appraisals, mental preparation, unit cohesion, and psychological distress were assessed at T1, one to two weeks before the disengagement. A sub-sample of 68 of the 168 soldiers completed the distress measure again at T2, eight to nine weeks after T1, together with performance evaluation of the disengagement task. The main findings indicated positive associations of T1 distress with high T1 emotion-focused coping, and negative associations with education and T1 mastery. Emotion-focused coping at T1 predicted low performance evaluation at T2, while mental preparation at T1 predicted high performance evaluation at T2. Stress appraisals at T1 were found to be an important mediator of the associations of T1 coping, mastery, unit cohesion, and mental preparation with T1 distress. Similar mediator results were found for T2 performance evaluation.     

Parental relationships and coping with life stress

Abstract

The primary goal of this investigation was to explore how the quality of parent-student relationships relates to coping style by examining multiple aspects of this relationship–including support and conflict–and by examining the contribution that both parents' and students' perceptions of their relationship make to students' coping reports. We found that perceptions of conflict and depth in the parent-child relationship were each associated with different styles of coping. Moreover, parents' and students' perceptions each accounted for unique variance in students' coping reports. Greater perceived depth (both parent and student reports) predicted higher problem-focused scores, while students' perceptions of conflict predicted higher emotion-focused coping scores. Specific support provisions reported by students and parents also related differentially to the specific coping styles. Finally, the extent to which parents and students reported coping in a similar fashion was predicted by the quality of their relationship.     

The impact of a laryngectomy on the spouse: Who is better off?

Background: Diabetes self-care is a key element in the overall management of diabetes. However, the importance of psychosocial factors for successful disease management is under investigated. This study aimed at exploring the role of coping styles and social support in the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: One hundred adults (60% female, aged 40–70 years) with type 2 diabetes completed questionnaires assessing self-care activities, coping styles and social support. In addition, a blood test was performed to obtain glycated haemoglobin levels.

Results: Result showed significant relationships of glycated haemoglobin with self-care activities, coping styles and social support. Regression analysis indicated that social support had a moderating role on the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin, such that, at very high levels of social support the association, between Self-Care and HbA1c disappears.

Conclusions: Findings indicate that health care providers, within the context of the Iranian social and cultural situation, should pay more attention to psychosocial factors when addressing self-care activities. Delineation of the role of coping styles and social support might be useful for identifying patients in need of particular counselling and support for improving self-care activities and HbA1c levels.     

高中生感知教师支持与学习投入的关系:学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介作用

采用感知教师支持、学习投入、学业自我效能感和成就目标定向问卷对498名高中生进行问卷调查,探讨感知教师支持对学习投入的影响,以及学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介效应。结果显示：（1）感知教师支持能通过学业自我效能感间接预测高中生学习投入,感知教师支持可以通过掌握趋近、表现趋近、表现回避间接预测高中生学习投入;（2）学业自我效能感→掌握趋近、学业自我效能感→表现趋近、学业自我效能感→表现回避三者分别在感知教师支持与学习投入之间起链式中介作用,学业自我效能感→掌握回避的中介效应则不显著。上述结果表明,感知教师支持不仅能分别通过学业自我效能感、掌握趋近、表现趋近、表现回避预测高中生学习投入,还能通过学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介作用间接预测高中生学习投入。     

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.     

高中生感知教师支持与学习投入的关系:学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介作用

采用感知教师支持、学习投入、学业自我效能感和成就目标定向问卷对498名高中生进行问卷调查,探讨感知教师支持对学习投入的影响,以及学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介效应。结果显示：（1）感知教师支持能通过学业自我效能感间接预测高中生学习投入,感知教师支持可以通过掌握趋近、表现趋近、表现回避间接预测高中生学习投入;（2）学业自我效能感→掌握趋近、学业自我效能感→表现趋近、学业自我效能感→表现回避三者分别在感知教师支持与学习投入之间起链式中介作用,学业自我效能感→掌握回避的中介效应则不显著。上述结果表明,感知教师支持不仅能分别通过学业自我效能感、掌握趋近、表现趋近、表现回避预测高中生学习投入,还能通过学业自我效能感和成就目标定向的链式中介作用间接预测高中生学习投入。     

Social support coping style predicts women’s cortisol in the laboratory and daily life: the moderating role of social attentional biases

Background and Objectives: Social stress and associated coping responses can profoundly influence women’s stress physiology and health. Implicit social attentional biases can also influence psychological and physiological stress responses. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a coping style characterized by greater use of social support predicts indices of cortisol activity in laboratory and daily life contexts among female university students. We hypothesized that the relation of this coping style to cortisol activity would be moderated by women’s attentional biases.

