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Coping with Missile Attack: Resources, Strategies, and Outcomes
Abstract
ABSTRACT The coping process was examined in a group of Israeli subjects experiencing SCUD missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War. We were interested in examining the relationship of coping resources, optimism, perceived control, and coping strategies, to anxiety, to physical symptoms, and to cognitive functioning during a real crisis. Data were gathered via structured questionnaires in the midst of the Persian Gulf War (February 1991) on a sample of 261 adult respondents residing in northern Israel. Although people reported a mixture of palliative and active coping strategies, it was the use of palliative coping efforts that predicted greater anxiety and physical symptoms. Subjects with greater coping resources used more palliative and active coping strategies and had higher cognitive functioning. However, active coping did not predict any of the negative stress reactions (i.e., anxiety and physical symptoms). People who perceived being in control of the situation reported using less palliative coping and fewer symptoms. That active coping did not predict negative stress reactions may have been a function of the severity of the stressor, and the resultant high levels of anxiety that were engendered. Overall, these findings do point to a different coping process in a grave and ongoing disaster situation than that reported in reaction to more normal life events.
... It may be that optimistic people tend to have higher self-esteem [23]. Furthermore, optimism may contribute to less anxiety and depression [24]; and can contribute to a positive relationship with coping that it will enhance cognitive and emotional functions [25]. Furthermore, people with higher levels of optimism may even have less psychological distress and greater resilience to potential post-disaster psychopathology [26]. ...
... While the presence of dispositional optimism may have served as a protective factor against such symptoms [28], trait anxiety has a negative effect on people exposed to a traumatic event. In particular, people with various degrees of self-confidence may experience higher or lower anxiety, which can influence the episodes of post-traumatic stress symptoms and somatic symptoms that carry a negative effect on cognitive function [24]. As anxiety is associated positively with traumatic exposure, and negatively with optimism and self-esteem [29], nurses with lower anxiety reported the presence of optimism and self-esteem. ...
... Specifically, elevated PTSD was related to elevated endorsement of emotion-focused coping which itself was associated with both health outcomes. This is in line with existing literature on emotion-focused coping being a predictor for poor outcomes [8][9][10][11]54], increased psychiatric symptoms [13], greater general psychological distress [55][56][57] and greater physical and somatic symptoms and social dysfunction [58][59][60]. This is consistent with literature supporting mediational effects on distress outcomes for people who have experienced trauma e.g. ...
... Psychiatric Quarterly (2019) 90:[47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] ...
This study compared the severity of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) and psychiatric symptoms between patients with different levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and investigated a model depicting the interrelationship between PTSD from past trauma, personality traits, coping strategies, CIU severity and psychiatric symptom severity. One hundred CIU and 60 allergy patients participated in the study, completing measures on PTSD, psychiatric symptoms, personality traits and coping strategies. The results showed that for CIU patients, 7%, 40 and 34% met the diagnostic criteria for no-PTSD, partial-PTSD and full-PTSD respectively whereas for allergy patients, 15%, 45 and 18% met the same criteria. Apart from CIU, psychiatric symptom severity differed significantly between diagnostic groups. PTSD was associated with coping strategies which were in turn associated with CIU severity and psychiatric symptom severity. PTSD was not significantly associated with personality. Emotion-focused coping mediated PTSD and CIU severity, PTSD and psychiatric symptom severity and neuroticism and CIU severity. To conclude, psychiatric symptom severity varies depending on the level of PTSD among CIU patients. Neurotic patients with a high level of PTSD from past trauma show raised CIU and psychiatric symptom severity when using emotion-focused coping strategies.
... In addition, optimism seems to be negatively associated with disengagement coping strategies, such as denial, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame (Antoni, Carver, & Lechner, 2009;Carver & Connor-Smith, 2010;Carver, Scheier, & Segerstrom, 2010;Soliday, Garofalo, Smith, Prostko, & Warner, 2004). Empirical evidence supports the potential mediating role of coping in the relationship of optimism with adjustment outcomes (Carver et al., 1993;Hewitt & Flett, 1996;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). Finally, people with low levels of optimism may be at a higher risk of engaging in negative cognitive processing of a traumatic event. ...
... Consistent with previous research findings, disengagement coping, cancer-related ruminations, and social constraints on cancer-related disclosure served as mediators through which dispositional optimism could be related to psychological adjustment to breast cancer (Carver et al., 1993;Hewitt & Flett, 1996;Scheier & Carver, 1987;Wenninger et al., 2013;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). Moreover, the mediating role of social constraints in the relationship between optimism and adjustment may suggest that an optimistic attitude toward trauma does not only affect the intrapersonal resources, but may also have an effect on the quality of social relationships. ...
The social-cognitive processing model suggests that a socially constrained environment may impede adjustment to a chronic
illness. The present study primarily investigated the mediating psychological pathways through which social constraints
on cancer-related disclosure, low optimism, disengagement-oriented coping, and brooding could be associated with low
levels of psychosocial adjustment. One hundred twenty-five female breast cancer survivors participated in a cross-sectional
study. Path analysis was used to examine the proposed model. Low optimism, increased social constraints, and higher levels
of brooding appeared to be risk factors for poor psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer. Disengagement-oriented coping
and brooding partially mediated the relationship between social constraints and adjustment. Brooding totally mediated the
relationship between disengagement-oriented coping and adjustment. The current findings provide support for the value of
the social-cognitive processing model among breast cancer survivors. The mapping of psychological pathways of adjustment
to breast cancer may have useful clinical implications for better adjustment outcomes.
... One may wonder whether there is any counterevidence to Durkheim's (1912Durkheim's ( /1915) model, such as negative rather than positive effects of collective assemblies? Some studies on the effect of religious rituals in distressed individuals did record negative effects of participation, such as increased anxiety and higher somatization or bodily symptoms (e.g., Thompson & Vardaman, 1997;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992; see also . However, similar studies that paid attention to measuring effects in both directions have frequently observed at once both positive and negative effects for participants (e.g., Pargament et al., 1994;Park & Cohen, 1993). ...
For Durkheim (1915), individuals’ survival and well-being rest on cultural resources and social belonging that must be revived periodically in collective assemblies. Durkheim’s concern was to clarify how these assemblies achieve this revitalization. An intensive examination of primitive religions led him to identify successive levels of engagement experienced by participants and to develop explanatory principles relevant to all types of collective gatherings. Durkheim’s conception is widely referred to nowadays. However, the question of its empirical status remains open. We extracted from his text his main statements and we translated them into research questions. We then examined each question in relation to current theories and findings. In particular, we relied on the plethora of recent cognitive and social psychology studies that document conditions of reduced self-other differentiation. Abundant data support that each successive moment of collective assemblies contributes to blurring this differentiation. Ample support also exists that as shared emotions are increasingly amplified in collective context, they can fuel high-intensity experiences. Moreover, recent studies of self-transcendent emotions can account for the self-transformative effects described by Durkheim at the climax of collective assemblies. In conclusion, this century-old model is remarkably supported by recent results, mostly collected in experimental settings.
... Such resources may serve to give a meaning to potentially stressful events and to prescribe strategies for responding effectively. In previous research, both emotional and spiritual coping have been found to be negatively related to perceived fear (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992;Marting & Hammer, 1988;Dåderman & de Colli, 2014) showed that the cognitive, social, and emotional resources overlap to a certain degree, possibly because a person with positive views also has a supportive social network and is aware of emotions and able to express them. In our study, this overlap is evidenced by positive loadings of all these resources on the Efficient Coping factor. ...
Leaders of today need to achieve well in terms of task performance, perceiving low stress, and having high levels of work engagement. One may ask whether trait-based leadership resource factors can be identified and how such resource factors might relate to task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement. Our aim was to test the hypothesis, derived from Hobfoll’s motivational Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, that there are trait-based leadership resource factors, which are differentially correlated to the leaders’ task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement. Leaders (N = 344) aged from 23 to 65 years (M = 49, SD = 8.6; 58% women) completed an online questionnaire including measures of task performance, perceived stress, work engagement, personality traits, trait emotional intelligence, empathy, performance-related self-esteem, compassionate and rational leadership competence, and coping resources for stress. Using exploratory factor analysis, we identified four trait-based leadership resource factors. With Bonferroni adjustment, and controlling for sex, age, number of years in the current managerial position, self-deceptive enhancement, and impression management, only Rational Mastery was significantly positively correlated with task performance. Rational Mastery, Efficient Coping, and Modesty were negatively correlated with perceived stress, and all factors except Modesty, but including the fourth (Good-Heartedness) were positively correlated with work engagement. Organizations striving for sustainable work conditions should support trait-based leadership, which depends not only on a task-oriented resource such as rational mastery, but also on human-oriented resources such as efficient coping, modesty, and good-heartedness, all of them being differentially related to task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement.
... Optimism was not found to be a protective factor and did not modulate the effect of the experience on the emergence of posttraumatic symptoms. This finding comes in contrast to previous studies that showed optimism to have a beneficial effect (Zeidner and Hammer 1992) as a protective factor when dealing with traumatic events. This finding is best explained by the homogeneity of the study population, and by its size. ...
The purpose of this paper was to assess the impact and the post-traumatic potential of late termination of pregnancy (TOP) and stillbirth on medical staff and characterise personal attributes that modulate these possible outcomes. Fifty-one participants involved in the treatment of women undergoing late TOPs and stillbirths answered questionnaires including demographics, Neuroticism subscale of the Big Five Inventory (BFI), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and questions regarding exposure to stillbirths and late TOPs. None of the participants met the full post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria. A correlation with a marginal significance was found between the number of TOP's/stillbirths attended during the past year and traumatic symptoms. Neuroticism moderated the association between presence in TOP's/stillbirths and post-traumatic symptoms among those who attended this event over the past month. According to our results, medical personnel do not appear to develop long-term and lingering posttraumatic symptoms following attending TOP’s/stillbirths.
• Impact Statement
• What is already known on this subject? There is a very little research on the ways in which medical personnel respond to Stillbirths, late miscarriages and terminations of pregnancy (TOP) of their patients and on the possible effect of their personality traits in this response.
• What do the results of this study add? According to our results, medical personnel do not appear to develop long-term and lingering posttraumatic symptoms following attending TOP’s/stillbirths.
• What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Further studies are warranted to better assess the impact of exposure to traumatic events in general and on the effect of late TOP and stillbirths in particular, on medical personnel and to identify interventions that may prevent posttraumatic symptoms among staff members when they happen.
