Avoidance-oriented Strategies Research Articles

Coping with breast cancer during medical and occupational rehabilitation: a qualitative study of strategies and contextual factors

PurposeThis study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the coping processes of breast cancer survivors (BCSs) during medical and occupational rehabilitation after acute treatment.MethodsThis study is part of the mixed-methods Breast Cancer Patients’ Return to Work study conducted in Germany. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 26 female BCSs 5–6 years after their diagnosis. A qualitative content analysis was conducted to investigate the coping strategies and contextual factors of coping of BCSs.ResultsThe participants used different strategies for coping with their breast cancer, namely, approach- versus avoidance-oriented coping and emotion- versus problem-focused coping. During the medical rehabilitation process, coping behavior was used mainly to address disease management and its consequences. During the occupational rehabilitation process, most coping strategies were used to overcome discrepancies between the patient’s current work capacity and the job requirements. The contextual factors of coping were in the health, healthcare, work-related, and personal domains.ConclusionThe study findings provide in-depth insights into the coping processes for BCSs during the rehabilitation phase and highlight the importance of survivorship care after acute cancer treatment.Implications for Cancer survivorsThe results indicate that BCSs employ approach- and avoidance-oriented strategies to cope with their cancer during rehabilitation. As both attempts are helpful in the short term to cope with physical and emotional consequences of the cancer, healthcare and psychosocial personnel should respect the coping strategies of BCSs while also being aware of the potential long-term negative impact of avoidance-oriented coping on the rehabilitation process.

Comparison of the Effect of 2 Virtual Education Methods: Family-based Versus Peer-Support on Perceived Stress and Stress Coping in Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Stress is an overwhelming feeling in patients with breast cancer (BC). However, The effect of virtual education has not been fully regulated. Hence, this study intends to compare the impact of 2 virtual education methods on perceived stress and stress coping in women with BC. A 3-armed randomized clinical trial was conducted among 315 women with BC who were referred to the Cancer Institute in Tehran. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (a) Family-based, receiving family-based training package; (b) peer-support, receiving peer-support educational package; and (c) control, receiving routine hospital care. Data were collected through demographic and disease characteristics, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-21) questionnaires before and 3 months after the intervention. The effect of the group factor after controlling the before-intervention scores in perceived stress, problem-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented strategies were P < 0.0001, P = 0.015, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.111, respectively. Also, the effect of the confounding factor of BC disease stage in the dependent variables was P = 0.527, P = 0.275, P = 0.358, and P = 0.609, respectively. The effect size test showed that before the intervention, the mean scores of perceived stress, problem-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented strategies were 32.00 ± 7.03, 19.36 ± 4.68, 25.10 ± 5.90, and 17.65 ± 6.64 respectively, but after the intervention showed a decrease in mean scores of perceived stress, emotion-oriented, and avoidance strategies. What is vibrant in virtual family-based education is far more effective than peer support when problem-oriented coping increases. Conversely, reducing perceived stress in women with BC receiving enough information and family support should be considered.

The Coping Strategies of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

This study investigates the prevalence of coping strategies (CSs) among women with intimate partner violence (IPV) experience in Jordan and the relationships between types of IPV, demographic factors, and CSs (problem-focused strategies [PFS], emotion-focused strategies [EFS], and avoidance-oriented strategies [AOS]) that they use. It also explores the predicting factors affecting the types of CSs applied. Eighty-nine Jordanian and Syrian women who experienced abuse were involved in the study. The data were collected using the revised version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus et al., 1996) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations: Situation-Specific Scale (Endler &amp; Parker, 1990). The results indicated a moderate use of PFS and EFS and mid-to-high use of AOS. The psychological aggression and physical violence, injuries, help-seeking, education level, children, and marriage duration were significantly related to the use of all three strategies. Employment status, age, legal residency, and negotiation skills had no significant relationships with the used CSs. The regression results indicated that children, psychological aggression, and asking for help predicted 49% and 41% of the covariance of using PFS and EFS, respectively, while the number of children, physical violence, and injuries predicted 81% of the covariance of using AOS. The study suggested the importance of supportive social services for women with IPV experiences. The clinical practice implications for helping women who experience IPV and future research were discussed.

