Psychological distress and well-being in advanced cancer: The effects of optimism and coping

This study examined the relations among optimism, coping, functional status, and psychological adjustment in 75 adults diagnosed with cancer. Both the positive and the negative aspects of psychological adjustment were assessed. All participants had been diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer (i.e., Stages II, III, and IV). Participants completed three assessments across a 4-month time period. Both optimism and coping were associated with psychological adjustment, even after controlling for functional status and prior adjustment. Additionally, optimism and coping were differentially related to distress and well-being. Optimism was strongly and positively associated with well-being and inversely related to distress. Escape-Avoidance coping was positively associated with distress and Accepting Responsibility coping was negatively associated with well-being. Comparisons between the current and prior studies indicated that individuals who are diagnosed with more advanced stages of cancer or who have survived bone marrow transplantation exhibit higher levels of optimism than do healthy individuals and individuals with early-stage disease.     

广州市肢残青年心理应付机制的研究

运用ＳＣＬ—９０量表、艾森克问卷和社会支持量表对肢残者进行研究。结果显示：肢残组的神经质分高于对照组;肢残组ＳＣＬ一９０各因子分及总痛苦水平分均明显高于对照组;肢残组经济来源自给组和他给组之间的对比,除躯体化、偏执外,其余均存在不同程度的差异;肥残组的社会支持总分、客观支持分明显低于对照组;进行多元逐步回归分析发现：神经质分、精神质分与总痛基水平呈正相关．而主观支持分则与其呈负相关。     

Family characteristics as mediators of the influence of problem drinking and multiple risk status on child mental health

Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model in which family cohesion and family reframing coping were hypothesized as mediators between family drinking problems, multiple risk factors, negative life events, and child mental health (conduct disorder, depression, anxiety) in two-parent families. Family cohesion mediated the relationships of family drinking problems and negative life events to child conduct disorder and depression. Negative life events mediated the relationships of family drinking problems and family multiple risk to child conduct disorder. Family reframing coping did not function as a mediator nor was it related to child mental health when other factors were considered simultaneously. Results indicate that increasing family cohesion and reducing sources of stress within the family (negative life events) represent promising areas for interventions for children with problem-drinking parents. Work on this study was funded in part by the National Institute for Mental Health Grant 2-P50-MH39246-06 to support a Preventive Intervention Research Center. The authors gratefully acknowledge contributions made by Rita Shell, Marcia Michaels, Joanne Gersten, George Knight, and Carolyn Berg.     

COPE量表的初步修订

以我国７４４名文、理、工科大学生为被试,对ＣｈａｒｌｅｓＳ．Ｃａｒｖｅｒ等编制的ＣＯＰＥ量表进行了初步修订。结果表明：ＣＯＰＥ量表在我国大学生中应用具有良好的信度和效度,基本符合心理测量学标准,可以作为评估应付活动的工具。     

Coping and sensitivity to aversive events

To test further the sensitivity to aversive events hypothesis, males and females varying in level of depressed mood listened to positive, negative, and neutral social scenes while psychophysiological measurements were obtained. In addition, the relations among response styles, coping strategies, and psychological adjustment were examined. Results indicated that only dysphoric females responded in ways consistent with the sensitivity hypothesis, exhibiting greater electrodermal responses to negative social scenes compared to nondysphoric females. No differences in psychophysiological sensitivity were found between dysphoric and nondysphoric males. Dysphoric students engaged in more ruminative type responses in reaction to their depressed mood and reported using more avoidant coping strategies in response to stress. In particular, females utilized more ruminative strategies in response to a depressed mood and more emotion-focused coping strategies in response to stressful events in general. The implications for these results are discussed within a diathesis-stress framework.     

“Taking another route”: Daily survival narratives from mothers who are homeless

Homelessness among families has become a growing social problem for communities, yet little is known about the types of daily survival strategies such families employ. This paper presents results of a qualitative study of the coping narratives of 64 mothers living in temporary emergency shelters with their children. The women reported using a variety of coping responses to daily stressful events. These included the use of direct actions and more palliative strategies. Results suggest that stress and coping theory may be useful for understanding homelessness. Implications for program development and future research are discussed.     

Social support and psychosocial competence: Explaining the adaptation to college of ethnically diverse students

Examined relationships among social support, psychosocial competence, and adaptation to college in a sample of 357 African American, Asian American, Latino, and white college students. Social support and active coping were significant predictors of adaptation to college, whereas locus of control was not. However, there was an interaction between ethnicity and locus of control indicating that although internal African American, Latino, and white students had higher adaptation-to-college scores than external students, the opposite was true for Asian Americans. The relationships among social support, internality, and active coping were also explored. Satisfaction with social support and internality were positively related to active coping, but locus of control and social support were unrelated. Active coping and internality were significantly related to each other for all groups except for African Americans. Although most relationships were the same across groups, these findings call attention to the role of ethnicity as a moderator of college adjustment processes.     

试论反应性抑郁形成的心理过程

对反应性抑郁形成的心理过程进行解释的理论中 ,较有影响的有精神分析理论、控制理论、认知理论、自我注意理论和行为主义理论。由于这些理论都仅强调某一个因素的作用 ,因而有一定的局限性。如果综合考虑这些因素 ,同时还考虑到评价、个体扮演角色的多少及其采用的应付方式等因素的作用 ,就可以看出反应性抑郁形成的完整心理过程。     

Dealing with time pressure

A sample of 250 people completed a questionnaire where they rated 30 statements describing their behavior and experiences during a recent time pressure situation. A factor analysis resulted in three factors: Personal Burden, Work Problems and Difficulties, and Challenge Orientation. People high on this last factor liked the excitement of being under pressure, were very absorbed in the task, and showed signs of being effective in dealing with the situation. Such individuals were having what has been identified as a flow experience often observed in sports and the arts. The results of this study suggest that effective coping with time pressure is related to taking a task-oriented attitude, avoiding self-preoccupation, and using time management skills to focus on successful achievement.