... In general, optimism is used to denote a positive attitude or disposition that good things would happen independent of one's ability. Optimism has been linked to better responses to various diffi culties, from the more mundane, like transition to college (Brissette, Scheier, & Carver, 2002) to the extreme, like coping with missile attacks (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). Optimism appears to play a protective role, assisting people in coping with extraordinarily trying incidents. ...
Through the past century, psychologists have mainly focused on human unhappiness (such as anxiety and depression) and neglected the positive aspect of human potential. Argyle, Martin and Crossland (1989) defined happiness as having three partly independent components: (1) the average level of satisfaction over a specific time period; (2) the frequency and degree of positive affect; and (3) the relative absence of negative affect. "Happiness" denotes a measure of an individual's evaluation of one's overall quality of life (Veenhoven, 1997). The term is usually used interchangeably with "life satisfaction". People reporting to be happy tend to smile more and show lower levels of stress responses (heart rate, blood pressure), and they are less likely to commit suicide (Diener, Suh, Lucas & Smith, 1999). Research on happiness has identified a number of personal, demographic and socio-economic covariates of happiness that explain observed happiness patterns. Important personal and demographic characteristics, which affect happiness, are health, age, sex, marital status, the size and structure of the household, the education level, and the degree of urbanization (Clark, Frijters & Shields, 2008; Frey & Stutzer, 2002; Welsch, 2007). The present study made an attempt to identify the relationship of optimism, parental expectation and peer attachment with happiness of female college students.
... Optimism is associated with higher levels of physical health and lower levels of distress in breast cancer patients [8]. Optimism can protect against the development of PTSD (following a trauma) and is associated with higher quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease [25,64,87]. A more positive affect can also dampen the experience of pain; interventions aiming to improve affect can reduce the sensation of pain [26]. ...
Resilience is the ability of an individual to bounce back from adversity and move forward with life. In this chapter, the focus is on four elements of resilience and how they impact health. The four elements of resilience discussed fit into the GROW framework: good emotions, reason and purpose, others (support from and to others), and wellness flexibility. Each of these elements impacts health in a variety of ways. When patients have high levels of good emotions, a strong sense of reason and purpose, consistent support from and to others, and the ability to be flexible, be self-aware, and learn from mistakes, their health outcomes are better in a variety of diseases. This chapter includes evidence for the impact of resilience in cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, kidney, and neuropsychiatric illnesses. Patients can improve their resilience in these 4 domains by practicing skills such as gratitude, identifying values and setting goals, yoga, conflict-resolution, building and deepening relationships, volunteering, and accepting one’s faults and failures and learning from them. Clinicians can encourage patients to enhance their resilience with simple interventions that might, in turn, improve their overall health and well-being.
... The answer seems to be a clear "yes." It has been shown in the context of students beginning college (Brissette, Scheier, & Carver, 2002) and participating in collegiate athletics (Vealey & Perritt, 2015); among caregivers of patients with cancer (Given et al., 1993) and spousal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (Hooker, Monahan, Shifren, & Hutchinson, 1992;Shifren & Hooker, 1995); in the context of medical diagnoses such as cancer (Carver et al., 1993;Friedman et al., 1992) and the progression of AIDS (Taylor et al., 1992); among individuals undergoing medical procedures such as bone marrow transplants (Curbow, Somerfield, Baker, Wingard, & Legro, 1993), in vitro fertilization (Litt, Tennen, Affleck, & Klock, 1992), and coronary bypass surgery (Scheier et al., 1989); in the context of childbirth (Carver & Gaines, 1987); and among survivors of missile attacks (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). ...
Dispositional optimism is the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains. This article provides a representative review of 30 years of research on dispositional optimism and physical well-being. Assessment of optimism is described, along with data regarding its stability. A review of the research linking optimism and physical health is then presented. Included in the review are initial studies suggesting that optimism and physical well-being might be linked as well as more recent, larger scale epidemiological studies that make the point more emphatically. Also considered are potential pathways—behavioral, biological, and social—that might explain these associations. The article concludes with a brief look to the future, describing several issues and questions that still need to be answered. These questions include the relationship of optimism and pessimism to each other (and the implications of that relationship for physical well-being), the origins of optimism and pessimism, and interventions that might be implemented to reduce the negative impact of a pessimistic outlook.
... [5] WHO defines: "Family health is evaluated from its capacity to fulfill its functions, adapt and overcome the crises with its own resources." [6] Zeidner and Hammer (1992) define follow -up resources as: "all those personal and social variables that allow people to handle stressful situations more efficiently." [7] MASLOW (1943) observed that: "basic needs have to be covered for higher needs to appear. ...
... In general, optimism is used to denote a positive attitude or disposition that good things would happen independent of one's ability. Optimism has been linked to better responses to various diffi culties, from the more mundane, like transition to college (Brissette, Scheier, & Carver, 2002) to the extreme, like coping with missile attacks (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). Optimism appears to play a protective role, assisting people in coping with extraordinarily trying incidents. ...
The essential ingredient for one's living is being happy, which is found in different forms and differs among individuals. It can be associated with purchase of inanimate objects or with someone else the person is associated with. On the whole, consistent feelings of happiness may be determined by individual factors as well as environmental factors. The importance of happiness is apparent in numerous life domains. Research with adolescents has revealed the importance of happiness in school as well as at home and in the community. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the influence of certain factors namely optimism, parental expectations and peer attachment on the subjective happiness among female college students. 107 female college students were tested on Life-Orientation Test-Revised, Perception of Parental Expectations Inventory, Peer Attachment and The Oxford Happiness Scale. The results showed that the important factors that determine happiness result in better physical and psychological health among women in the later stages of life.
... But many religious rituals are akin to rites of terror, which incite rather than assuage fears and anxieties when they invoke dangerous and often capricious deities and forces (Atran and Norenzayan 2004;Boyer 2003;Whitehouse 1996). And greater involvement in religious activities has thus been associated with increased anxiety and stress symptoms (Zeidner and Hammer 1992). ...
We tested whether religious ritual lessens or increases stress and anxiety among indigenous Sahariya conservation refugees recently displaced from a wildlife sanctuary in central India. Combining ethnography with structured survey and salivary analyte data (the stress hormone cortisol), we tracked di/stress over two 9-day periods before, during, and after Sahariya celebrations of the Hindu holidays of Holi and Navratri. Results show postritual improvement on all psychiatric and analyte data. The effects were larger for individuals who were wealthier and reported higher insecurity, suggesting that ritual healing might be impacted by infusions of cash and resources and also by the relative precariousness of the performance context. Likewise, health improvements were lower for individuals reporting higher anxiety and depression, implying that rites such as these are more likely to instill psychosomatic resilience in healthy individuals than to serve as a psychotherapeutic intervention for persons suffering more severely. Our results suggest that the local work of culture can serve as a potentially important source of health resilience in situations of high uncertainty, potentially preventing stressand trauma-induced suffering, which should be taken into account by state and NGO organizations extending aid to the world’s poor in similar disaster and refugee contexts. © 2017 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved.
... One of the most interesting and effective responses reported by most Israeli respondents was adjusting to and accepting the terrorism threat ( Bleich et al., 2003;Somer, Ruvio, Soref, & Sever, 2005). Israeli citizens display high levels of adjustment or habituation to crises, even during wars or political violence where there is little control over the situation (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992;Zemishlany, 2012). ...
Israeli citizens are exposed to unpredictable and chronic terrorism threats that significantly jeopardize their personal sense of safety. The purpose of the present study is to present how Israeli discourse is structured with regard to emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses to chronic terrorism threats and to understand the range of responses, as well as map the risk and protective factors of this existential threat. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 Israeli adults (22 women and 18 men). Qualitative analysis revealed three patterns of responses to ongoing terrorism: emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Emotional responses include fear, worry, sense of empathy, and detachment. Cognitive responses include situational assessment and pursuit of solutions, the use of traumatic imagining, beliefs in fate and luck, and optimism. Behavioral responses include looking for information, alertness, and habituation. The findings also revealed another response, which combines cognitive and behavioral responses. Some of the responses are innovative and unique to the threat of terrorism. By mapping the responses, mental health risk factors are revealed, as well as protective factors that can help structure personal and national resilience. These findings have implications on the treatment and prevention of personal and social pathologies, and how to effectively cope with terrorism threats.
Keywords: Terrorism, responses, stress.
... As a result, optimism/pessimism may have an inverse/proportional effect on anxiety among inhabitants concerning living on HMCS. Optimism has been illustrated to be significantly associated with negative anxiety among Israeli residents who experienced missile attacks during the Gulf War [35]; Chinese cervical cancer patients [6]; and women seeking genetic counseling for breast cancer [19,25]. German urogenital cancer patients with low levels of optimism and high levels of pessimism are found at risk of higher levels of anxiety [26], as are Norwegian female patients one year following breast cancer surgery [22]. ...
This research aims at combined and relative effect levels on anxiety of: (1) perceived risk, knowledge, optimism, pessimism, and social trust; and (2) four sub-variables of social trust among inhabitants concerning living on heavy metal contaminated soil. On the basis of survey data from 499 Chinese respondents, results suggest that perceived risk, pessimism, optimism, and social trust have individual, significant, and direct effects on anxiety, while knowledge does not. Knowledge has significant, combined, and interactive effects on anxiety together with social trust and pessimism, respectively, but does not with perceived risk and optimism. Social trust, perceived risk, pessimism, knowledge, and optimism have significantly combined effects on anxiety; the five variables as a whole have stronger predictive values than each one individually. Anxiety is influenced firstly by social trust and secondly by perceived risk, pessimism, knowledge, and optimism. Each of four sub-variables of social trust has an individual, significant, and negative effect on anxiety. When introducing four sub-variables into one model, trust in social organizations and in the government have significantly combined effects on anxiety, while trust in experts and in friends and relatives do not; anxiety is influenced firstly by trust in social organization, and secondly by trust in the government.
... But many religious rituals are akin to rites of terror, which incite rather than assuage fears and anxieties when they invoke dangerous and often capricious deities and forces (Whitehouse 1996;Boyer 2003;Atran and Norenzayan 2004). And greater involvement in religious activities has thus been associated with increased anxiety and stress symptoms (Zeidner and Hammer 1992). ...
