Bystanders’ affect toward bully and victim as predictors of helping and non-helping behaviour

The current study examined how children's relationship with the bully and victim impacted their reactions as bystanders. An ethnically diverse sample of 2,513 Canadian students in grades 4–7 responded to questions about their experiences of bullying, including the frequency with which they witnessed bullying at school. Approximately 89% of the sample reported witnessing bullying at school during the current school year. Subsequently, participants were asked to recall a specific bullying incident that they witnessed and describe: (1) their relationship with the bully and victim; (2) how they felt while witnessing; and (3) how they responded as a bystander. Compared to situations where they didn't know the victim, bystanders were more likely to intervene directly (e.g., try to stop the bully, comfort the victim) if they liked the victim, and less likely to tell an adult if they disliked the victim. Aggressive intervention was more common if the witness didn't like the bully, but also if they didn't like the victim compared to if they didn't know them. Regarding emotions, anger emerged as an especially powerful predictor of bystander defending, with youth being over five times more likely to try to stop the bullying or comfort the victim if they felt angry. Implications of these findings for the development of ecologically valid, anti-bullying interventions are discussed.     

The relationship of coping and its perceived effectiveness to positive and negative affect in sport

This article examined the ability of six different coping strategies and their perceived effectiveness in predicting positive and negative affect in sport. Furthermore, it was investigated whether perceived coping effectiveness moderated the influence of coping strategies on affect. British University athletes (N = 356) were requested to recall a recent important competition in their sport when they had a stressful or challenging experience. They were then asked to rate the extent to which they relied on a number of different coping strategies to deal with the situation and the degree to which they found these effective. In agreement with the theoretical predictions of Folkman (1984), problem-focused coping predicted positive affect whereas emotion-focused coping predicted negative affect. Furthermore, for almost all the coping variables, their perceived effectiveness predicted, in a positive way, positive affect and negatively, negative affect. Moreover, the perceived effectiveness of the coping strategies of seeking social support, venting of emotions, and behavioural disengagement, moderated the influence of those strategies on affect. Lastly, a comparison between high and low effective coping groups showed that the former was associated with more pleasant affective experiences.     

Characteristics Predicting Effective Outcomes After Coping Effectiveness Training for Patients With Spinal Cord Injuries

Coping effectiveness training (CET), based on R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkmans (1984) theory of stress and coping, teaches appraisal and coping skills. It has been adapted for use with people with spinal cord injuries and the effect of this intervention on coping, anxiety and depression and self perception has been investigated. Using data from P. Kennedy, J. Duff, M. Evans, and A. Beedies (2003) study, the psychological characteristics of people who benefited from CET (no increase in depression and anxiety at the end of CET and 6 weeks after) were compared with those who did not benefit. Coping strategies were not predictive factors but differences in some self-perception items were found between the two groups. Age, gender, level, and type of injury were not shown to be predictive but time since injury was, suggesting that the effectiveness of a CET programme could be maximized by reducing the time between onset of injury and the start of CET.     

Gendered Patterns of Experience in Social and Cultural Transition: The Case of English-Speaking Immigrants in Israel

This study aimed to connect between work on the impact on the self as a consequence of the immigration process an theories of gender. It was based on semistructured interviews with 12 English-speaking immigrants to Israel. The data were analyzed using grounded theory (A. Strauss & J. Corbin, 1990, 1994) to examine the difficulties that the immigrants felt when leaving and since being in Israel, their methods of coping and their views of what constitutes a successful immigration. Two major patterns were identified, each of which rested on a different self need that appeared to have been affected by the immigration process: (1) the need to feel competent and (2) the need to feel a sense of belonging. Although most of the interviewees talked of both needs being damaged or affected to some extent, there was a strong tendency for the women respondents to place belonging needs in the foreground of their accounts and for men to place competence needs in theirs. Such results can be understood in the context of feminist theories of self that distinguish between women's sense of self, built in relation through connection to others, and men's sense of self, built around the concept of separation.     

Constructions of work stress and coping in a female- and a male-dominated department

In the present study the nature of stress and coping was investigated and considered as socially constructed. Thirty small group interviews were performed using the Critical Incident Technique in one female- and one male-dominated customer service department of a telecom company. The main themes about stress among both women and men were often expressed as collective phenomena and were connected to the organizational change and downsizing process, problems when carrying out the work and lack of autonomy. However, a striking difference between female and male interviews was found in the way that women to a greater extent expressed lack of autonomy and their working situation was described as strictly regulated. The findings illustrate that a traditional gender difference regarding autonomy could be found when comparing a female- and a male-dominated department even though they were performing the same type of job. Both women and men portrayed coping as a mixture of collective and individual strategies. They often mentioned collective acceptance, resignation and hardening. There is a need for further research about women and men at work, taking into consideration the interpersonal context and the collective nature of stress and coping.     

双重身份下女性对抗性别偏见的回应行为

偏见不是一种单方面的社会心理现象, 而是偏见持有者、偏见对象、旁观者等多方相互作用和共同建构的结果。当女性在作为受害者和旁观者两种不同身份时, 她们对性别偏见持有者的回应既有相同之处, 也存在着一些差异。压力应对模型和对抗偏见反应模型可作为适应女性双重身份下对抗偏见的两种解释模型, 在面对偏见持有者时, 不同身份下女性对性别偏见的回应行为主要受到乐观、代价/收益、痛苦水平和女权主义等因素的影响。未来研究应进一步聚焦对抗性回应行为的效度争议、对内隐性别偏见持有者的干预和拓展想象接触的替代作用。     

Gender and coping: The dual-axis model of coping

Examined a dual-axis model of coping that included both action (active vs. passive) and social dimensions (prosocial vs. antisocial) of coping strategies among a combined sample of students and community residents. We developed an assessment device to represent the model and allow investigation. Mixed support for the model and instrument were noted. Women were more prosocial than men in their coping, but no less active. Men were more likely to use antisocial and aggressive, but less assertive coping strategies than women. More prosocial, action coping strategies were also more likely to be related to greater sense of mastery and more liberal gender-role orientation. Antisocial and passive strategies tended to be related to lower mastery and more traditional gender-role orientation. Active coping was related to lower emotional distress for men and women, but both prosocial and antisocial coping were related to greater emotional distress for men, suggesting that men may have a narrower band of beneficial coping strategies than do women. This research was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Health (R01-HD24901-01) and by support of the Kent State Applied Psychology Center, which was established through the support of the Ohio Board of Regents.     

