Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses

The recent emphasis on positive psychology is welcome, and has spurred much relevant research. But, there are still many unresolved conceptual and research issues, as more variables are being proposed as relevant. As part of this process, the present paper proposes hardiness as an addition to positive psychology. Hardiness is a combination of attitudes that provides the courage and motivation to do the hard, strategic work of turning stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities. In this regard, the inherently stressful nature of living is discussed. Also clarified are the particular aspects of excellence in performance and health to which hardiness is relevant. The paper concludes with a call for issue-resolving research through which orientations and actions proposed as part of positive psychology can be compared in their contributions to performance and health. Two studies along these lines have found hardiness more powerful than optimism and religiousness in coping with stresses.     

Predictors of Coping with Work Stress: The Influences of Sex,Gender Role,Social Desirability,and Locus of Control

This investigation examined the influence of 4 personal attributes—sex, gender role, social desirability, and locus of control—as predictors of coping with work stress. Participants were 208 employed adult students (154 females and 54 males), primarily European Americans (90.4%) from working-class backgrounds. Theresults indicated that men were more likely to use alcohol and women more likely to use direct action. Femininity and/or masculinity scores predicted control-related coping butwere unrelated to escape-related coping. High social desirability scores predicted direct action coping, whereas low scores predicted alcohol use. In terms of locus of control, an internal orientation predicted help-seeking and positive thinking, a powerful others orientation predicted avoidance/resignation, and a chance orientation predicted alcohol use.     

Psychological Adjustment to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer remains a highly prevalent and extraordinarily stressful experience for hundreds of thousands of women each year in the United States and around the world. Psychological research has provided a picture of the emotional and social impact of breast cancer on patients' lives, and of factors associated with better versus worse adjustment. Psychosocial interventions have been beneficial in decreasing patients' distress and enhancing their quality of life. Recent research also suggests that psychological factors may be related to potentially important biological disease-related processes. In addition to providing an understanding of the psychological factors in breast cancer, research in this area has provided a framework for research on adaptation to health-related stress in general.     

待岗人员的应付方式、控制感特点及其关系研究

对待岗人员的应付方式和控制感进行调查发现：（1）待岗人员对待压力的应付方式依次为退避、合理化、求助、自责、发泄。女性更多地采用这五种应付方式,年龄偏大组更倾向于选择合理化和退避,30岁是应付方式发展的转折时期;（2）待岗人员的控制感由高至低依次为环境变化、人际关系、情绪情感和生活方面的控制感。女性更能控制情绪情感;（3）在待岗人员应付待岗后各种压力的情境下,可将退避归为积极的应付方式,将自责、求助、发泄归为消极的应付方式。     

The Adaptation of Patients During the Hospitalization Period of Bone Marrow Transplantation

A longitudinally study was conducted among 42 bone marrow transplantation (BMT) patients to investigate the association between pretransplant psychosocial variables and psychophysiological outcomes during the immediate convalescence period. Family relationships (cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict) and coping resources (cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual/philosophical, and physical resources) were assessed on the admission day (Day –7 Time 1). Data on psychological distress and pain intensity were obtained on Day +7 (Time 2) and Day +14 (Time 3). The average scores at Times 2 and 3 were computed to indicate the overall adjustments of the patients during the hospitalization period after the day of actual transplant (Day 0). It was shown that higher expressiveness family relationships and higher resources to cope effectively with stressful situations were associated with less psychological distress during the above period. Both pretransplant psychosocial variables were not associated with pain intensity during hospitalization. Allogeneic transplant patients reported higher pain intensity than did autologous transplant patients. Psychological distress and pain intensity were positively correlated with each other. Our findings show that pretransplant family relationships and coping resources associate moderately with psychological distress during the immediate convalescent period of BMT. The present findings support the family-centered approach to BMT care and provide a scientific basis for pretransplant psychosocial interventions.     

Toward a Psychology of Religion, Spirituality, Meaning-Search, and Aging: Past Research and a Practical Application

The current work is a combined review of several major theoretical issues in religious gerontology and of related research findings. It is intended to briefly inform, rather than to serve as a comprehensive review of the literature. The current author's primary goals are to put-forth points of information about contemporary terminology, to conceptualize motives for meaning-search at any age, to synthesize a few major findings and associated flaws in the research, and to describe a practical approach to the psychology of religion and spirituality (i.e., coping outcomes research). Within the current work, the reader is directed to sources of extensive reviews of data and of broader theoretical debates.     