... A wide array of studies has documented the protective effect of optimism following life-threatening illness such as cancer or Alzheimer (Carver & Scheier, 2002). Other studies have revealed that optimism is related to mental health among rescue and recovery workers at the crash site of US Air Flight 427 (Dougall, Hyman, Hayward, McFeeley & Baum, 2001), Kosovar refugees following the 1999 Kosovo crisis (Riolli, Savicki & Cepani, 2002), Israeli inhabitants experiencing SCUD missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992), Hurricane Opal survivors (Benight, Swift, et al., 1999), and individuals after ischemic heart disease (Shnek, Irvine, Stewart & Abbey, 2001). However, there are longitudinal studies in which optimism did not predict changes in psychological well-being when controlling for baseline levels (Schroevers et al., 2003;Stiegelis et al. 2003). ...
In the last decades there has been a paradigm shift from pathogenesis (etiology of disease) to salutogenesis (origins of health) in the conceptualization of functioning following trauma. The resilience literature best represents this paradigm shift. Traditionally resilience literature focused on childhood development and on adolescence development. However in the last years the resilience studies have considered the adulthood, mainly in the face of loss or potential trauma. The resilience research suggests two key points. First resilience has recently been recognized as a common human response to potentially traumatic events. Second there are multiple resources, both at the individual and at the environmental level that could foster adaptation in face of challenge. The purpose of this chapter is to review the evidences concerning psychosocial factors contributing to resilience outcome in the aftermath of potentially traumatic events in adulthood. Resilience factors are defined as resources that can be categorized according to time (pre-event and post-event) and level (individual versus environment). This model is derived from stress appraisal theories (
... In a longitudinal study of 261 adults during the Persian Gulf War, Zeidner and Hammer (1992) found that higher levels of pessimism were correlated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and physical symptoms. Small but significant correlations were also obtained between the pessimism measure and indexes of emotion-focused and palliative coping. ...
... Relations between optimism and distress have been examined in people facing diverse difficulties. These include students entering college Brissette, Scheier, & Carver, 2002); survivors of missile attacks (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992); people caring for cancer patients (Given et al., 1993) or Alzheimer's patients (Hooker, Monahan, Shifren, & Hutchinson, 1992;Shifren & Hooker, 1995); and people dealing with childbirth (Carver & Gaines, 1987), coronary artery bypass surgery (Fitzgerald, Tennen, Affleck, & Pransky, 1993;Scheier et al., 1989), aging (Giltay, Zitman, & Kromhout, 2006), failed attempts at in vitro fertilization (Litt, Tennen, Affleck, & Klock, 1992), bone marrow transplantation (Curbow, Somerfield, Baker, Wingard, & Legro, 1993), cancer (Carver et al., 1993;Friedman et al., 1992), and the progression of AIDS . ...
Optimism is expecting good things to occur in one's life. Such positive expectations are associated with higher subjective well-being, even under conditions of stress or adversity. In contrast, pessimists respond to adversity with more intense negative feelings. There are also differences in the manner in which optimists and pessimists try to cope with adversity. Optimists tend to put the best face on the adversity, but they acknowledge its existence and its importance, and they try to do as much as possible to resolve whatever problems can be resolved. Pessimists are more likely to distance themselves from the problem and put off doing anything about it as long as possible. They are also more likely to give up trying, if things remain difficult. Some kinds of problem solution is proactive, engaged in before the problem arises. Optimists also tend to engage in such proactive efforts, including taking actions to minimize various kinds of health risks. Perhaps, as a consequence of these preventive steps, optimists also tend to have better health than pessimists. They seem to heal faster from wounds, and there is some evidence that when they are seriously ill they experience slower disease progression. It has been suggested that optimists sometimes are no better off than pessimists, and sometimes are worse off: that their confidence can get them into situations where it is difficult to cope effectively. Evidence of such negative effects of optimism does exist, but it is relatively sparse.
... A wide array of stumes has doclllllented the protective effect of optimism following life -threatening illness such as cancer or Alzheimer (Carver & Scheier, 2002). Dther snldies have revealed that optimism is related lo mental health among rescue and recovely workers at the crash site of US Air Fligllt 427 (Dougall, Hy: (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992), Hurricane Opal sUIVivors (Benight, Swift, et al. , 1999), and i.tldividuals after ischemic heart msease (Slmek, hvi.tle, Stewal1 & Abbey, 20( 1). ...
In the last decades there has been a paradigm shift from pathogenesis (etiology of disease) to salutogenesis (origins of health) in the conceptualization of functioning following trauma. The resilience literature best represents this paradigm shift. Traditionally resilience literature focused on childhood development and on adolescence development. However in the last years the resilience studies have considered the adulthood, mainly in the face of loss or potential trauma. The resilience research suggests two key points. First resilience has recently been recognized as a common human response to potentially traumatic events. Second there are multiple resources, both at the individual and at the environmental level that could foster adaptation in face of challenge. The purpose of this chapter is to review the evidences concerning psychosocial factors contributing to resilience outcome in the aftermath of potentially traumatic events in adulthood. Resilience factors are defined as resources that can be categorized according to time (pre-event and post-event) and level (individual versus environment). This model is derived from stress appraisal theories (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Moos & Schaefer, 1993), social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997) and conservation of resource theory (Hobfoll, 2002).
... Measures of happiness are also consistently positively associated with social support (Lakey 2013). Social support does not refer only to coping through active attempts to obtain help from others (Zeidner and Hammer 1992). The construct may also refer to a variety of beliefs about the benevolence and helpfulness of people in general, one's own social network and specific individuals such as parents (Pierce et al. 1996). ...
Social support and coping are reliably associated with wellbeing during adolescence,
but it is unclear whether relationships between these constructs and affect are interrelated
or independent. Emotional intelligence (EI) also correlates with greater
wellbeing, but the key processes supporting the association are likewise uncertain.
This study aimed to compare support and coping as predictors of wellbeing and stress
using structural equation modeling to test alternate latent factor models. It also aimed
to test how EI, measured as an ability, might influence the constructs. Data were
collected from 203 Israeli high-school students. Modeling suggested that social support
was a stronger influence than coping style on wellbeing, although avoidance coping
made a unique contribution to lower wellbeing. EI was associated with social support,
but not coping or outcome. It is concluded that social support is critical for wellbeing,
over and above coping, consistent with theoretical perspectives that emphasize the
importance of social engagement in adolescence. Ability EI appears to have only a
modest influence on emotional functioning during adolescence.
... For example, prayers, meditation, or similar rituals can be used as emotion-focused coping strategies 28) to help reduce and manage the intensity of the negative and distressing emotions brought about by the daily work encounters of healthcare workers. In addition, spirituality can provide a broader meaning structure 29) , helping workers to understand their situation, gain a sense of meaning in their work, and regain cognitive mastery over their situation. As already mentioned, the capacity to view life from different and more objective perspectives may facilitate appraisal-focused coping. ...
Objective:
This study investigated the effects of burnout on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among healthcare workers in Hong Kong.
Methods:
Using a cross-sectional design, 312 healthcare workers (mean age = 38.6, SD = 9.9; 77.7% females) in a mental rehabilitation institution completed a self-administered questionnaire on anxiety, depression, burnout, and daily spiritual experiences. Multivariate regressions were used to test the effects of burnout on the relationships between daily spiritual experiences and anxiety and depression.
Results:
After adjusting for age, education level, marital status, and staff ranking, higher levels of daily spiritual experience were associated with lower levels of burnout (β = -0.22, p<0.01), depression (β = -0.68, p<0.01), and anxiety (β = -0.05, p<0.01). Burnout was found to have a significant partial mediating effect on the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and depression (z = -2.99, p < 0.01), accounting for 37.8% of the variation in depression. Burnout also completely mediated the relationship between daily spiritual experiences and anxiety (z = -3.06, p<0.01), accounting for 73.9% of the variation in anxiety.
Conclusions:
The results suggested that the association between spirituality and mental health is influenced by the level of burnout, thereby supporting the role of burnout as a potential mediator. Moreover, day-to-day spiritual practice was found to be potentially protective against burnout and mental health problems. Future interventions could incorporate spirituality training to reduce burnout so as to improve the well-being of healthcare workers.
... Concurrent use of problem-focused coping was inversely related to PTSD two to three years after the war in the same population (Solomon, Mikulincer, & Abitzur, 1988). Israeli civilians who used palliative coping during the SCUD missile bombing were more likely to experience negative stress reactions (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). ...
Introduction: Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a commonly used organic solvent that, because of its toxicity can cause metabolic acidosis, neurologic sequelae and even death, when ingested. This was the scenario at Ode-Irele township resulting in the death of some of the residents and admission into the hospitals in April, 2015. Therefore, this study was to assess the post-traumatic stress disorders and adjustment strategies adopted by some community members were exposed to methanol consumption. Methodology: Convenient sampling was used to select the respondents which resulted from the calculation of sample size using Thumb's rule. Standardized instrument on post-traumatic disorders by Weathers, et al and adjustment styles by Carver, et al. instruments. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS for window version 20. MANOVA and CHI-SQUARE were used as the statistical tools. Three (3) research questions were answered and three (3) hypotheses were tested. Results: The findings revealed that the respondents experience the following post-traumatic stress disorders, disturbing memories, thoughts or images of a stressful experience from the past, feeling very upset, avoid talking about the stressful experience. In terms of coping styles; 87.7% prayed and trusted God. One of the three hypotheses was significant at P=0.000. Conclusion : It was concluded that people experienced post-traumatic disorder at different levels and exhibit different adjustment/coping styles when faced with unhappy situations. It was recommended that Nurse should have adequate knowledge of clinical manifestations of PTSD and encourage the patients to adopt any of the adjustment strategies rather than not using any at all.
... Figure 1 shows that coping resources also are expected to directly affect coping strategies because they constrain both the amount and type of coping strategies that may be used. Indeed, in a study of how people coped with Iraqi SCUD missile attacks, Zeidner and Hammer (1992) showed individuals who had greater resources engaged in coping strategies more often than individuals who did not have such resources. Moreover, experimental results indicate that individuals who score high on a measure of self-defeating personality used more emotionally based coping strategies than individuals who did not have these resource deficiencies (Schill & Beyler, 1992). ...