Stress coping strategies of Iranian healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed healthcare staff to mental distress. Given the importance of applying effective strategies to cope with stress caused by COVID-19, this study aimed to assess the stress-coping strategies of Iranian healthcare providers. This cross-sectional study was performed through a web-based survey. Data collection was done online using a demographic data questionnaire and the short form of Endler and Parker’s coping inventory. The mean scores of task-oriented strategies (27.06 ± 5.13) were higher than avoidance-oriented (19.42 ± 5.77) and emotion-oriented strategies (18.45 ± 5.76), and the healthcare workers mainly used task-oriented styles to cope with COVID-19-related stress. There was a significant difference between the score of task-oriented strategy in terms of age groups (P < 0.001), work experience (P = 0.018), level of education (P < 0.001), having children (P = 0.002), and type of hospital (P = 0.028). The score of task-oriented strategies was lower in employees who were in the age group of 20–30 years and had less than 10 years of work experience, and it was higher in employees who had children, worked in private hospitals, and had a master's degree or higher. The score of emotion-oriented strategies in the age group of 51–60 years was significantly lower than other age groups (P < 0.01) and was significantly higher in employees with a bachelor's degree than those with a master's degree or higher (P = 0.017). There was no significant difference between the scores of avoidance-oriented strategies and any socio-demographic variables. According to the findings of this study, young and less experienced employees were more inclined to utilize emotion-oriented coping styles. Therefore, considering appropriate training programs for these employees to apply effective coping strategies is extremely important.

State and Trait Emotion Regulation Diversity in Social Anxiety.

Emotion regulation (ER) diversity, defined as the variety, frequency, and evenness of ER strategies used, may predict social anxiety (SA) severity. In a sample of individuals with high (n=113) or low (n=42) SA severity, we tested whether four trait ER diversity metrics predicted group membership. We generalized existing trait ER diversity calculations to repeated-measures data to test if state-level metrics (using two weeks of EMA data) predicted SA severity within the higher severity group. As hypothesized (osf.io/xadyp), higher trait ER diversity within avoidance-oriented strategies predicted greater likelihood of belonging to the higher severity group. At the state-level, higher diversity across all ER strategies, and within and between avoidance- and approach-oriented strategies, predicted higher SA severity (but only after controlling for number of submitted EMAs). Only diversity within avoidance-oriented strategies was significantly correlated across trait and state levels. Findings suggest that high avoidance-oriented ER diversity may co-occur with higher SA severity.

Measuring sustainability of suppliers: Strategies for competing institutional logics

While the growing literature has examined the strategies of buyers to ensure the sustainability of suppliers, the underlying theoretical dynamics and measurement of such strategies have been overlooked. Drawing on institutional logics perspective, this study develops and tests a measurement model of sustainable supply chain strategies. The study identifies three theoretically-driven strategies as performance-oriented strategy for commercial logic, risk avoidance-oriented strategy for public logic, and collaboration-oriented strategy for social-welfare logic. Then, a measurement construct is developed through the review of extant literature and corporate practices as well as using the findings of a semi-structured interview with 21 managers in nine suppliers. The construct is tested based on a survey data drawn from a sample of 131 suppliers of Western companies in Turkey. The analysis confirms a three-dimensional measurement model. Considering the importance of knowing how to strategically approach a supplier to ensure its sustainability, both scholars and managers can use this model to investigate the implications of formulation and implementation of diverse sustainability strategies at supply chain context.

Factors predicting the use of different coping strategies among Korean immigrant women in the United States

Although most Korean immigrant women experience stress during the acculturation process, few studies have explored how this population copes with stressful events when adjusting to a new society. This study aimed to identify the types of coping strategies these women use, as well as the predictive factors for the same. Data were collected from 136 Korean immigrant women residing in Texas, using a self-report questionnaire written in Korean. The results showed that the participants most frequently used task-oriented coping strategies, followed in order by emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies. There were no significant predictive factors for task-oriented or avoidance-oriented coping strategies. However, age, English proficiency, length of residence, immigration stress, alcohol consumption, and at-risk drinking by a male partner significantly predicted the use of emotion-oriented coping strategies among participants. To increase access to professional services for Korean immigrant women in the United States, culturally sensitive social services and bilingual providers would be beneficial. Because emotion-oriented coping methods were the most common in Korean immigrant women, Korean churches could form partnerships and cooperate with social service agencies. Drinking by a male partner is an important issue that significantly affects the coping methods of Korean immigrant communities. Finally, limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.

