Avoidance Coping Responses Research Articles

Coping Responses to the Stress of Using News Platforms’ Recommendation Algorithms

Drawing on the stressor–strain–outcome (SSO) framework, this study examined how information-related stressors (perceived information overload, information quality deterioration, and information narrowing) and privacy-related stressor (perceived privacy risk) in using news platforms’ recommendation algorithms trigger users’ psychological reactance, which leads to their active coping, expressive coping, or avoidance coping with their stress in using such recommendation algorithms. Using a sample of 352 valid research responses, this study found that users’ psychological reactance is positively influenced by perceived information quality deterioration, followed by perceived information overload and perceived privacy risk. Meanwhile, perceived information narrowing has no significant impact on psychological reactance. In turn, psychological reactance exerts a stronger impact on expressive coping and avoidance coping responses than on active coping response. This study enriches the literature on the stress in algorithm usage at the individual level and provides practical insights for the providers of news platforms which have applied recommendation algorithms.

THE TURKISH VERSION OF THE COPING RESPONSES INVENTORY ADULT FORM (CRI-A) AND TESTING ITS PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES

Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping highlights the significance of community- individual interaction in coping. Accordingly, CRI-A, as developed by Moos involves four sub-dimensions for each of approach and avoidance coping responses. The aim of this research to evaluate the psychometric properties of CRI-A. Data were collected from a total of 400 university students whose ages vary between 17- 48. Of the 250 participants, the validity of the Inventory has been tested through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and correlations with Stress Coping Styles (SCSI), Locus of Control (LCI), and Eysenck Personality (EPI) Inventories. With the remaining 150 students, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been conducted. The results indicate that alpha coefficients of approach and avoidance subtests of CRI-A range between .60-.70, and .53-.68, respectively. CRI-A and most SCSI subtests, CRI-A’s avoidance and LCI scores, and CRI-A and EPI scores yielded significant correlations. The CFA showed good fit indices for the factor structure extracted from EFA. The findings provide acceptable evidence for the validity and reliability of CRI-A.

A Question Prompt List for Advanced Cancer Patients Promoting Advance Care Planning: A French Randomized Trial

ContextAdvance care planning is essential to enable informed medical decisions to be made and to reduce aggressiveness in end-of-life (EOL) care. ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore whether a question prompt list (QPL) adapted to French language and culture could promote discussions, particularly on prognosis and EOL issues, among advanced cancer patients attending outpatient palliative care (PC) consultations. MethodsIn this multicenter randomized study, patients assigned to the intervention arm received a QPL to help them prepare for the next consultation one month later. The main inclusion criteria were advanced cancer patients referred to the PC team with an estimated life expectancy of less than one year. The primary endpoint was the number of questions raised, globally and by topic. The secondary objectives were the impact of the QPL on psychological symptoms, quality of life, satisfaction with care, and coping styles at two months. ResultsPatients (n = 71) in the QPL arm asked more questions (mean 21.8 vs. 18.2, P = 0.03) than patients in the control arm (n = 71), particularly on PC (5.6 vs. 3.7, P = 0.012) and EOL issues (2.2 vs. 1, P = 0.018) but not on prognosis (4.3 vs. 3.6, not specified). At two months, there was no change in anxiety, depression, or quality of life in either arm; patient satisfaction with doctors' technical skills was scored higher (P = 0.024), and avoidance coping responses were less frequent (self-distraction, P = 0.015; behavioral disengagement, P = 0.025) in the QPL arm. ConclusionQuestions on PC and EOL issues in outpatient PC consultations were more frequent, and patient satisfaction was better when a QPL was made available before the consultation.