Stress and Coping: A Comparison of Self-Report Measures of Functioning in Families of Young Children with Cerebral Palsy or No Medical Diagnosis

We analyzed data from 87 mothers of children ages 15 to 44 months with cerebral palsy (CP) or no diagnosis, who completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Parenting Stress Index, Support Functions Scale, and Inventory of Social Support. Principal components analysis of the 15 subscales from the 5 measures revealed few cross-measure loadings. Mothers of children with CP (severe or mild) reported higher levels of parenting stress than did mothers of controls. However, cluster analysis of self-report measures yielded a 5-cluster solution, with no diagnostic group differences across clusters. That is, there were no overall differences in self-reported family functioning according to presence or severity of the child's disability. The results are discussed in terms of the organization of family systems and their relationship to child diagnosis. Clinical implications for assessing and working with families are noted.     

Presurgical Coping, Depression, and Quality of Life in Persons with Parkinson's Disease

This study describes utilization of coping strategies and evaluates the interaction between coping strategies, depression, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who are being considered for neurosurgical intervention. Eighty patients (mean age 61.7 years) with PD being evaluated for possible deep brain stimulation completed self-report instruments of coping strategies (Coping Responses Inventory), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), and disease-specific QOL (Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39). Analyses showed that patients with PD cope with the acute stressor of approaching neurosurgery through a variety of strategies, but particularly avoidant and behavioral strategies. When the correlated but apparently opposing effects of cognitive and behavioral strategies were teased apart, greater use of cognitive strategies was associated with more severe depressive symptomatology (and poorer QOL), while greater use of behavioral strategies appeared to be associated with less depression. Depressive symptomatology, in turn, was associated with poorer QOL. However, coping had minimal direct association with QOL. From this it was concluded that patients with advanced PD generate a variety of coping responses to an acute stressor such as surgery, and the use of behavioral strategies, in particular seeking of alternative enjoyable activities, may be associated with better mood if salutary effects are not overwhelmed by less helpful cognitive coping techniques. The minimization of depressive symptomatology, in turn, is associated with better QOL.     

Crisis Support and Coping as Mediators of Well-Being in Persons with Spinal Cord Lesion

This study aims to investigate whether crisis support and coping mediate symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals with spinal cord lesions (SCL). PTSD, crisis support, and coping were assessed an average of 83 days after the injury (T1), at discharge from the rehabilitation center (T2), and an average of 121 days following discharge (T3). Sixty-nine newly injured paraplegics and tetraplegics completed the questionnaire at T1, 40 (58%) at T2, and 38 (55%) at T3. Individuals with PTSD experienced significantly lower levels of social support, and used more emotional coping than did those without PTSD. On the basis of logistic regression analyses, emotional coping and the interaction between negative response and emotional coping predicted PTSD. Emotional coping is a strong predictor of PTSD in persons with new SCL.     

Hearing Impairment, Coping Strategies, and Anxiety Sensitivity

The aim was to study coping strategies among hearing-impaired individuals by using a validated coping instrument—The Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOCQ; S. Folkman & R. Lazarus, 1988)—and to relate the use of coping with anxiety sensitivity and experience of hearing impairment. A questionnaire booklet was sent out to the members of the local branch of the Swedish Hard of Hearing Association. Ninety-four members responded to the questionnaire, yielding a 53% response rate. Primary outcome measures were the WOCQ, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, and visual analogue scale rating of discomfort from hearing impairment. Repeated measures analysis of WOCQ subscales showed that the participants used planful problem solving and self-controlling coping strategies whereas escape/avoidance responses were less frequently used than the other coping strategies. Anxiety sensitivity was associated with escape/avoidance coping (r = .63, p < .0001). In conclusion, hearing-impaired individuals do not use escape/avoidance coping more than other coping strategies. However, escape/avoidance coping is associated with anxiety sensitivity, suggesting that sensitivity to anxiety sensations is an important associated factor. Coping strategies were not associated with discomfort from hearing impairment in any meaningful way.