The Impact of Stress-Coping Strategies and the Severity of Psoriasis on Self-Esteem, Illness Acceptance and Life Satisfaction.

IntroductionThe visibility of skin lesions is a significant burden for patients with psoriasis, who experience social hostility as well as many emotional and psychological problems. The recurrent nature of cutaneous manifestations and their location are also a source of emotional distress, which in turn is one of the main factors that intensifies skin lesions in these patients. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the severity of psoriasis and stress-coping strategies on general psychometric measures in the affected patients.MethodsThe study used a short demographic questionnaire, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), and four standardised general psychometric tools: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). A total of 111 patients participated in the study.ResultsThe mean PASI score was 14.0 (12.1–15.9). The mean SWLS score was below average, i.e., 18.5 (17.3–19.7), and the SES score—26.8 points (26.1–27.5)—indicated self-esteem slightly above average among patients with psoriasis. The mean stress-coping level measured with CISS was 53.6 (51.9–55.2) for the task-oriented strategy (TOS), 46.2 (43.8–48.6) for the emotion-oriented strategy (EOS) and 50.1 (48.5–51.8) for the avoidance-oriented strategy (AOS). Higher PASI was associated with lower illness acceptance among men (r = 0.48) and lower self-esteem among women (r = 0.44). The level of life satisfaction was lower in respondents with higher PASI scores (mainly in the group of women, r = 0.44).ConclusionsHigher severity of psoriasis (PASI) and greater frequency of emotion-oriented stress-coping mechanisms (CISS) are factors that negatively affect the overall psychophysical condition of respondents.

Self-compassion, ego-resiliency, coping with stress and the quality of life of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.

BackgroundThe literature shows a fairly coherent picture of the types of difficulties parents face. Adaptive both coping styles and resources, such as self-compassion and ego-resiliency, indicated as important predictors of the quality of life among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to determine the links between self-compassion and ego-resiliency, coping with stress and quality of life among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in a Polish sample (N = 76).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. The CISS, Self-Compassion Scale-Short, Ego-Resiliency Scale, and Quality of Life Questionnaire were used.ResultsRegression analysis was carried out to address the research question. It was confirmed that both resources studied exhibited negative relations with emotion-oriented coping, while ego-resiliency was also positively correlated with task- and avoidance-oriented strategies. The hierarchical multiple regression conducted in three steps indicated that ego-resiliency (18%) and emotion-oriented (14%) were the strongest predictors of quality of life among parents of children with ASD.ConclusionsThe obtained results proved that ego-resiliency and a task-oriented coping strategy were important indicators of the quality of life of parents of children with ASD.

How Super Skills for Life may help children to cope with the COVID-19: Psychological impact and coping styles after the program

As this is the first time that a pandemic has occurred in our recent history, preventive interventions for children´s emotional problems during confinement were not planned. A main goal of Super Skills for Life Program (SSL) is to provide children with skills to build emotional resilience and coping strategies for daily and difficult life situations, so examining how the program may help children to face the COVID-19 situation could be appropriate. The aim of this research was to compare parents’ perception of immediate psychological reactions to confinement and coping styles in children who received the SSL program before home confinement (n = 48) with an equivalent sample of children who did not attend the program (n = 48). Another objective was to study the relationship between children’s immediate psychological reactions to confinement and their coping styles. Parents (n = 96) completed an online survey providing information on sociodemographic variables, children’s immediate psychological reactions (anxiety/activation, mood, sleep, behavioral alterations, eating and cognitive alterations), and children’s coping styles (task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented strategies). Results indicated that the control group presented more symptoms of anxiety (p ≤ .001), worse mood (p ≤ .001), more sleep problems (p ≤ .01), and more cognitive alterations (p ≤ .01) during home confinement than children who received the program. Children in the control group were also more likely to use emotion-oriented strategies (p = .001), which were associated with presenting more psychological alterations. Although the SSL program was not created specifically for coping with the COVID-19 situation, it seems to provide children with skills to cope with this unexpected event.