Associations Between Approach and Avoidance Coping, Psychological Distress, and Disordered Eating Among Candidates for Bariatric Surgery

Individuals seeking bariatric surgery evidence risk for binge and disordered eating behaviors, which can lead to poorer post-surgical weight loss outcomes. Use of avoidant coping strategies to manage stress, along with symptoms of depression, are associated with disordered eating in the general population. However, the role of coping has not been examined among candidates for bariatric surgery, and coping and depression have rarely been considered in combination. Given the emerging standard that psychologists are involved in evaluations and treatment before and after surgery, consideration of these variables is clinically relevant. Participants were 399 patients undergoing pre-surgical bariatric psychological assessment. Hierarchical linear regression analyses tested whether gender, age, and BMI; approach and avoidance coping; and depression and anxiety were associated with disordered eating (binge eating, restraint, eating concerns, shape concerns, weight concerns) in a cross-sectional study design. In initial steps of the model controlling demographic variables, approach coping predicted less and avoidance coping predicted more disordered eating across most outcomes examined. In models including depression and anxiety, avoidance (but not approach) coping remained a relevant predictor. The effects of depression were also quite robust, such that participants who were more depressed reported more disordered eating. More anxious participants reported more restrained eating. Avoidance coping and depressive symptoms emerged as key variables in understanding recent disordered eating among patients considering bariatric surgery. Pre-surgical psychological evaluations and treatment approaches could be enhanced with consideration of patient coping strategies, particularly avoidant coping responses to stress, independent of psychological distress.

Newsfeed native advertising on Facebook: young millennials’ knowledge, pet peeves, reactance and ad avoidance

This study explores how young millennials understand and respond to newsfeed native advertising on Facebook, rooting our focus on its covert nature of the ad format. Drawing insight from two persuasion-related theories, we conducted focus group interviews and in-depth interviews with Facebook users aged 19–29. The study revealed three major themes regarding their interactions with newsfeed ads: persuasion knowledge, positive and negative experiences and avoidant coping responses. Participants showed a high level of persuasion knowledge of how Facebook newsfeed ads work and ambivalent attitudes toward newsfeed native ads. Despite some benefits, newsfeed native ads presented strong negative responses, which were often accompanied by reactance and ad avoidance. Multiple themes regarding negative experiences emerged: ad intrusiveness, ad clutter, a lack of relevance, too personal, privacy concern, goal impediment and covertness. Participants also voiced less autonomy in controlling their exposure to newsfeed ads. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and a model for future research is provided.

Les processus de coping et leur association avec l’auto-efficacité perçue chez des enseignants de suisse romande : résultats d’une étude préliminaire

Within the Swiss context of the present study, important on-going school reforms lead to new challenges and constraints for teachers. Thus, it is legitimate to question how teachers can deal with the difficulties inherent to their profession. The aim of the study was to explore the coping responses of 86 teachers (women=70; men=16; mean age=38.9±12.0), and to assess the possible relationships between those responses and teaching self-efficacy. Self-report questionnaires were administered between June 2016 and February 2017, with a return rate of 37.5%. Participants completed two questionnaires: the Ways of Coping Checklist (WCC) assessing five coping responses (solving problem, social support approbation, avoidance, positive reevaluation and self-blamed), and the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) measuring three dimensions of teachers’ self-efficacy (for classroom management, instructional strategies and student engagement). The most frequent coping responses were social support approbation and solving problem. Positive reevaluation seemed to be used as an intermediate coping response for both women and men. Women were more likely to seek social support than men in order to deal with difficulties, whereas men did not report the use of specific process. Participants reported high levels of teaching self-efficacy, without significant difference between women and men. Moreover, teachers with high level of self-efficacy for classroom management and instructional strategies were less likely to use self-blamed and avoidance coping responses. Teachers with high level of self-efficacy for student engagement were also less likely to use self-blamed coping responses. Partial correlations with sex, age and years of experience as control variables were performed, and no variation was found. The findings of the present study demonstrate that social support approbation and solving problem are coping responses commonly used in our sample of teachers. The high levels of teaching self-efficacy and the lack of significant correlation between this variable, social support approbation and solving problem coping responses question us about the protective role of self-efficacy. It could be considered as a coping response, helping to appropriately overcome the difficulties linked to the teaching profession. Due to the important school reforms in Switzerland, pre-service teachers need resources and tools to deal with these new challenges. Further studies are necessary in order to better understand relationships between coping responses and teaching self-efficacy, and their potential protective or damaging effects.