The Ways in Which Adolescents Cope and their Relationship to Age,Gender and Specific Religious Variables

This study investigated the roles of age, gender, the importance of religion/spirituality, attending church activities and frequency of prayer on the types of adolescents’ coping strategies. Participants were drawn from ten public high schools. Data on coping strategies, personal variables and religiosity and spirituality were collected using the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (A-COPE) coping inventory. Scheffé posthoc tests were used to evaluate associations between the coping strategies used by adolescents and the identified personal and faith-oriented variables. Gender and age explained some differences in types of coping strategies preferred. Specifically, females used the developing social support coping strategy more than males; older adolescents used the avoiding problems coping strategy more than younger adolescents. Adolescents for whom religion/spirituality is of lesser importance, obtained a significantly higher mean score for the avoiding problems subscale. Both personal variables (age and gender) as well as one of the faith-oriented variables (importance of religion) were identified as important role players in using developing social support and avoiding problems as coping strategies by adolescents.     

Why do Women get Depressed and Men get Drunk? An Examination of Attributional Style and Coping Style in Response to Negative Life Events Among Canadian Young Adults

Gender differences in alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms are well known. This study focused on the associations of gender with attributional style, coping style, and negative life events in explaining these differences. The association of gender with each of the predictor and outcome variables was examined. One hundred eight (51 men, 57 women) undergraduate university students, ages 18–21, completed validated measures of depression, alcohol consumption, attributional style, coping style, and negative life events. Participants reported mild-moderate levels of depressive symptoms, similar to comparable samples. In contrast, alcohol consumption was lower than expected. Depressive symptoms were associated with negative events and rumination among both men and women. Pessimism and wine consumption were correlated with depression among women only. Although men consumed more alcohol than did women, a gender difference in depressive symptoms was not found. Potential implications of these findings are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Coping Styles of Chinese Military Officers Undergoing Intensive Training

This study investigated gender differences in anxiety and coping styles under the stress of intense military training. We surveyed Chinese female (n = 470) and male (n = 379) military officers who were surveyed during the third month of a 10-month intensive training program. Results indicated that state and trait anxiety were highly correlated in both women and men. In general, female officers had higher levels of anxiety, greater negative coping tendencies, and less perceived self-efficacy than their male counterparts. When compared with the norm, both women and men had significantly more positive coping strategies. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed factors that influenced male and female state anxiety. Avoidance, which was chosen by women more often than men, in general was less useful for female officers. The most common positive coping style for female officers was problem solving, whereas for men it was help seeking. We suggested that even female officers with lower mental health levels than their male counterparts made active cognitive changes to their coping styles when undergoing intense military training.     

Changing unbalanced coping profiles-A prospective controlled intervention trial in worksite health promotion

Abstract

Effective coping is based upon a broad variety of available strategies and a good balance between instrumental and palliative coping efforts. Thus, stress management training (SMT) should focus on broadening and balancing individual coping-profiles. This study investigated changes in coping profiles after participation in SMT at the worksite. The sample consisted of 82 healthy working persons who participated in a 12-week-SMT and 55 matched controls without intervention. The SMT consisted of six training elements: three of them (assertiveness, cognitive restructuring and time management) addressed instrumental coping and the other three (relaxation, physical activity and scheduling of pleasant activities) focussed on palliative coping. All subjects filled in standardized questionaires on coping, well-being and strain before and after the training. Cluster analyses performed on initial coping scores resulted in a 3-cluster solution: (1) “active flexible coping” (n = 53), (2) “problem-focused coping” (n = 40) and (3) “resignative avoidant coping” (n = 44). Analyses of covariance revealed that SMT-participants of Cluster 2 showed significant improvements regarding emotion-focused coping and those of Cluster 3 regarding problem-focused coping compared to controls of the same cluster. There were also significant associations between these clusterspecific changes of coping and improvements of well-being. In consequence, the SMT improved coping by supplementing one-sided initial coping-profiles.     

Gender differences in adolescent coping behaviors and suicidal ideation: findings from a sample of 73,238 adolescents

Suicide among adolescents is an emerging global public health problem as well as a socioeconomic problem. Stress-coping strategies have been shown to be associated with suicidal ideation. We examined coping behaviors related to suicidal ideation and gender differences in adolescents using the data from the 2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (ages 12–19 years; N = 73,238). Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between suicidal ideation and specific coping behaviors while controlling for potentially confounding variables. In both male and female groups, the coping behavior “drinking alcoholic beverages” and “smoking cigarettes” were positively associated with suicidal ideation. “Watching TV,” “playing online/mobile games,” and “sleeping” were negatively associated with suicidal ideation in both groups. In males, “engaging in sports” was negatively related to suicidal ideation. In females, “venting by talking to others” and “eating” were negatively related to suicidal ideation. The results indicate that there are gender differences in the effects of coping behaviors on adolescent suicidal ideation, and that developing adaptive coping strategies may function to reduce suicidality. Future studies are needed to examine whether improving coping skills can reduce suicidal ideation in a gender-specific manner.