“Ripple effect”: Psychological responses and coping strategies of Italian children in different COVID-19 severity areas

COVID-19 has affected learning and the outdoor activities of more than 862 million children or adolescents worldwide. This study investigated the mental health of Italian children and explored their psychological response and coping strategies in different COVID-19 epidemic severity areas, with the aims of alleviating the impacts of COVID-19, promoting targeted intervention, and reducing the risk of future psychological problems. 1074 parents of children aged 6 to 12 years old participated in an ad-hoc online survey. Among them, 40.3% were from the high-risk areas in the North, and 59.7% were from the medium/low-risk areas in the center of Italy. The results showed that, compared to the children in medium- or low-risk areas, children in the North scored significantly higher for symptoms of anxiety, moods, and cognitive changes, showing a “ripple effect” trend. Moreover, children in the northern areas used fewer task-oriented strategies and more emotion- and avoidance-oriented strategies than those in the central areas. Specifically, children in the northern areas were more likely to show acceptance and seek affection from others, while those in the central areas used more humor when their parents talked about quarantine or coronavirus. These findings provide relevant evidence and a reference point for crisis management in children’s mental health

Dealing With Adverse Events: A Meta-analysis on Second Victims' Coping Strategies.

Despite the critical need to understand the diverse responses by second victims to adverse events, there has not been a meta-analysis examining coping by second victims. We aimed to analyze the coping strategies applied by second victims in the aftermath of adverse events. We performed a systematic search of nine electronic databases up to October 2018 and screened additional sources, such as gray databases. Two independent reviewers conducted the search, selection process, quality appraisal, data extraction, and synthesis. In case of dissent, a third reviewer was involved to reach consensus. Quantitative studies of the frequency with which coping strategies were applied by second victims were eligible for inclusion. We calculated the overall frequency of coping strategies and I statistic using random effects modeling. Of 10,705 records retrieved, 111 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 14 studies eventually included. The five most frequent coping strategies were Changing work attitude (89%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 80-94), Following policies and guidelines more accurately and closely (89%, 95% CI = 54-98), Paying more attention to detail (89%, 95% CI = 78-94) (task oriented), Problem-solving/concrete action plan (77%, 95% CI = 59-89) (task oriented), and Criticizing or lecturing oneself (74%, 95% CI = 47-90) (emotion oriented). Second victims frequently used task- and emotion-oriented coping strategies and, to a lesser degree, avoidance-oriented strategies. To better support second victims and ensure patient safety, coping strategies should be evaluated considering the positive and negative effects on the clinician's personal and professional well-being, relationships with patients, and the quality and safety of healthcare.

Do I really feel better? Effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies depends on the measure and social anxiety.

Effective emotion regulation (ER) is important to long-term healthy functioning, but little is known about what constitutes effective ER in the moment or how social anxiety symptoms and different strategies influence short-term effectiveness outcomes. Intensive ecological momentary data from N = 124 college students illustrate how different ways of operationalizing ER effectiveness leads to different conclusions about the short-term effectiveness of different strategies in daily life. When effectiveness is operationalized as the degree to which participants judged that their ER attempts made them feel better, social anxiety severity was negatively associated with effectiveness, and avoidance-oriented strategies were judged to be less effective than engagement-oriented strategies. In contrast, when effectiveness is operationalized as the degree of change in self-reported affect following ER attempts, social anxiety severity was not related to effectiveness, and avoidance-oriented strategies were more effective than engagement-oriented strategies. Social anxiety and ER strategy type did not interact in either model, regardless of how effectiveness was measured. The study highlights discrepancies when examining two common but distinct ways of measuring the same overarching effectiveness construct, and raises intriguing questions about how forms of psychopathology that are intimately tied to emotion dysregulation, like social anxiety, moderate different ways of measuring the effectiveness of ER attempts.