The role of beliefs and trait aggression in prison bullying among young offenders

This study aimed to explore the characteristics of those involved in bullying, including trait aggression, beliefs, interpretation of potential threat and responses to aggression. Three hundred and thirteen young adult male offenders completed three measures; the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist, the Aggression Questionnaire, and the Threat Appraisal of Behaviour measure. Pure bullies and bully-victims were predicted to have higher trait aggression scores, and to be more likely to endorse beliefs supportive of aggression than other groups. Bully-victims were predicted to have higher levels of trait hostility and higher levels of fear than pure bullies. The results demonstrated that both bully groups had higher trait aggression scores, with bully-victims having higher scores on the hostility subscale than pure bullies or those not involved. Bully-victims viewed bullying as more of a threat and were more fearful of it than pure bullies and they were also more likely to endorse both aggressive and avoidant coping responses whereas pure bullies were more likely to endorse aggressive responding. Findings highlight differences between the two bully groups and offers an outline of the underpinning causes of bullying for each group.

“What kept me going”: A qualitative study of avoidant responses to war-related adversity and perpetration of violence by former forcibly recruited children and youth in the Acholi region of northern Uganda

This qualitative study investigates what, according to 36 former forcibly recruited women and men, enabled them to “keep on going” during and after their forced recruitment in the twenty-year-long civil war in northern Uganda. Furthermore, the study conveys the ways most of the former forcibly recruited kept on going and today cope with ongoing war-related adversity and difficult reintegration processes without relying on psycho-social intervention. Thirty-five of the 36 women and men were forcibly recruited when they were children by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) from the Acholi region of northern Uganda. Over the course of five visits to the Acholi region from 2012 to 2016, 10 months of ethnographic fieldwork was carried out involving interviews and participant observation. The 36 Acholi women and men shared how they experienced and responded to suffering from brutal torture and being forced to perpetrate often lethal violence against fellow Acholi who had tried to escape the LRA. The article provides an overview of the responses to this war-related adversity and the results document how avoidant coping is the preferred and most common coping response among the 36 former forcibly recruited women and men in this study. We take an interdisciplinary approach to discussing how these avoidant coping responses resonate with psycho-traumatology research on responses to war-related trauma and with conceptualizations of resilience. We end with the argument that avoidant responses to war-related adversity, when faced in clinical and diagnostic settings, should not be understood exclusively from a biomedical perspective: Responses to war-related adversity must be carefully investigated in collaboration with the human beings who have experienced the war-related adversity and based on integrative and emic approaches that consider the locally situated notions of how to cope with adversity and “keep on going” in their own right.

Internet Addiction, Psychological Distress, and Coping Responses Among Adolescents and Adults.

As Internet use grows, so do the benefits and also the risks. Thus, it is important to identify when individuals' Internet use is problematic. In the present study, 449 participants aged from 16 to 71 years of age were sourced from a wide range of English-speaking Internet forums, including social media and self-help groups. Of these, 68.9% were classified as nonproblematic users, 24.4% as problematic users, and 6.7% as addictive Internet users. High use of discussion forums, high rumination levels, and low levels of self-care were the main contributing factors to Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents. For adults IA was mainly predicted through engagement in online video gaming and sexual activity, low email use, as well as high anxiety and high avoidant coping. Problematic Internet users scored higher on emotion and avoidance coping responses in adults and higher on rumination and lower on self-care in adolescents. Avoidance coping responses mediated the relationship between psychological distress and IA. These findings may assist clinicians with designing interventions to target different factors associated with IA.

