Changes In Coping Styles Research Articles

The Effects of Worksite Stress Management Intervention on Changes in Coping Styles

In this study the effects of a worksite stress management intervention on changes in coping styles were examined. Ninety-five participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group participating in the intervention or to a control group with a delayed intervention. The stress management intervention was structured on enhancing so-called positive coping styles focused on problem solving and social diversion and on decreasing negative—emotion-focused and distraction—coping. The results showed that in the experimental group the level of positive coping styles significantly increased. The effect of decreased negative coping styles due to the intervention was observed only in the group of participants with a high level of negative affectivity.

Changes in coping styles and recovery after inpatient treatment for severe eating disorders

AbstractFifty‐six patients with anorexia nervosa (19 restrictive type, 37 purging/bulimic type) and 32 patients with bulimia nervosa, purging type, filled in questionnaires at admission to an eating disorder unit, again at discharge and 6 months later. Among these questionnaires was the UCL, the Utrecht Coping List, a Dutch questionnaire on coping styles. To determine the association between changes in coping styles and changes in eating symptomatology and psychological functioning during treatment, correlations were calculated. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the portion of the variance of the measurements at follow‐up that could be predicted by the coping styles at the end of treatment. Patients reported significant changes in coping styles in a favourable direction during treatment. Compared with normal controls, their coping styles at the end of the treatment were still more avoiding, more passive and more palliative reacting. They also made more use of reassuring thoughts, and less of active tackling and seeking of social support. The status of the patients 6 months after discharge was very well predicted by their status at discharge. After multiple regression analysis we found for both anorectic and bulimic patients that if they, at the end of the treatment made more use of the coping style reassuring thoughts, this would contribute to the prediction of a better status at follow‐up. Bulimic patients that at the end of the treatment made less use of the coping style palliative reacting, had a better status at follow‐up. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Coping style of substance-abuse patients: effects of anxiety and mood disorders on coping change.

The authors studied the coping style of substance-abuse patients during clinical cognitive-behavioral group therapy, and the effects of mood and anxiety disorders on changes in coping style. Change in coping style was studied prospectively in a cohort of 132 residential-drug-abuse patients. In addition to pretreatment assessments, which included diagnosis of mood and anxiety disorders and addiction severity, repeated measurements of coping style were performed at predetoxification, pretreatment, and after three and six months of treatment. Considerable change in coping style between predetoxification and pretreatment was found, suggesting that coping assessment in a predetoxification phase is confounded by state factors surrounding treatment entry. Coping style of detoxified substance abusers is related to the presence of mood and anxiety disorders. Coping style was not found to be related to the severity of drug abuse. Furthermore, maladaptive coping styles decreased after three months of inpatient-substance-abuse treatment, and more-adaptive coping styles remained stable for another three months of inpatient treatment. Patients with an anxiety disorder improved less on coping style when compared to non-anxiety patients. Presence of a mood disorder had no impact on coping-style improvement. The results indicate that more attention should be focused on anxiety disorders during substance-abuse treatment in order to improve coping style. Furthermore, more studies are needed on the relation between substance abuse, coping style, and psychopathology.

Promoting effective coping in adolescents ‘at-risk’ for depression

This study aims to investigate the effect of a coping skills program ‘The Best of Coping: Bright Lives’ on adolescents' coping styles. This study also seeks to determine if groups of adolescents who are more or less resistant to depression show different gains from program participation.Comparisons between changes in coping styles were made between groups of adolescents; those considered at-risk for and resistant to depression, those neither resistant or at-risk for depression, and a male and female group. All students, regardless of group membership, participated in the ‘The Best of Coping: Bright Lives’ program.All participants completed the Adolescent Coping Scale, the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Perceived Control of Internal States pre and post program.Results show a significant increase in Reference to Others coping post program, for all groups, particularly the males. The ‘at-risk’ group also appeared to show a decrease in the use of ‘Non-Productive’ coping post program, in comparison to the ‘resilient“ group.It appears that positive program effects are greatest for adolescents who are prone to depression and use the most ineffective strategies. This indicates that the program effectively targets the adolescents that need the help the most.

Paths and Impacts in the Progressive Independence Model:

In an attempt to reduce homelessness and substance abuse, Chicago graduates of short-term inpatient substance abuse programs who lacked domiciles were placed into one of three conditions: (1) a case management only intervention (n = 96), (2) a case management with supported housing intervention (n = 136), or (3) a control condition (n = 187) that allowed access to normal aftercare in the community. The two treatment interventions used a "progressive independence" approach, which focuses on simultaneously ameliorating tangible needs and clinical problems. Multivariate analyses suggest that subjects in both treatment interventions experienced lower levels of substance abuse and higher levels of residential stability than subjects in the control condition, as measured over the course of a year. Further analysis suggests that retention was improved by the focus on immediate tangible resources, substance abuse was reduced by both the support of outpatient substance abuse treatment and the promulgation of changes in coping styles, and residential stability was increased by both the focus on access to income maintenance benefits and help with location of housing.

Stressful life events and coping styles in relation to dysthymia and major depressive disorder: Variations associated with alleviation of symptoms following pharmacotherapy

1. 1. Both major depression and dysthymia (chronic, low grade depression) were associated with increased reports of minor stressors (daily hassles), and feelings of loneliness, reduced uplifts, as well as the use of inappropriate coping strategies (i.e., emotion-focussed rather than problem-oriented coping). 2. 2. Although major depressive and dysthymic patients shared several features with respect to symptomatology, dysthymics tended to report a greater number of hassles than major depressives. 3. 3. Treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors over an 8-week period resulted in a marked alleviation of the depressive symptoms in both patient groups, although the clinical effectiveness of the drugs appeared somewhat later in dysthymics. 4. 4. The attenuation of the depressive symptoms was accompanied by a modest, but significant diminution in reports of minor stressors, while the perception of uplifts remained unchanged. Moreover, recovery from depression was associated with changes in coping style, such that patients relied less on inappropriate emotion-focussed coping strategies.