Mood regulation and relationship quality predict change in homesickness during college.

Recent theorizing has implicated affect regulation as central to the experience of homesickness. Conceptualized as grief due to losing social connections with close others when relocating, homesickness is associated with poor emotional and social adjustment. The present study examined how mood regulation and relationship quality - at home and in college - predict homesickness and negative affect among college students (N=168). We assessed 16 mood regulation strategies as well as relationship quality each week over the first college term. As predicted, time-lagged multilevel analyses demonstrate that avoidance-oriented strategies were helpful in the short term (the following week), but chronic avoidance (across the college term) predicted higher levels of homesickness. Approach-oriented regulatory strategies did not predict homesickness, however. Relationship quality demonstrated differential main effects at the between-person level but did not predict fluctuations in homesickness from week to week. Across the college term, closer ties at home predicted greater homesickness, whereas closer ties in college predicted lower homesickness. Notably, there were distinct effects of mood regulation for homesickness compared to negative affect. The present study is among the first to examine effects of mood regulation on homesickness longitudinally, suggesting it is important to consider the type of regulation strategies being used as well as the time scale.

Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Emotional Intelligence among Patients with Schizophrenia.

Behavioural investigation has become increasingly more focused on emotional intelligence as researchers strive to understand its influence on various social interactions. Recent research indicates that EI plays an integral role in adopting active and effective coping strategies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and coping strategies in patients with schizophrenia. The research included 102 stable patients with ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 46 (45.1%) female and 56 (54.9%) male patients, in the 18-55 age range (M=35.54; sd=10.48). All the participants completed the Questionnaire of Emotional Intelligence and Competence (UEK-45) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Data were analysed using the correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. The results showed that emotional intelligence correlates significantly with both task-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies (including social diversion and distraction). Regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence can be a significant predictor for these two coping strategies (task-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies (including social diversion and distraction)). Patients with lower emotional intelligence mainly use strategies focused on coping with their own emotions. These results may prompt the devising of prevention and treatment programs for patients suffering from schizophrenia. Namely, numerous studies and research on emotional intelligence show that emotional intelligence can be enhanced through learning and behaviour modification at any age.

Stress-coping Strategies, Attachment Styles, and Resiliency of Working Children in Tehran, Iran

Child labor is a bitter reality in developing countries and is necessary to be addressed in terms of its psychological aspects. Considering the limitations of the conducted studies and cultural environment in Iran, it is still unknown that how these children cope with their stresses, how the quality and type of their attachment styles are, and how resilient they are to inconveniences. In a causal-comparative study, a sample of 100 working children in Tehran using convenient sampling method and a sample of 150 non-working children using purposive sampling were selected; all the samples were asked to fill Endler and Parker Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations‌(CISS-21), Collins and Read Attachment Styles Scale, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale‌(CD-RISC).‌The obtained data were analyzed using ANCOVA and MANCOVA in the form of 2 × 2 factorial using SPSS-16. After adjusting for education level, the results showed that working children mostly use emotion-oriented strategy to cope with stress but the avoidance-oriented strategy is less used by these children. Regardless of group member factor, girls and boys used respectively emotion-oriented and avoidance strategies more frequently. However, in the interaction between group and gender, the results revealed that boys in working children group obtained the lowest scores in task-oriented strategy. In addition, working children‌ group (especially girls), compared to non-working children presented more insecurity in terms of attachment style. Finally, it was found that working children were less resilient than non-working children, but the main effect of gender alone and the interaction between group and gender on resilience scores was not statistically significant‌(p > 0.05). The findings emphasized the protective role of resilience and secure attachment in preventing possible psychological and behavioral disorders in working children. Moreover, the results demonstrated that risky role of emotion-oriented strategy and insecure attachment style in exacerbating the problems of these children, especially for girls.