The two roads of passionate goal pursuit: links with appraisal, coping, and academic achievement

Background and Objectives: In this research, we tested the role of cognitive appraisals in explaining why harmonious and obsessive passion dimensions are related to distinct forms of coping and explored if performance was impacted by these appraisal and coping processes. Design: Undergraduate students (N = 489) participated in a longitudinal study and completed three surveys throughout the course of an academic year. Methods: Participants completed assessments of both passion dimensions (Time 1), reported how they were appraising and coping with the mid-year examination period (Time 2), and provided consent to obtain their final grade in Introductory Psychology (Time 3). The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results: Harmonious and obsessive passion dimensions were linked with approach and avoidant coping responses, respectively. Cognitive appraisals, particularly appraisals of challenge and uncontrollability, played an indirect role in these relationships. In addition, both appraisals and coping responses had an indirect effect in the relationship between passion dimensions and final grade. Conclusions: These results identify cognitive appraisal as a reason why passion dimensions are linked with distinct coping tendencies and demonstrate the role of appraisal and coping processes in the journey to passionate goal attainment.

A Comparison of Type-A and Type-B Learners in the Perception of Stress Level and Use of Coping Responses in the Campus

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differential approach and avoidance coping responses between Type-A and Type-B personality students when confronted with a stressful situation in the campus. Participants were Iranian undergraduate students who were divided into Type-A and Type-B groups of 75 students per group according to scores on the Type-A Behavior Inventory (TABI). The results for the ANOVA indicated a significant main effect for coping responses, a significant interaction type A/B behavior and coping responses, but the main effect for type A/B behavior not significant. A significant simple effect for Type A/B in avoidance coping responses was found. These results also showed approach coping responses were a better predictor than avoidance coping responses when predicting perceived stress of the students. The results of this study indicated Type-A's students who use avoidance coping responses perceive higher level of stress than others so, it is important that university teachers should be sensitive to the needs of diversity learners.

Predicción de conducta autodestructiva en adolescentes mediante tipologías de afrontamiento

Self-destructive behavior is a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly prevalent among adolescents. The main objective of this study is to establish in Spanish communitarian adolescents the association between self-destructive behavior and coping typologies, detecting higher risk profiles. A previous and additional objective is to determine the presence of self-destructive behavior in a subclinical/clinical range according to gender. From a sample of 1400 high school students between 12 and 16 years the results of this cross-sectional study indicate that 15% of adolescents reports self-destructive behavior in a subclinical or clinical level. No gender differences were observed. The adolescents with higher risk of self-destructive behavior are those belonging to the avoidance typology, characterized by the overuse of avoidance coping responses at the expense of those of approach. Coping typologies are more useful in predicting the risk of self-destructive behavior than the typical approach/avoidance dichotomy. The results of this study may have important implications for the prevention and treatment of self-destructive behaviors in adolescents at risk.

An exploratory study of socio-emotional experience and coping in mothers of cleft lip and palate children

The aim of the present study was to understand the emotional and social experience of mothers of children with a congenital cleft lip and palate condition including an assessment the coping responses employed in dealing with the stressful condition. The research was designed primarily in the qualitative mode because it caters to a subjective experiential realm of the mothers. The participants were 14 housewife mothers with their affected child in the age range of 0 to 5 years residing in Delhi and its outskirts through purposive sampling. The measures included an Interview Schedule designed specifically for the study and Coping Responses Inventory Adult Form. The interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. The results show that most mothers experienced disbelief and denial with gradual acceptance of child as destiny but associated with physical and financial stresses. Presence of good social support resulted in attributing the cause to external factors and improved the quality of life. But the gender constructions produced differential anticipated consequences for a cleft affected girl compared to a boy. Avoidance coping responses were observed to be observed primarily. The study has mental health implications. Interventions need to be developed to help parents deal with the impact the social stigmatization and physical concerns of the cleft lip and palate condition.

Ambivalent versus problematic social ties: Implications for psychological health, functional health, and interpersonal coping.