Although the stress of involuntary job loss is well documented, the process through which people cope and ultimately adapt following this stressful event needs clarification. This article provides a crucial next step by introducing new theory to explain how people cope with job loss. The process model developed in this article incorporates constructs from coping theory, control theory, and self-efficacy. Future research strategies are suggested regarding coping effectiveness and reciprocal causality.
... Despite all that data, Aslıhan's interpretation of the situation that the baby would not be a handicapped one because she prayed a lot is an indication of her not thinking in a healthy way. As a result, wishing-begging, one of the praying types, is highly associated with religious coping methods (Park and Cohen 1993; Zeidner and Hammer 1992; Pargament et al. 1994) and somatization of a worsening mental disorder (Lonczak ve diğ. 2006). ...
Recently, insufficiency of secular coping methods has drawn the attention of researchers towards religious coping methods. While the parts about theory and model cover an important place in the literature, experimental studies are rapidly going on. Although religious coping was initially interpreted as positive, experimental studies reveal that it also has negative forms. The purpose of this study, in which qualitative research methods were used, is to define the components of religious coping. Semi structured interview was used among 42 participants, 9 war veterans from Association of Turkish Disabled War Veterans, Martyrs, their Widows and Orphans Ankara Branch, and 9 relatives of martyrs from the Association of Martyrs’ Families Ankara Branch, totaling 60 volunteer participants between the ages 25 and 65 with snowball sampling method. It was discovered that 29 of the participants used negative religious coping and the participants who only used negative religious coping were studied in this research. Upon recording the interviews with the aid of a recorder, the researched typed the script of the interviews. The qualitative analysis of the collected data was done in MAXODA 11 computer program.
... Concurrent use of problem-focused coping was inversely related to PTSD two to three years after the war in the same population (Solomon, Mikulincer, & Abitzur, 1988). Israeli civilians who used palliative coping during the SCUD missile bombing were more likely to experience negative stress reactions (Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). ...
... According to Lazarus, the coping process changes over time, is adjusted to the situational demands and the object is to deal with a situation rather than to master it [22,33]. A difference between coping resources and coping strategies has been proposed [35]. Coping resources have been defined as "any aspect of the organism's functioning which could be viewed as a mediator of stress" [36] or "those resources inherent in individuals that enable them to handle stressors more effectively, to experience fewer symptoms upon exposure to a stressor, or to recover faster from exposure" [37]. ...
... Considerable research has focused on the benefits associated with optimism and the risks associated with pessimism, particularly in terms of wellbeing, coping, and physical and mental health outcomes. For example, researchers have found that optimism is associated with positive mood (Räikkönen, Matthews, Flory, Owens, & Gump, 1999), lower distress during times of stress and difficulty (e.g., Zeidner & Hammer, 1992), slower disease progression in persons with HIV (Ironson et al., 2005), and longer life (Giltay, Geleijnse, Zitman, Hoekstra, & Schouten, 2004). Optimism has continued to generate a large amount of research in recent years, spurred by the growth of positive psychology as a field of study. ...
Although most researchers have assumed that optimism exists on a continuum, it is not uncommon for researchers to dichotomize their data into optimists and pessimists, thus treating optimism as a categorical or taxonic variable. To address the question of whether optimism is dimensional or taxonic, the authors performed a set of taxometric analyses on 3 indicators derived from measures of hope and optimism using data from 510 college students. The results provided consistent evidence that optimism is dimensional. Colloquially, people may speak of optimists and pessimists, but researchers should avoid dichotomizing this continuous variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
... For emotionfocused coping, they seek social support for emotional reasons, engage in positive reappraisal and wishful thinking, ruminate, use positive self-talk, and use avoidance. In the Israeli context, findings indicate that, in comparison with men, a greater number of Israeli women used both problemfocused as well as emotional-focused coping methods (Zeidner, 2006;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). ...
This article presents processes of coping and posttraumatic growth (PTG) as elicited both from an open-ended questionnaire administrated to 52 Jewish Israeli mothers as well as in-depth interviews conducted with 16 of them, following exposure to either long-term or a short period of threat in the form of rocket attacks on their homes. This comparison revealed that all mothers described the same coping mechanisms and perceived themselves as coping well with the threat of terror. However, with regard to PTG, only those who were exposed to rocket attacks for a long duration disclosed a manifest potential for PTG both in relation to self and in relation to others. Concurrently, because of the parental decision to live in an area exposed to missile attacks, the mothers expressed guilt feelings toward their children, fearing for their mental well-being. The differences between the two groups of mothers and possible applications for mental health professionals working with such populations are discussed.
... Different aspects of the stress response have been studied during the last decades (Zeidner and Hammer, 1992). Therefore, there are a series of studies related to stress and health focusing on conditions that favour mental health, i.e., cognitive resources and physical strength. ...
... Research on life under constant threats of terrorism and community disasters indicated that whereas only a small segment of the populace experienced emotional collapse and serious posttraumatic morbidity, a greater percentage suffered from sub-clinical forms of stress (Baum, Gatchel, & Schaefer, 1983;Ben-Zur & Zeidner, 1991;Levitt & Leventhal, 1986;Zeidner & Ben-Zur, 1994). Research on coping with the threat of the Iraqi missile attacks on Israel showed that emotion-focused coping positively related to anxiety and physical symptoms and that active problem-focused coping was related to less negative stress reactions (Somer, Keinan, & Carmil, 1994;Zeidner & Ben-Zur, 1994;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). Observations conducted in Israeli schools during wartime revealed that teachers' concerns for the safety of their loved ones and concerns for their own security may have contributed to a sense of chaos and disorganization in their classrooms (Ayalon, 1983). ...
Following a terror attack, Israeli teachers are often required to debrief their students and support them while having to cope personally with the community threat. This study aimed to advance the understanding of factors associated with improved coping under threat. “Controllability awareness,” being attentive to what is and is not controllable in one's environment, is associated with tolerance for stresses of daily life. Here controllability awareness was assessed as a predictor of effective coping among schoolteachers in potentially traumatic stress situations in a community during acute stress (just after a Katyusha rocket attack) or chronic stress (ongoing threat of pending border hostilities). Correlations of scores on the Controllability Awareness Inventory with several self-report measures of adverse outcomes indicated that general controllability awareness was significantly associated with lower perceived stress and fewer psychological symptoms during both chronic and acute stress and also significantly predicted physical symptoms and the impact of the stressful event during chronic stress. Controllability awareness measured specifically in relation to emergencies correlated significantly with perceived stress and symptoms in both situations. As teachers who experience fewer adverse outcomes during community stress are more likely to be effective in managing the effects of stress on their students, the association between controllability awareness and effective responses suggests that controllability awareness training may enhance coping efficacy among support-providing professionals under chronic and acute stress.
... Various factors may influence the individual's perception of the events. Among these are: his previous experiences with such events, current level of social support, personal resources, locus of control, coping style and social skills that may help the individual to deal effectively with the demands of the event (Ander, Lindstrom and Tibblin, 1974;Gore, 1984;Lazarus and Launier, 1978;Rahe, 1985;and Zeidner and Hammer, 1992). ...
A list of 50 war events was developed and presented to a sample of 442 Kuwaiti undergraduate male and female students. Participants were asked to rate each event on an 11-point scale according to the degree of distress which they felt toward it.Analysis of responses showed that events related to loss of persons and psychological pain occupied the highest ranks, events related to patriotic feeling and loss of materials occupied the middle position, while events related to humane sensitivity and everyday necessities came at the bottom of the scale. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated that perception of certain groups of events was significantly influenced by sex, experience of loss of persons, father's education, family income and experience of loss of materials. Residence during invasion, either inside Kuwait or outside of Kuwait did not show any significant effect on the regression findings. The relative importance of each predictive variable was assessed.
... Participants in the study displayed significantly more health problems 17 years later than the nontraumatized individuals in the control group. Also, survivors of the early traumatic event later showed greater vulnerability to psychological difficulties when Israel was attacked by Iraqi Scud-missiles in 1991 (see also Ben-Zur & Zeidner, 1991;Zeidner & Hammer, 1992). As the authors conclude, the scars of the event remained for a lifetime. ...
Optimism and pessimism – generalized expectancies that the future will be positive or negative – cause broad and diverse differences between people in subjective well-being and how they achieve it. People who are more optimistic cope with adversities by addressing rather than avoiding them and their feelings about them; they engage with and accomplish goals to a greater degree; and they are more likely to attend to and pre-emptively address threats to their well-being. They also have better physical health, which can both result from and contribute to well-being. Although optimism may have drawbacks, these seem to be limited in scope and do not outweigh the advantages of being optimistic.
Optimism is a trait that reflects the extent to which people hold generalized favorable versus unfavorable expectancies for their future. Higher optimism has been related prospectively (i.e., controlling for previous well-being) to higher subjective well-being in times of adversity. Optimism has also been linked to greater engagement coping and less avoidance coping. Optimism has been associated with taking proactive steps to protect one's health, whereas pessimism has been associated with health-damaging behaviors. Consistent with such evidence, optimism has also been linked to better physical health. The task-focused approach that optimists take to goals also confers benefits in the socioeconomic world. Optimism has been linked to more persistence in educational efforts and to higher income. Optimists also appear to fare better than pessimists in relationships. There are instances in which optimism fails to convey an advantage, and instances in which it may be disadvantageous, but those instances are quite rare.
Logotherapy has been used as a therapeutic intervention for individuals who struggle with a host of medical, behavioral, health, and social problems. For example, logotherapy has been described as helpful for individuals living with schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use disorders, and personality disorders, as well as cardiac illness, prolonged grief, and chronic pain.
One reason that logotherapy may have positive effects on such a broad array of problems may be related to its impact on the stress response, and on one’s ability to tolerate adversity, to build resilience, and to grow from stressful and traumatic experiences. Chronic stress that is poorly regulated is known to exacerbate a host of medical and psychological conditions and disorders.
In this chapter, we discuss how logotherapy can help to regulate chronic stress by fostering resilience and posttraumatic growth.
Recent advances in our understanding of the human brain suggest that adolescence is a unique period of development during which both environmental and genetic influences can leave a lasting impression. To advance the goal of integrating brain and prevention science, two areas of research which do not usually communicate with one another, the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Adolescent Risk Communication Institute held a conference with the purpose of producing an integrated book on this interdisciplinary area. Contributors were asked to address two questions: What neurodevelopmental processes in children and adolescents could be altered so that mental disorders might be prevented? And what interventions or life experiences might be able to introduce such changes? The book deals with the following: biological and social universals in development; characteristics of brain and behavior in development; effects of early maltreatment and stress on brain development; effects of stress and other environmental influences during adolescence on brain development; and reversible orders of brain development.