The effects of psychological help on assertive behaviors in family members of schizophrenia patients.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the use (or lack thereof) of psychological help among family members of schizophrenia patients, and their expression of assertive behavior in relation to their relatives suffering from the illness. The study group consisted of 34 people who run the household with their loved ones - schizophrenia patients. In the study we used the Social Competence Questionnaire (KKS) by Matczak, and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) in the Polish adaptation by Wrześniewski et al. Socio-demographic data were collected through a self-designed survey. There was a relationship between a general tendency to avoid action in a problem situation and a tendency to seek social diversion in order to cope with stress. Assertive behavior was also found to correlate with a tendency to engage in substitute activities. Greater willingness to display assertive behavior was observed in subjects who revealed a tendency to avoid thinking about the problem and seeking active solutions in a stressful situation. The analyses also showed that younger people who coped with stress by revealing an avoidant coping style exhibited a more assertive behavior. Our study did not confirm the link between the use of psychological assistance by the relatives of schizophrenia patients and their expression of assertive behavior in relation to the patient. However, it proved important that younger people who coped with stress by means of avoidance-oriented strategies manifested a greater propensity for assertive behavior.

The Everyday lives and coping Strategies of women in Delhi; Discerning roots of Psychological Empowerment: An Ethnographic Study

This is an ethnographic study based on inductive reasoning inspired by everyday life coping of slum women in Delhi. Evidences from field work were found to be congruent with the underlying assumptions of Humanistic and analytical psychology, perspectives which ascertain positive human values and life orientation such as growth, and fulfillment, making it difficult to completely neglect strategies for adaptability, positive coping, and adjustment, which are having a positive influence in everyday lives of slum women in their day-day life. The focus of this study is not to explore the daily life concerns, but to highlight how these concerns are addressed by slum women, with regard to their coping strategies. The objective of this study was to bring into light the phenomenon of positive adaptability towards daily life concerns, in context with slum women by exploring three coping strategies given by Endler and Parker. Task-oriented strategy, Emotion-oriented strategy, and, Avoidance-oriented strategy three categories which were used to categorize the responses towards daily life stressors. Finally this study attempts to fill in the prevailing literature gap in the context of the conceptualization of psychological empowerment for slum women based on the findings of this study and trace the roots of psychological empowerment using the perspectives of psychology. This study illustrates analysis of ethnographic records of 50 informants from various slums in Delhi.

Type D personality, stress coping strategies and self-efficacy as predictors of Facebook intrusion

Recently, Facebook has become one of the most popular social networking sites. People use it more and more often. A number of studies have recently addressed the issue of excessive Facebook use, showing this phenomenon to be a spreading problem. The main aim of the present study was to examine whether Type D personality, self-efficacy and coping strategies are related to Facebook intrusion. The participants were 882 students of Polish universities, all of them Facebook users (72% women, mean age: 22.25 years, SD =2.06). We used the Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire, the Facebook Intensity Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and the Type D Scale. We applied the pen-and-paper procedure. Our results indicate that emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented strategies of coping in stressful situations are predictors of Facebook intrusion and Facebook intensity. The relations between both Facebook intrusion and intensity and social inhibition are significant only when emotion-oriented coping strategy is controlled. The knowledge of whether coping strategies in stressful situations, such as focus on emotions or avoidance, are related to Facebook intrusion might be useful for clinical purposes.

Anxiety and Coping Strategy Changes in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Initiating Fingolimod: The GRACE Prospective Study

The objective of this prospective study was to assess the changes in anxiety levels, and their relationship with coping strategies over the first four months of fingolimod treatment in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Data were collected at the inclusion visit (Visit 1) and 4 months later (Visit 2). We used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess the level of anxiety and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations scale to assess the coping strategies used when engaged with stressful situations. The HADS anxiety scores were compared between Visits 1 and 2, according to the preferred coping strategy. At Visit 1, half of the 198 patients included were considered to be anxious (doubtful or in a certain way). The same proportion preferentially used an avoidance-oriented strategy and one-third preferentially used an emotion-oriented strategy. The mean HADS anxiety score decreased significantly (p = 0.001) at Visit 2 (8.1 ± 4.0) compared to Visit 1 (8.8 ± 4.3), particularly in the group of patients who used an emotion-oriented strategy (p = 0.002). In conclusion, the initiation of fingolimod in patients with RRMS is followed by a decrease of anxiety levels which vary according to the coping strategy used.