Older adults often seek to manage their social networks to foster positive interactions, but they nonetheless sometimes experience negative interactions that detract from their health and well-being. Negative interactions may occur with ambivalent social partners (i.e., partners involved in both positive and negative exchanges) or exclusively problematic social partners (i.e., partners involved in negative exchanges only), but conflicting views exist in the literature regarding which type of social partner is likely to be more detrimental to older adults' physical and emotional health. This study examined the implications of the two kinds of network members for physical and psychological health and interpersonal coping responses in a representative sample of 916 older adults. Analyses revealed that ambivalent social ties were more strongly related to functional health limitations than were exclusively problematic social ties, whereas problematic ties were more consistently related to psychological health than were ambivalent ties. Furthermore, negative exchanges that occurred with exclusively problematic social ties, compared to those that occurred with ambivalent social ties, were associated with more avoidant and fewer conciliatory coping responses, stronger and longer-lasting negative emotions, and lower perceived coping effectiveness. Within this elderly sample, older age was associated with having fewer ambivalent and exclusively problematic kin ties. A comprehensive understanding of the significance of social network ties in older adults' lives may benefit not only from attention to sources of social support but also from efforts to distinguish between different sources of conflict and disappointment.

Avoidant coping and treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study investigated the impact of avoidant coping on treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Adult women with rape-related PTSD (N = 62) received 9 sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The mean age for the sample was 34.7 years, and race or ethnicity was reported as 67.7% Caucasian, 25.8% African American, 3.2% Latina, and 3.2% other. PTSD was assessed with the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self-Report (Foa, Riggs, Dancu, & Rothbaum, 1993), and avoidant coping was assessed using the Coping Strategies Inventory-Disengagement subscale (CSI-D; Tobin, Holroyd, Reynolds, & Wigal, 1989). Pretreatment avoidant coping was negatively associated with posttreatment PTSD symptom severity even when controlling for initial severity of total PTSD symptoms and when removing PTSD avoidance symptoms from the analysis to account for potential overlap between avoidant coping and PTSD avoidance symptoms: ΔR2 = .08, b* = -0.31, 95% CI [-0.17, -0.01], t(60) = -2.27, p = .028. The CSI-D pretreatment mean score of 100 predicted a 96% likelihood of experiencing clinically significant change (CSC) during treatment. A CSI-D pretreatment score of 61 was associated with a 40% likelihood of experiencing CSC. PE and EMDR appear to be beneficial for women who frequently engage in avoidant coping responses following rape. A small subset of women with initially low levels of avoidant coping are unlikely to experience a therapeutic response from PE or EMDR.

Human avoidance and approach learning: Evidence for overlapping neural systems and experiential avoidance modulation of avoidance neurocircuitry

Adaptive functioning is thought to reflect a balance between approach and avoidance neural systems with imbalances often producing pathological forms of avoidance. Yet little evidence is available in healthy adults demonstrating a balance between approach and avoidance neural systems and modulation in avoidance neurocircuitry by vulnerability factors for avoidance. Consequently, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare changes in brain activation associated with human avoidance and approach learning and modulation of avoidance neurocircuitry by experiential avoidance. fMRI tracked trial-by-trial increases in activation while adults learned through trial and error an avoidance response that prevented money loss and an approach response that produced money gain. Avoidance and approach cues elicited similar experience-dependent increases in activation in a fronto–limbic–striatal network. Positive and negative reinforcing outcomes (i.e., money gain and avoidance of loss) also elicited similar increases in activation in frontal and striatal regions. Finally, increased experiential avoidance and self-punishment coping was associated with decreased activation in medial/superior frontal regions, anterior cingulate, amygdala and hippocampus. These findings suggest avoidance and approach learning recruit a similar fronto–limbic–striatal network in healthy adults. Increased experiential avoidance also appears to be associated with reduced frontal and limbic reactivity in avoidance, establishing an important link between maladaptive avoidance coping and altered responses in avoidance neurocircuitry.