That workplace stress exists and impacts on individual, organizational, and societal health is a commonly known fact. Stress has a significant economic impact on individuals and organizations (Danna and Griffin, 1999). Yet, if people perceive themselves as having the resources they require to meet the challenges they experience, they may suffer fewer negative consequences following exposure to said challenges, be they physiological or psychological (see Ganster and Fusilier, 1989). Coping has been described as an individual's ability to deal with stressful organizational situations, and been considered the variable that, in relation to its effectiveness, determines the degree of negative physiological and psychological consequences experienced (Bhagat et al., 2001; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). The coping styles that individuals use in responding to experienced challenges are related to specific organizational aspects such as job satisfaction (Bhagat, Allie, and Ford, 1995), and general well-being (Greenglass, 1996). In every industry or profession, prescriptive regulatory systems and guidelines shape the meaning individuals attach to their work (Aneshensel, 1992; Lai, Chan, Ko, and Boey, 2000; Pearlin, 1999). In turn, this meaning may be expected to inform employees’ perceptions of work, influencing how they approach experienced challenges and accept certain coping strategies. Work represents a unique context regarding the study of stress and coping (Brief and George, 1991), when compared to, for example, coping as found among hospital patients or professional athletes.
This chapter addresses the behavior, thoughts, experiences, and feelings of individuals who have been exposed to strain and stress. First, we introduce the many different approaches associated with both psychological and broader social science-based understandings of coping. We then analyze the extent to which these approaches can be applied in a disaster-related context. In the first part of this chapter, we examine the person-centered coping models that dominate stress research in mainstream psychological approaches. These models are similar to the goal-based models of human nature in which the basic motivation of human beings is to move toward goals while avoiding threats. Depending on the model in question, the main focus lies either in the cognitive processes of appraisal and emotion regulation, attribution of meaning, and religious forms of coping or on the conceptualization as a mental health problem. In contrast, resource-oriented coping theories emphasize the social and material contexts of stress processes. Social contexts and interactions are also more central to the field of community psychology and in the research on social support. Sociology and related social sciences have even broader models in which community coping and resilience of communities are studied as a social or collective process. When considering community resilience, or the application of social capital or local knowledge, the coping resources of larger social units are of primary importance, as collective meanings, emotions, and agency come to the fore. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. All rights are reserved.
The article investigates theories of resilience as applied to individuals and groups. From a group perspective, the potential of and obstacles to resilience are examined against the backgound of post-apartheid South Africa. Individual perpetrators and victims, as well as corporate bodies such as institutionalised faith communities have been affected. For the liberation of South Africa’s wounded soul, resilience is needed. In the article, psychological dimensions of resilience theory are brought into dialogue with the theological hermeneutical model of Ernst Fuchs in order to show how an encounter with the Jesus narrative of care for wounded people can foster resilience, liberate and bring healing to both faith communities and to this predominantly religious country.
The chapter describes six prominent measures of coping that are broken into two categories covering (1) trait coping and (2) state coping. The measures reviewed are The Miller Behavioral Style Scale (Miller, 1987); The Mainz Coping Inventory (Krohne, 1993); The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler & Parker, 1990, 1994); The COPE Inventory (Carver et al., 1989); The Coping Strategy Indicator (Amirkhan, 1990); and The Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). The chapter reviews antecedents and triggers of coping, and theoretical distinctions (or 'frameworks') in coping research. Challenges and future directions in coping research are discussed.
This paper aims to provide a theological and psychological basis for faith communities under stress that will allow them to engage with the narratives of Jesus in such a way that they become the bearers of the “good news” and a force of resilience. The context is post-apartheid South Africa, which is plagued by the consequences of colonial as well as present-day neo-colonial atrocities. Faith communities are challenged to respond with resilience, to discover authentic existence in relationship with God and people, and to become agents of change. The article investigates resilience theory from an epistemological and hermeneutical perspective. It applies the “new hermeneutics” of Ernst Fuchs as a model in order to facilitate faith communities to (1) understand their own humanity and the human condition, (2) understand what an authentic life entails and how to acquire it, and (3) become a resilient community by associating collectively with the Jesus narrative.
Individual and collective responses to trauma influence the way scholars and clinicians think about the stress response and the survivor network. Stress-coping concepts are integral to the manner in which individuals and communities cope with trauma in post-conflict societies. The salience of social support and psychological resilience, as additional concepts through which work with survivors can be approached, offer opportunities for facilitative intervention. This chapter provides a review of the literature addressing individual and collective responses to trauma, and non-adaptive responses to trauma such as stress, anxiety, and mood disorders. This chapter also provides a review of current concepts related to coping and social support and the manner in which these concepts have been characterized in post-conflict settings. Finally, this chapter concludes with considerations of the manner in which the concepts of individual and communal resilience relate to the trauma membrane and encourage thinking about capacity building that supports a healing environment for those in post-conflict societies.
To determine if a noninvasive complementary therapy, Healing Touch, would benefit women undergoing diagnostic procedures for the determination of breast cancer. Women often experience high levels of fear and anxiety during this diagnostic period.
A randomized controlled pilot study.
An out-patient clinic specializing in breast care management was used. Seventy-three women age 18 to 85 years old participated, with 31 in the control group of standard care and 42 in the intervention group receiving Healing Touch, a noninvasive energy therapy. A specific technique, magnetic clearing, was provided by a practitioner for 15 minutes prior to the biopsy procedure. Both the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Coping Resources Inventory were used preprocedurally and the following day to assess changes.
A mixed analysis of variance indicated that State Anxiety for the Healing Touch group showed a statistically significant reduction of anxiety that was sustained into the following day, F(2, 142) = 10.94, p < .001. For Trait Anxiety, there was a significant change pre-and postintervention to the day after, F(2, 142) = 5.15, p < .007. The Coping Resources Inventory had significant changes in two subcategories, Emotional, F(2, 142) = 6.10, p = .003, and the Spiritual/Philosophical, F(2, 142) = 6.10, p < .001, in the Healing Touch group.
Healing Touch may have benefit in reducing anxiety from diagnostic breast procedures.
© The Author(s) 2015.
Resumen El artículo presenta la propuesta de un programa de investigación científica en torno a los comportamientos autorreguladores de salud y enfermedad en las enfermedades crónicas, fundamentado en los con-ceptos acerca de programas de investigación científicos introducidos por Lakatos (1989), estableciendo una convergencia con el Modelo de la Variabilidad de la Investigación Educativa (VIE) (Padrón, 2007) para ubicar el enfoque epistemológico en el que se encuentra enmarca-do el Modelo del Sentido Común de Leventhal. Se concluye que la me-todología de los programas de investigación científica facilita la orga-nización de las teorías, indicando el crecimiento del conocimiento cien-tífico, haciendo posible que el Centro de Investigaciones Psicológicas de la Universidad Rafael Urdaneta desarrolle un programa de investi-gación acerca de los comportamientos autorregulados de salud y enfer-medad, cuyo núcleo es el postulado de la autorregulación, y cuyas hi-pótesis auxiliares podrán ser probadas mediante la línea de investiga-ción de cumplimiento de tratamiento en las enfermedades crónicas. Palabras clave: programa de investigación, modelo del sentido co-mún, modelo VIE, comportamientos autorregulado-res, salud, enfermedad.
Anknytning är en livslång process och partnerrelationen är den vanligaste formen av anknytning i vuxenlivet. Huvudsyftet med studien var att med hjälp av enkäter undersöka om vuxen romantisk anknytning är relaterat till val av copingstrategier. Urvalet består av 68 universitetsstudenter, varav 36 kvinnor och 32 män. Resultatet visar att trygga individer söker emotionellt stöd i större utsträckning än otrygga individer som istället oftare tillämpar självdistraktion och uppgivenhet. Till skillnad från tidigare studier finns det inga samband mellan trygg anknytning och problemfokuserade copingstrategier respektive otrygg anknytning och emotionsfokuserade copingstrategier, vilket är förenligt med Cheng och Cheungs teori om flexibel coping. Resultatet visar även att deltagarna oftare använder problemfokuserade strategier än emotionsfokuserade strategier. Kvinnor använder oftare emotionellt och instrumentellt socialt stöd än män. Det finns däremot inga könsskillnader avseende anknytningsstil. Nyckelord: anknytning, copingstrategi, genus, emotions-och problemfokuserad coping Anknytning Under de senaste 15 åren har Bowlbys anknytningsteori varit utgångspunkt inom forskningen av vuxna romantiska relationer (Fraley & Shaver, 2000). Fastän anknytningsteorin ursprungligen utvecklades för att beskriva det känslomässiga bandet mellan mor (eller motsvarande omvårdare) och barn menade Bowlby att anknytning är en livslång process som därmed påverkar utvecklingen av nära relationer genom hela livet (Fraley & Shaver, 2000). Anknytningsfunktionen förändras successivt från de primära anknytningspersonerna under tidig barndom, som vanligtvis är föräldrar, till kamrater under tonåren och slutligen till kärlekspartner i vuxenlivet. I genomsnitt har 80 % av vuxna utvecklat en anknytningsrelation till en kärlekspartner medan flertalet av resterande individer har en primär anknytningsrelation till en nära vän istället (Broberg, Granqvist, Ivarsson & Mothander, 2006). Enligt Hazan och Shaver (1987) är romantisk kärlek en anknytningsprocess som på många sätt liknar anknytningen mellan barn och förälder. Vuxna känner sig, i likhet med barn, oftast tryggare när partnern är i närheten och tillgänglig. De kan i dessa fall använda partnern som en "trygg bas" för att utforska omgivningen, till exempel arbeta eller träffa vänner (Fraley & Shaver, 2000). Anknytningsbeteenden i dels relationen mellan barn och förälder och dels i vuxna kärleksrelationer omfattar att hålla, röra, smeka, kyssa, gråta och klänga. Denna intima fysiska kontakt förekommer nästan enbart i dessa två slags relationer. Bowlby upptäckte att barn som separerades från sin anknytningsperson reagerade med protest (gråt), förtvivlan (apati eller inaktivitet) och slutligen lösgörande (känslomässig omorganisering som medför att barnet kan fungera utan anknytningspersonen). Efter en längre tids separation från partnern uppvisar vuxna liknande beteenden. Studier visar att av olika stressfyllda livshändelser upplevs anknytningsrelaterade förluster, såsom avlidet barn eller partner och skilsmässa eller separation, som mest negativt (Broberg, Granqvist, Ivarsson & Mothander, 2006).