Methods: Seventy-four women (M_age?=?19.44, range: 17.8–27.8, 64% White) completed an interpersonal stress task and an attentional bias task in the lab, along with a self-report coping inventory. Participants provided five saliva samples during the lab protocol, followed by three saliva samples per day for three consecutive weekdays. Outcome measures included cortisol response to lab tasks (AUCg), diurnal cortisol slope, diurnal AUCg, and cortisol awakening response (CARi).

Results: A coping style characterized by greater use of social support predicted lower lab AUCg and lower, flatter average diurnal cortisol slope for women with attentional avoidance compared to women with attentional vigilance (ps?<?.05).

Conclusions: Responding to stress by using social support is linked to lower cortisol responses to social stress and diurnal cortisol activity for women with implicit avoidance of social threat cues.     

A latent profile analysis of coping responses to individuals’ most traumatic event: associations with adaptive and maladaptive mental health outcomes

ABSTRACT

Background & Objectives: This study explores how empirically-derived coping response patterns influence mental health.

Design: Emerging adults, currently enrolled in college and aged 18–24 (N?=?432; M_age?=?19.66; SD?=?1.65), completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, coping responses to self-selected most traumatic event (MTE), resilience, posttraumatic growth (PTG), depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS).

Methods: Eight coping subscales were included as indicators in a latent profile analysis. Then, associations between established profiles and mental health outcomes were examined, covarying for demographic and trauma-related variables.

Results: Considering fit statistics, class size, profile patterns, and theory, the four-class model was deemed most appropriate: High Overall Coping (HCOPE; n?=?146, 34%), Low Overall Coping (LCOPE; n?=?92, 22%), High Engagement Coping (HENG; n?=?115, 27%), and High Disengagement Coping (HDIS; n?=?73, 17%). HENG participants endorsed above-average resilience and PTG, coupled with below-average depressive symptoms and PTSS. Compared to the sample average, HDIS participants endorsed lower resilience and PTG, coupled with higher depressive symptoms and PTSS. LCOPE participants endorsed low levels of all outcomes. HCOPE participants endorsed high levels of all outcomes.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that clinicians who promote engagement coping and discourage disengagement coping among trauma-exposed individuals may engender the most desirable constellation of mental health outcomes.     

From goal motivation to goal progress: the mediating role of coping in the Self-Concordance Model

Abstract

The present studies examined the mediating role of self-regulatory mechanisms in the relationship between goal motivation and goal progress in the Self-Concordance Model. First, a systematic review, using meta-analytical path analysis, supported the mediating role of effort and action planning in the positive association between autonomous goal motivation and goal progress. Second, results from two additional empirical studies, using structural equation modeling, lent credence to the mediating role of coping in the relationship between goal motivation and goal progress of university students. Autonomous goal motivation was positively associated with task-oriented coping, which predicted greater goal progress during midterm exams (Study 1, N=702) and at the end of the semester in a different sample (Study 2, N=167). Controlled goal motivation was associated with greater disengagement-oriented coping (Study 1 and Study 2) and lesser use of task-oriented coping (Study 2), which reduced goal progress. These results held up after controlling for perceived stress (Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of coping in the “inception-to-attainment” goal process because autonomous goal motivation indirectly rather than directly predicts goal progress of university students through their usage of task-oriented coping.     