Behavioral Escape Avoidance Coping in African-American Men Who Have Sex with Men

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate differences between African-American men who have sex with men (MSM) who use behavioral escape avoidance coping responses and those who do not. In particular, we investigated differences in the African-American MSM in our study on psychosocial factors such as internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept; and we investigated the association of these factors on the likelihood of the use of behavioral escape avoidance coping responses. Eighty-three African-American MSM completed our online assessment tool. Chi-square tests and modified Poisson regression were used to test our hypotheses. Our results revealed significant differences in the internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and in the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept for the men in this study who endorsed behavioral escape avoidance coping responses compared to those who did not endorse behavioral escape avoidance coping responses.

Coping responses by adults who stutter: Part II. Approaching the problem and achieving agency

As with the first of two companion manuscripts, this investigation employed a grounded theory approach to identify patterns of coping responses by adults responding to the stress resulting from the threat of stuttering. The companion paper described emotion-based avoidant coping responses that were used to protect both the speaker and the listener from experiencing discomfort associated with stuttering. This paper describes two cognitive-based approach patterns that emphasize self-focused and problem-focused forms of coping. The first of the cognitive-based coping patterns involved speakers approaching stuttering with a broader perspective about themselves and the experience of stuttering, resulting in an improved self-concept and increased self-confidence. The second coping pattern involved speakers focusing on their own goals which results in increased agency and self-confidence. Participants described the development of more functional coping responses. They moved from emotion-based avoidant patterns of coping that focused on protecting the self and the listener from experiencing discomfort associated with stuttering to cognitive-based approach patterns that focused on the needs of the speaker. As the participants chose to approach rather than avoid or escape stuttering, they experienced many positive social, physical, cognitive, and affective results. Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) describe, from the perspective of a select group of adults who stutter, the themes associated with the process of coping with stuttering, (2) describe the basic rationale for the procedures associated with grounded theory methods, (3) describe the factors that influence coping choices, and (4) explain the factors that contribute the use of approach-oriented and agentic coping strategies.

Having a Cyberball: Using a ball-throwing game as an experimental social stressor to examine the relationship between neuroticism and coping

Research examining the relationship between neuroticism and coping has been limited by reliance on dispositional and retrospective methodologies. The current experiments evaluated the utility of a ball-throwing game used in ostracism research, as an experimental stressor with which to examine neuroticism-related differences in coping. Experiment 1 revealed that being excluded during Cyberball is associated with lowered mood and self-esteem, even when widely-used measures are employed. Being ostracised also evoked an emotion-focused coping response. Experiment 2 increased the sensitivity of response-scales and introduced an ambiguous Cyberball condition. When exclusion was ambiguous, high-neuroticism participants perceived themselves as having less control during the game. Being excluded evoked emotion-focused and avoidance coping responses. Consistent with previous research high-neuroticism participants engaged in more emotion-focused coping. Future research should consider the utility of ambiguous conditions in examining experimental manipulations, as well as individual differences in sensitivity to social ostracism.

Coping with Stressful Events: Influence of Parental Alcoholism and Race in a Community Sample of Women

The study explores the role of race and differences in coping among 290 white women and black women with and without alcoholic parents, addressing two questions: (1) Does coping vary by parental alcoholism or race? and (2) How is coping in adulthood affected by childhood stressors and resources and by adulthood resources? Standardized self-administered questionnaires (Coping Responses Inventory and the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test) measuring approach and avoidant coping methods were used. Collateral information was obtained from siblings who completed questionnaires focused on parental drinking, parental psychiatric history, and key childhood events. Women with alcoholic parents and black women more often reported avoidant coping. Women with negative childhood family environments and a lack of adolescent social support more often reported avoidant coping responses. Self-esteem was associated with a higher score on active cognitive coping and a lower score on avoidant coping. Findings of greater use of avoidant coping by women with alcoholic parents contrast with other studies showing no differences in coping, or very small group differences. The fact that all women in this sample lived with two parents in childhood may be one explanation.