The hypotheses that explanatory style moderates current PTSD, depression and alcohol consumption in students who have experienced potentially traumatic events, such as child physical abuse, child emotional abuse, and child sexual abuse, was examined. Participants were 127 graduate students (aged 18-65 yrs) from a private university in Oregon. It was found that the experience of general traumatic events and child physical and/or sexual abuse predicated increased PTSD symptoms in males and females. Furthermore, it was found that the experience of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse significantly predicted depressive symptoms in females but not males. Additionally, it was found that generally traumatic events and or childhood abuse did not predict alcohol abuse in males or females. Lastly, it was found that explanatory style did not moderate depressive symptoms, PTSD symptoms, or alcohol abuse in males or females who had experienced potentially traumatic events, including child physical abuse and sexual abuse. Clinical implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.
The hypotheses that explanatory style moderates current PTSD, depression and alcohol consumption in students who have experienced potentially traumatic events, such as child physical abuse, child emotional abuse, and child sexual abuse, was examined. Participants were 144 clients (aged 18-61) receiving outpatient mental health services for addictions. It was found that the experience of generally traumatic events significantly predicted depressive symptoms. Clinical implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.
This article investigates whether coping with chronic pain influences adaptation to other negative life events using data on Temporomandibular Pain and Dysfunction Syndrome (TMPDS) patients (N = 99) and nonpatient controls (N = 98) . It is found that cases cope very differently with pain than with other stressful events and that cases and controls do not differ on coping with nonpain events, with 2 exceptions. Cases view nonfateful events as more outside their control and they have more negative changes in usual activities following negative events. This excess of negative change is associated with greater demoralization and physical exhaustion. It is concluded that coping with repeated pain episodes leaves cases vulnerable to stressful events. Alternative interpretations, especially those involving the role of preexisting personality differences, are discussed.
This study applied a set of factors previously identified as being linked with stress resistance to the prediction of both stable and improved psychological functioning over a 1-year interval with more than 400 community-resident adults. Stable psychological functioning under high stressors is predicted at the beginning of the year by personal and social resources that are linked to functioning through their influence on increased approach coping during the year. In contrast, improved psychological functioning under low stressors is predicted directly by initial resources. As predicted by crisis theory, improved functioning under high stressors is related to an increase in resources during the year. The findings are discussed in the context of an extension of the stress-resistance paradigm beyond illness prevention toward a general, adaptively oriented health framework.
We developed a multidimensional coping inventory to assess the different ways in which people respond to stress. Five scales (of four items each) measure conceptually distinct aspects of problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support); five scales measure aspects of what might be viewed as emotion-focused coping (seeking of emotional social support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, denial, turning to religion); and three scales measure coping responses that arguably are less useful (focus on and venting of emotions, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement). Study 1 reports the development of scale items. Study 2 reports correlations between the various coping scales and several theoretically relevant personality measures in an effort to provide preliminary information about the inventory's convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 uses the inventory to assess coping responses among a group of undergraduates who were attempting to cope with a specific stressful episode. This study also allowed an initial examination of associations between dispositional and situational coping tendencies.
This study examined personal and contextual predictors of active and avoidance coping strategies in a community sample of over 400 adults and in a sample of over 400 persons entering psychiatric treatment for unipolar depression. Sociodemographic factors of education and income (except for active-cognitive coping), personality dispositions of self-confidence and an easy-going manner, and contextual factors of negative life events and family support each made a significant incremental contribution to predicting active and avoidance coping. Among both healthy adults and patients, active and avoidance coping were positively associated with negative life events. Individuals who had more personal and environmental resources were more likely to rely on active coping and less likely to use avoidance coping. Moreover, for both groups, most of the predictors continued to show significant relations with active and avoidance coping strategies even after the stable component in coping was controlled in a longitudinal design. A comprehensive framework to understand the determinants of coping can be of practical value in suggesting points for therapeutic interventions aimed at fostering more adaptive coping efforts.
This article describes a scale measuring dispositional optimism, defined in terms of generalized outcome expectancies. Two preliminary studies assessed the scale’s psychometric properties and its relationships with several other instruments. The scale was then used in a longitudinal study of symptom reporting among a group of undergraduates. Specifically, respondents were asked to complete three questionnaires 4 weeks before the end of a semester. Included in the questionnaire battery was the measure of optimism, a measure of private self-consciousness, and a 39-item physical symptom checklist. Subjects completed the same set of questionnaires again on the last day of class. Consistent with predictions, subjects who initially reported being highly optimistic were subsequently less likely to report being bothered by symptoms (even after correcting for initial symptom-report levels) than were subjects who initially reported being less optimistic. This effect tended to be stronger among persons high in private self-consciousness than among those lower in private self-consciousness. Discussion centers on other health related applications of the optimism scale, and the relationships between our theoretical orientation and several related theories.
38 Three Mile Island (TMI) residents (mean age 33.3 yrs) were compared with 32 people (mean age 35.8 yrs) living near an undamaged nuclear power plant, 24 people (mean age 34.1 yrs) living near a traditional coal-fired power plant, and 27 people (mean age 30.9 yrs) living in an area more than 20 miles from any power plant. A number of self-report measures of psychological stress were evaluated by administering the Symptom Checklist-90 and the Beck Depression Inventory more than 1 yr after the nuclear accident. Two behavioral measures of stress were obtained: performances on a proofreading task and an embedded-figures task. Urinary catecholamine levels were assayed to examine chronic stress-related sympathetic arousal. Results indicate that Ss in the TMI area exhibited more symptoms of stress more than 1 yr after the nuclear accident than did Ss living under different circumstances. Although the intensity of these problems appears to be subclinical, the persistence of stress may be cause for some concern. (25 ref)
Studied personality as a conditioner of the effects of stressful life events on illness onset. Two groups of middle- and upper-level 40-49 yr old executives had comparably high degrees of stressful life events in the previous 3 yrs, as measured by the Schedule of Recent Events. One group of 86 Ss suffered high stress without falling ill, whereas the other group of 75 Ss reported becoming sick after their encounter with stressful life events. Illness was measured by the Seriousness of Illness Survey (A. R. Wyler et al 1970). Discriminant function analysis, run on half of the Ss in each group and cross-validated on the remaining cases, supported the prediction that high stress/low illness executives show, by comparison with high stress/high illness executives, more hardiness, that is, have a stronger commitment to self, an attitude of vigorousness toward the environment, a sense of meaningfulness, and an internal locus of control. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Examined the effectiveness of different coping styles in the face of a chronic and unique stressor—the accident at Three Mile Island and its 2-yr aftermath. Psychological, biochemical, and behavioral aspects of stress were measured in 70 Ss during a protracted stress situation and were compared to indices of coping provided by a ways of coping inventory. Because stress was chronic and the sources of stress were not easily changed, reappraisal-based emotional management appeared to be more effective in reducing psychological and behavioral consequences of stress. The use of denial or problem-oriented modes of coping under these conditions was less useful in reducing stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the functional relations among cognitive appraisal and coping processes and their short-term outcomes within stressful encounters. The authors used an intraindividual analysis of the interrelations among primary appraisal (what was at stake in the encounter), secondary appraisal (coping options), 8 forms of problem- and emotion-focused coping, and encounter outcomes in a sample of 85 married couples (females aged 35–45 yrs and males aged 26–54 yrs). Findings show that coping was strongly related to cognitive appraisal; the forms of coping that were used varied depending on what was at stake and the options for coping. Coping was also differentially related to satisfactory and unsatisfactory encounter outcomes. Findings clarify the functional relations among appraisal and coping variables and the outcomes of stressful encounters. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article explores the implications that dispositional optimism holds for physical well-being. Research is reviewed that links optimism to a number of different positive health-relevant outcomes, ranging from the development of physical symptoms to recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery. Additional findings are described which suggest that these beneficial effects are partly due to differences between optimists and pessimists in the strategies that they use to cope with stress. A number of other potential mediators are also discussed, including some that are physiologic in nature. The article closes with a discussion of the relationships between our own theoretical account of the effects of optimism and several other conceptual approaches.
Coping refers to behavior that protects people from being psychologically harmed by problematic social experience, a behavior that importantly mediates the impact that societies have on their members. The protective function of coping behavior can be exercised in 3 ways: by eliminating or modifying conditions giving rise to problems; by perceptually controlling the meaning of experience in a manner that neutralizes its problematic character; and by keeping the emotional consequences of problems within manageable bounds. The efficacy of a number of concrete coping behaviors representing these 3 functions was evaluated. Results indicate that individuals' coping interventions are most effective when dealing with problems within the close interpersonal role areas of marriage and child-rearing and least effective when dealing with the more impersonal problems found in occupation. The effective coping modes are unequally distributed in society, with men, the educated, and the affluent making greater use of the efficacious mechanisms.
We developed a multidimensional coping inventory to assess the different ways in which people respond to stress. Five scales (of four items each) measure conceptually distinct aspects of problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support); five scales measure aspects of what might be viewed as emotional-focused coping (seeking of emotional social support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, denial, turning to religion); and three scales measure coping responses that arguably are less useful (focus on and venting of emotions, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement). Study 1 reports the development of scale items. Study 2 reports correlations between the various coping scales and several theoretically relevant personality measures in an effort to provide preliminary information about the inventory's convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 uses the inventory to assess coping responses among a group of undergraduates who were attempting to cope with a specific stressful episode. This study also allowed an initial examination of associations between dispositional and situational coping tendencies.