Parental and Child Characteristics Predicting Asian immigrants’ Feeding Practices

To explore parenting style, child effortful control, parenting stress, and their associations with maternal use of pressure to eat among Asian U.S. immigrant families with preschoolers. One hundred and nine Asian immigrant mothers with 3-to-5-year-old children in Maryland, United States rated their authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles, frequency of pressuring their child to eat, perceived parenting stress, and child’s effortful control. Two proposed moderated mediation models were tested using conditional process modeling. Effortful control mediated the association between authoritative parenting style and pressure to eat practices, αβ?=??0.07, p?<?0.05, and the association between authoritarian style and pressure to eat, αβ?=?0.12, p?<?0.05. Moreover, parenting stress moderated the association between child effortful control and maternal pressure to eat in the authoritarian style model, but not in the authoritative style model. Specifically, higher effortful control was associated with less use of pressure to eat at low and mean levels of parenting stress. Our findings revealed potential mechanisms underlying the associations between parenting styles and controlling feeding practices. Importantly, information learned from the present study may guide transdisciplinary efforts to design and implement culturally sensitive and family-based interventions targeting Asian immigrants’ wellbeing and obesity in the United States.

     

Understanding the Progression from Early Alcohol Use Experimentation to Alcohol Use Disorder: Testing Vulnerability by Experience Interactions Using a Two-Part Latent Growth Curve Model

Most adolescents experiment with alcohol, but a smaller percentage advance to heavy alcohol use (AU) and AU disorder (AUD). Understanding for whom and how early risk leads to AUD is of interest to prevention, treatment, and etiology of AUD. Informed by developmental and behavioral neuroscience theory, the current study tested whether temperament (effortful control, surgency, and negative affect), peer AU (multi-reporter), and AU with parents’ permission interacted to distinguish youth who experiment with alcohol from those who escalate to AUD. Community adolescents (N?=?765, 53% female) were assessed annually for seven years (M_age?=?11.8, range: 10–13 at Year 1; M_age?=?18.7; range?=?17–20 at year 7). Temperament by early experience interactions were expected to predict amount of AU. Amount of AU was expected to mediate the relationship between the interactions and AUD symptoms (assessed at Years 3 and 7, M_age?=?13.8 and 18.7) above and beyond a range of confounds (e.g., problem behavior and parental AU and AUD). Supporting hypotheses, effortful control and surgency interacted with AU with parents’ permission and peer AU, respectively, to predict higher amount of AU (R²?=?0.47) and AUD symptoms (R²?=?0.03). Results support developmental and behavioral neuroscience theory. High surgency and low effortful control in conjunction with peer AU and AU with parents’ permission were associated with large effects on AU and moderate mediated effects through AU to AUD. AU with parents’ permission was risky at low and high effortful control and protective when peers used alcohol.

     

The relationship of individual and communal state-trait coping and interpersonal resources as trust,empathy and responsibility

Prior research and theoretical considerations revealed important information about the role of individual state-trait coping and personal resources for coping with an examination. However, the relationship between communal coping strategies and interpersonal resources has yet to be investigated. In order to understand the relationship between state-trait coping and interpersonal resources, several statistical analyses were used. The German Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (GSACS, GSACS-Exam), the Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS), and exam-specific Empathy and Responsibility Scales (RESP-Exam, EMP-Exam) were combined for collecting data from a sample of 122 examiner-examinee-dyads. Data on empathy and responsibility of examiners were gathered as well as dispositional coping styles and trust of examinees eight weeks prior to an oral examination. Dispositional coping predicted comparable situational coping, reported immediately after the examination at a low-moderate level. Communal coping strategies tended to vary more than individual ones. Interpersonal resources were found to predict specific communal coping responses and a path model revealed the mediating effect of interpersonal trust. The results are discussed in the light of communal coping theory and educational significance.     

Cross-sectional and Longitudinal associations in coping strategies and physical health outcomes among HIV-Positive youth

This study assessed whether coping styles had an influence on physical health outcomes either concurrently or longitudinally in a sample of HIV-positive youth. Coping styles were characterized as positive, passive, depressive withdrawal, and escapist. A cross-sectional latent variable analysis (N = 279) assessed associations among environmental stress, self-esteem, social support, coping styles, AIDS symptoms, and CD4 count. A more restricted longitudinal analysis (N = 174) tested associations among earlier environmental stress, self-esteem, coping styles, and AIDS symptoms at follow-up. CD4 count was not associated with coping styles in the cross-sectional analysis. Concurrent AIDS symptoms were significantly predicted by depressive withdrawal and environmental stress. A passive coping style modestly predicted more AIDS symptoms longitudinally. Correlates of perceived health and well-being of persons with HIV/AIDS are important to investigate in addition to more objective measures such as CD4 count that may not be amenable to change through coping style interventions alone.