108 undergraduates completed a stress questionnaire in class 2 days before the midterm, 5 days after the midterm and 2 days before grades were announced, and 5 days after grades were announced. Results show that for Ss as a whole, there were significant changes in emotions and coping (including the use of social support) across the 3 stages. Some Ss experienced seemingly contradictory emotions and states of mind during every stage of the encounter; Ss experienced both threat emotions and challenge emotions, reflecting ambiguity regarding the multifaceted nature of the examination and its meanings (especially during the anticipatory stage). Ss used combinations of most of the available forms of problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping at every stage. Problem-focused coping was more prominent in the anticipatory stage and distancing more prominent during the waiting stage. An analysis of selected appraisal and coping values, taking GPAs into account, explained about 48% of variance in threat and challenge emotions at the anticipatory stage. Including grade, 57% of the variance in positive emotions at outcome and 61% of negative emotions at outcome were explained. (49 ref)
In a longitudinal community survey of 291 adults, we explored the relation between coping strategies and psychological symptoms. Respondents completed the revised Ways of Coping Scale (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985) for a self-named stressful episode. Factor analysis produced eight coping factors: three problem focused, four emotion focused, and one (support mobilization) that contained elements of both. Multiple regression analyses indicated bidirectionality in the relation between coping and psychological symptoms. Those in poorer mental health and under greater stress used less adaptive coping strategies, such as escapism, but coping efforts still affected mental health independent of prior symptom levels and degree of stress. We compared main versus interactive effects models of stress buffering. Main effects were confined primarily to the emotion-focused coping scales and showed little or negative impacts of coping on mental health; interactive effects, though small, were found with the problem-focused scales. The direction of the relation between problem-focused scales and symptoms may depend in part on perceived efficacy, or how the respondent thought he or she handled the problem. Implications for the measurement of adaptive coping mechanisms and their contextual appropriateness are discussed.
Previous research has shown that dispositional optimism is a prospective predictor of successful adaptation to stressful encounters. In this research we attempted to identify possible mechanisms underlying these effects by examining how optimists differ from pessimists in the kinds of coping strategies that they use. The results of two separate studies revealed modest but reliable positive correlations between optimism and problem-focused coping, seeking of social support, and emphasizing positive aspects of the stressful situation. Pessimism was associated with denial and distancing (Study 1), with focusing on stressful feelings, and with disengagement from the goal with which the stressor was interfering (Study 2). Study 1 also found a positive association between optimism and acceptance/resignation, but only when the event was construed as uncontrollable. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for understanding the meaning of people's coping efforts in stressful circumstances.
This article describes a scale measuring dispositional optimism, defined in terms of generalized outcome expectancies. Two preliminary studies assessed the scale's psychometric properties and its relationships with several other instruments. The scale was then used in a longitudinal study of symptom reporting among a group of undergraduates. Specifically, respondents were asked to complete three questionnaires 4 weeks before the end of a semester. Included in the questionnaire battery was the measure of optimism, a measure of private self-consciousness, and a 39-item physical symptom checklist. Subjects completed the same set of questionnaires again on the last day of class. Consistent with predictions, subjects who initially reported being highly optimistic were subsequently less likely to report being bothered by symptoms (even after correcting for initial symptom-report levels) than were subjects who initially reported being less optimistic. This effect tended to be stronger among persons high in private self-consciousness than among those lower in private self-consciousness. Discussion centers on other health related applications of the optimism scale, and the relationships between our theoretical orientation and several related theories.
One way people cope with communitywide stressors that affect them is to get involved in activities such as attending meetings, writing letters, and circulating petitions. Path analysis was used to examine a number of factors believed to influence such community involvement. Residents (N = 99) of a rural community near Phoenix, Arizona, where a hazardous waste facility has been planned, were interviewed at home in August 1982. Strategies to change or alter the source of stress (problem-focused coping) were associated with greater community involvement. Strategies to regulate one's emotional response to stress (emotion-focused coping) were associated with less community involvement. Increased self-efficacy and sense of community led indirectly to increased community involvement through different modes of coping. A distinction is drawn between individual and community stressors, with an emphasis on viewing the individual in the context of the larger social environment when studying community stressors.
We used a stress and coping paradigm to guide the development of indices of coping responses and to explore the roles of stress, social resources, and coping among 424 men and women entering treatment for depression. We also used an expanded concept of multiple domains of life stress to develop several indices of ongoing life strains. Although most prior studies have focused on acute life events, we found that chronic strains were somewhat more strongly and consistently related to the severity of dysfunction. The coping indices generally showed acceptable conceptual and psychometric characteristics and only moderate relationships to respondents' sociodemographic characteristics or to the severity of the stressful event for which coping was sampled. Coping responses directed toward problem solving and affective regulation were associated with less severe dysfunction, whereas emotional-discharge responses, more frequently used by women, were linked to greater dysfunction. Stressors, social resources, and coping were additively predictive of patient's functioning, but coping and social resources did not have stress-attenuation or buffering effects.
This study uses longitudinal data to observe how life events, chronic life strains, self concepts, coping, and social supports come together to form a process of stress. It takes involuntary job disruptions as illustrating life events and shows how they adversely affect enduring role strains, economic strains in particular. These exacerbated strains, in turn, erode positive concepts of self, such as self-esteem and mastery. The diminished self-concepts then leave one especially vulnerable to experiencing symptoms of stress, of which depression is of special interest to this analysis. The interventions of coping and social supports are mainly indirect; that is, they do not act directly to buffer depression. Instead, they minimize the elevation of depression by dampening the antecedent process.
In linear regression the mean surface in sample space is a plane. In non-linear regression the mean surface may be an arbitrary curved surface but in other respects the models are similar. In practice the mean surface in most non-linear regression models will be approximately planar in the region(s) of high likelihood allowing good approximations based on linear regression techniques to be used. Non-linear regression models can still present tricky computational and inferential problems. (Indeed, the examples here exceeded the capacity of S-PLUS for Windows 3.1.)
• Used a stress and coping paradigm to guide the development of indices of coping responses and to explore the roles of stress, social resources, and coping among 424 men and women (mean age 40.7 yrs) entering treatment for depression. An expanded concept of multiple domains of life stress was used to develop several indices of ongoing life strains. A variety of measures were obtained from Ss, family members, and treatment staff. Two questionnaires completed by Ss included the Health and Daily Living Form and the Work Environment Scale. Although most prior studies have focused on acute life events, results of the present study show that chronic strains were somewhat more strongly and consistently related to the severity of dysfunction. The coping indices generally showed acceptable conceptual and psychometric characteristics and only moderate relationships to Ss' sociodemographic characteristics or to the severity of the stressful event for which coping was sampled. Coping responses directed toward problem solving and affective regulation were associated with less severe dysfunction, whereas emotional-discharge responses, more frequently used by women, were linked to greater dysfunction. Stressors, social resources, and coping were additively predictive of an S's functioning, but coping and social resources did not have stress-attenuation or buffering effects. (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
• Used a stress and coping paradigm to guide the development of indices of coping responses and to explore the roles of stress, social resources, and coping among 424 men and women (mean age 40.7 yrs) entering treatment for depression. An expanded concept of multiple domains of life stress was used to develop several indices of ongoing life strains. A variety of measures were obtained from Ss, family members, and treatment staff. Two questionnaires completed by Ss included the Health and Daily Living Form and the Work Environment Scale. Although most prior studies have focused on acute life events, results of the present study show that chronic strains were somewhat more strongly and consistently related to the severity of dysfunction. The coping indices generally showed acceptable conceptual and psychometric characteristics and only moderate relationships to Ss' sociodemographic characteristics or to the severity of the stressful event for which coping was sampled. Coping responses directed toward problem solving and affective regulation were associated with less severe dysfunction, whereas emotional-discharge responses, more frequently used by women, were linked to greater dysfunction. Stressors, social resources, and coping were additively predictive of an S's functioning, but coping and social resources did not have stress-attenuation or buffering effects. (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviews clinical studies, psychiatric admission and referral rates, community studies, and statistical studies to explore the possible relationship between the mental health of children and adults in Northern Ireland and the political violence there. Data indicate that only a very small proportion of the population in Northern Ireland has suffered mental disorder as a result of political violence. It appears that a greater proportion has suffered from mild forms of stress of relatively brief duration. The question of coping with violence and the methodological, theoretical, and ethical issues facing researchers in this area are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the functional relations among cognitive appraisal and coping processes and their short-term outcomes within stressful encounters. The authors used an intraindividual analysis of the interrelations among primary appraisal (what was at stake in the encounter), secondary appraisal (coping options), 8 forms of problem- and emotion-focused coping, and encounter outcomes in a sample of 85 married couples (females aged 35–45 yrs and males aged 26–54 yrs). Findings show that coping was strongly related to cognitive appraisal; the forms of coping that were used varied depending on what was at stake and the options for coping. Coping was also differentially related to satisfactory and unsatisfactory encounter outcomes. Findings clarify the functional relations among appraisal and coping variables and the outcomes of stressful encounters. (47 ref)
Physical symptoms are fascinating phenomena to examine. We all experience them, use them as signals to guide our behavior, and usually assume that they accurately represent underlying physiological activity. At the same time, we implicitly know that bodily sensations are often vague, ambiguous, and subject to a variety of interpretations. It is not surprising, then, that there is often a disparity between what we think is going on in our bodies and what is objectively occurring. In short, phenomena such as physical symptoms are the stuff of psychology. My own research into physical symptoms started by accident several years ago. In a hastily devised experiment dealing with the effects of noise on behavior, I had to write a post-experimental questionnaire that would be long enough to allow the experimenter time to calibrate some equipment for a later portion of the study. I included some physical symptoms on the questionnaire as fillers. The experiment was a total failure, with the exception of the symptom reports. People's perceptions of symptoms were easily influenced by our manipulations, even though their actual physiological state had not changed. And so began the present inquiry. Despite the pervasiveness, importance, and sheer amount of time and money devoted to discussing and curing common physical symptoms and sensations, very little empirical work has been devoted to examining the psychological and perceptual factors related to sensory experience. Occa sional papers have tested a specific theory, such as cognitive dissonance, wherein physical symptoms served as an interesting dependent measure."
The field of thanatology has given extensive attention to death as an outcome of illness. A more comprehensive picture, however, would also encompass the hazards of natural and technological disasters. Deaths from both natural and technological disasters continue to increase in the United States, despite intensified government efforts to reverse this trend, and despite improved understanding of the cognitive processes of people who face either long-term or impending catastrophes. Key findings are reviewed in the areas of vulnerability to natural hazards, disaster behavior and risk perception, societal concern over technological hazard, and the social-psychological effects of disasters. It is noted that findings based upon natural disasters cannot necessarily be extrapolated to technological disasters, such as the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Furthermore, data on long-term emotional recovery from natural disasters are inconsistent. Among areas requiring more extensive research is the role of the media, and the measurement of secondary consequences to disaster exposure. Improved methodologies for measuring distress over long periods of time must be developed. The disaster may never end for technological disaster victims because of the long latency period between exposure and disease manifestation.
The present research, conducted in Israel during the recent “Desert Storm” operation in the Gulf, sets out to assess the degree of anxiety and bodily symptoms of Israeli citizens, threatened by Scud missile attacks and undergoing a period of acute stress. Data were gathered via questionnaires distributed during the crisis period to over 500 respondents, most of them residing in Haifa, one of the high-risk areas for the missile attacks at the time. State anxiety was reported to be highly elevated during the crisis period, in comparison with norm group data collected during normal times. The most frequently reported bodily symptoms were changes in eating habits (loss of appetite or overeating), fatigue, and insomnia. Women reported more anxiety and bodily symptoms, on average, than men, as well as higher tension, fear and depression. The younger adults in the sample reported more anxiety and bodily symptoms, as well as tension, fear and depression, than their older counterparts. Lower levels of fear and depression were reported at the later stages of the crisis than at the earlier ones; most stress indicators evidenced lower levels with the passage of time. Finally, a strong positive relationship between anxiety and bodily symptoms was found, over and above the contribution of background variables and response tendencies. The possible explanations for the effects of background variables, as well as the strong relationship between anxiety and symptoms reported, are discussed.
In this paper we advance a heretofore underdeveloped interpretation of the commonly observed association between marital status
and depression: that married people have comparatively low depression rates because they are, for several reasons, emotionally
less damaged by stressful experiences than are nonmarried people. Most previous research has argued that marriage is associated
with low rates of depression because it shields the individual from exposure to stress. However, our analysis shows quite
clearly that more is involved. Studying a sample of role strains, we show that the emotional impact of these are less damaging
than they are for the nonmarried. Analysis reveals that several different social and intrapsychic resources are implicated
in this comparatively low emotional responsiveness.
This study explores the effect of coping resources and life events on psychological and physical symptoms in a sample of adolescents. Both main effects and a buffering hypothesis were tested. The sample was composed of 108 junior high school students who were administered the Coping Resources Inventory and a life events measure and were then followed up 16 weeks later with administration of the symptom measure. Overall, the data support previous findings that negative life events and coping resources are meaningful predictors of self-reported psychological and physical symptoms. Main effects were found for both coping resources and stressful life experiences and each contributed about the same degree of predictive validity; the interaction was not significant. Therefore, this study does not support the notion that coping resources mediate the stress-disease relationship. Overall, the data support current conceptions of coping resources as adaptive capacities that reduce the likelihood of stress induced disease, contributing independently of life stress to the prediction of health. The implications of the study for health and counselling psychology are discussed.
This study examines coping strategies and short-term adjustment in survivors of a tornado. Forty-two subjects were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule/Disaster Supplement (DIS/DS) within 1 month of the event. Rates of psychiatric disorder in survivors were low, and even rates of symptoms were not especially high. Subjects turned to family and friends for support as their most frequent coping method. While many utilized active coping techniques such as talking and reading about it, others dealt with their experience by avoidance, trying not to think about the tornado. Many also reported that religious and philosophical perspectives helped them. Few required medication to relieve their upset, and none depended on alcohol.
Personality was studied as a conditioner of the effects of stressful life events on illness onset. Two groups of middle and upper level executives had comparably high degrees of stressful life events in the previous 3 years, as measured by the Holmes and Rahe Schedule of Recent Life Events. One group (n = 86) suffered high stress without falling ill, whereas the other (n = 75) reported becoming sick after their encounter with stressful life events. Illness was measured by the Wyler, Masuda, and Holmes Seriousness of Illness Survey. Discriminant function analysis, run on half of the subjects in each group and cross-validated on the remaining cases, supported the prediction that high stress/low illness executives show, by comparison with high stress/high illness executives, more hardiness, that is, have a stronger commitment to self, an attitude of vigorousness toward the environment, a sense of meaningfulness, and an internal locus of control.
It is important to examine the possibility that relationships between commonly studied status indicators and psychological distress indicators are due, in part or wholly, to differences in the impacts of comparable stressor events and situations on people in different status categories. This paper describes and illustrates a strategy for doing this and argues that the systematic existence of impact differentials helps explain the commonly observed relationships between certain social statuses and psychological distress.
This article investigates whether coping with chronic pain influences adaptation to other negative life events using data on Temporomandibular Pain and Dysfunction Syndrome (TMPDS) patients (N = 99) and nonpatient controls (N = 98). It is found that cases cope very differently with pain than with other stressful events and that cases and controls do not differ on coping with nonpain events, with 2 exceptions. Cases view nonfateful events as more outside their control and they have more negative changes in usual activities following negative events. This excess of negative change is associated with greater demoralization and physical exhaustion. It is concluded that coping with repeated pain episodes leaves cases vulnerable to stressful events. Alternative interpretations, especially those involving the role of preexisting personality differences, are discussed.
This study applied a set of factors previously identified as being linked with stress resistance to the prediction of both stable and improved psychological functioning over a 1-year interval with more than 400 community-resident adults. Stable psychological functioning under high stressors is predicted at the beginning of the year by personal and social resources that are linked to functioning through their influence on increased approach coping during the year. In contrast, improved psychological functioning under low stressors is predicted directly by initial resources. As predicted by crisis theory, improved functioning under high stressors is related to an increase in resources during the year. The findings are discussed in the context of an extension of the stress-resistance paradigm beyond illness prevention toward a general, adaptively oriented health framework.
This study examined personal and contextual predictors of active and avoidance coping strategies in a community sample of over 400 adults and in a sample of over 400 persons entering psychiatric treatment for unipolar depression. Sociodemographic factors of education and income (except for active-cognitive coping), personality dispositions of self-confidence and an easy-going manner, and contextual factors of negative life events and family support each made a significant incremental contribution to predicting active and avoidance coping. Among both healthy adults and patients, active and avoidance coping were positively associated with negative life events. Individuals who had more personal and environmental resources were more likely to rely on active coping and less likely to use avoidance coping. Moreover, for both groups, most of the predictors continued to show significant relations with active and avoidance coping strategies even after the stable component in coping was controlled in a longitudinal design. A comprehensive framework to understand the determinants of coping can be of practical value in suggesting points for therapeutic interventions aimed at fostering more adaptive coping efforts.
Following the 1980 Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption, psychiatric reactions were studied in the disaster area and in a control community. Using the new criterion-based diagnostic method for psychiatric epidemiologic research, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, the authors found a significant prevalence of disaster-related psychiatric disorders. These Mount St. Helens disorders included depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress reaction. There was a progressive "dose-response" relationship in the comparison of control, low-exposure, and high-exposure groups. The dose-response pattern occurred among both the bereaved and the property-loss victims.
The author provides data regarding psychiatric symptoms reported by 102 persons who had experienced the collapse of two skywalks in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. Those interviewed were injured victims, guests of the hotel who were not injured, and rescue workers. They were interviewed within 5 months of the disaster. Virtually all of the subjects had psychiatric symptoms; only slight differences were found among those who were victims, observers, or rescuers.
38 Three Mile Island (TMI) residents (mean age 33.3 yrs) were compared with 32 people (mean age 35.8 yrs) living near an undamaged nuclear power plant, 24 people (mean age 34.1 yrs) living near a traditional coal-fired power plant, and 27 people (mean age 30.9 yrs) living in an area more than 20 miles from any power plant. A number of self-report measures of psychological stress were evaluated by administering the Symptom Checklist-90 and the Beck Depression Inventory more than 1 yr after the nuclear accident. Two behavioral measures of stress were obtained: performances on a proofreading task and an embedded-figures task. Urinary catecholamine levels were assayed to examine chronic stress-related sympathetic arousal. Results indicate that Ss in the TMI area exhibited more symptoms of stress more than 1 yr after the nuclear accident than did Ss living under different circumstances. Although the intensity of these problems appears to be subclinical, the persistence of stress may be cause for some concern. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In the last ten years, there has been considerable interest in the moderating influence of coping resources on the effects of stress; research has focused mainly on environmental coping resources, such as social support. This paper explores possible interactions between stressors, both acute and chronic, and personal coping resources; interactions are estimated separately for schizophrenic, depression and anxiety symptom clusters. Personal coping resources are conceived of in terms of individual dispositions that may have consequences for either the amount of typical coping effort expended or coping ability. Two related dispositional characteristics are considered: fatalism and inflexibility. Both low fatalism and low inflexibility are found to have a strong moderating influence on the impact of stress, but, perhaps more important, these effects depend both on the type of stress and the symptom outcome considered. These findings are interpreted in terms of a general contingency theory for the role of social factors in explaining psychiatric disorder, emphasizing the differences between the types of symptoms involved.
This study analyzes the ways 100 community-residing men and women aged 45 to 64 coped with the stressful events of daily living during one year. Lazarus's cognitive-phenomenological analysis of psychological stress provides the theoretical framework. Information about recently experienced stressful encounters was elicited through monthly interviews and self-report questionnaires completed between interviews. At the end of each interview and questionnaire, the participant indicated on a 68-item Ways of Coping checklist those coping thoughts and actions used in the specific encounter. A mean of 13.3 episodes was reported by each participant. Two functions of coping, problem-focused and emotion-focused, are analyzed with separate measures. Both problem- and emotion-focused coping were used in 98% of the 1,332 episodes, emphasizing that coping conceptualized in either defensive or problem-solving terms is incomplete- both functions are usually involved. Intraindividual analyses show that people are more variable than consistent in their coping patterns. The context of an event, who is involved, how it is appraised, age, and gender are examined as potential influences on coping. Context and how the event is appraised are the most potent factors. Work contexts favor problem-focused coping, and health contexts favor emotion-focused coping. Situations in which the person thinks something constructive can be done or that are appraised as requiring more information favor problem-focused coping, whereas those having to be accepted favor emotion-focused coping. There are no effects associated with age, and gender differences emerge only in problem-focused coping: Men use more problem-focused coping than women at work and in situations having to be accepted and requiring more information. Contrary to the cultural stereotype, there are no gender differences in emotion-focused coping.
Does coping fiefp? A reexamination of tfie refation between coping and mentaf fieafth
- C Afdwin
- T A Revenson
Afdwin, C, & Revenson, T. A. (1987). Does coping fiefp? A reexamination of tfie refation between coping and mentaf fieafth. Journal qf Personality and Social Psy-chology, S3, 337-348.