Coping Tool Research Articles

Effects of relaxation techniques in reducing stress and anxiety among infertile women: A systematic review

Infertility affects millions of women worldwide and can lead to increased levels of stress and anxiety, impacting overall well-being and quality of life. Relaxation techniques, such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Yoga, Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique (PMR), and Guided Imagery, have emerged as potential interventions to alleviate emotional distress in infertile women. A comprehensive review of the existing literature is needed to assess the effectiveness of these techniques in addressing stress and anxiety in the context of infertility.Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted by searching electronic databases for relevant studies published up to September 2021. The search used keywords related to relaxation techniques, infertility, stress, and anxiety. Two reviewers screened the identified articles based on predefined criteria. Included studies examined the effectiveness of relaxation techniques in reducing stress and anxiety among infertile women and used validated measures as outcomes. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently performed.The review included 18 studies that explored various relaxation techniques' effectiveness in reducing stress and anxiety among infertile women. MBSR, Yoga, PMR, and Guided Imagery interventions consistently showed significant reductions in perceived stress and anxiety levels. MBSR interventions proved particularly promising in promoting emotional well-being and coping with infertility challenges. Yoga offered a holistic approach, incorporating physical postures, breath control, and meditation to address multifaceted stress. PMR provided practical coping tools, and Guided Imagery offered guided visualization for anxiety management.This systematic review highlights the potential of relaxation techniques like MBSR, Yoga, PMR, and Guided Imagery in reducing stress and anxiety among infertile women. These interventions offer accessible and cost-effective strategies to enhance emotional well-being and coping skills in infertility contexts. Healthcare providers and counselors can consider incorporating these techniques into treatment plans to address the emotional needs of infertile women and improve their overall well-being and quality of life.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COPING THROUGH HUMOR AND MENTAL WELL-BEING IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF REAPPRAISAL

Using humor as a coping tool in the face of stressful situations increases positive affect and well-being by enabling individuals to evaluate the negative situation from a new perspective. In this study, the mediating role of reappraisal in the relationship between coping through humor and mental well-being was examined. The sample of the study consisted of 505 university students studying at state universities in Turkey in the 2023-2024 academic year. Data were collected from students in state universities in 20 different cities of Turkey. Considering the ease of accessing data, the convenient sampling method was preferred. The Coping with the Humor Scale, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale Short Form, and the Reappraisal subscale of the Emotion Regulation Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. The reliability of the scales used in the study was examined by confirmatory factor analysis. The relationships between variables were examined by Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis was performed using Process Macro (model 4). In the regression analysis, mediation was tested with the Bootstrap technique. According to the results of correlation and regression analyses, it was seen that there were significant positive relationships between coping through humor, mental well-being, and reappraisal. According to the results of regression-based Bootstrap analysis, coping through humor is a predictor of mental well-being and reappraisal has a partial mediating role in the relationship between coping through humor and mental well-being. It is thought that the results obtained can contribute to research and application examples involving humor and reappraisal in increasing the mental well-being of university students and fill a gap in the literature.

Patient considerations of social media account management after death.

Social media is widely used but few studies have examined how patients with advanced cancer want their accounts managed after death. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of our patients with advanced cancer who have discussed the post-mortem management of their social media accounts with their family or friends. This was a cross-sectional survey in which patients with advanced cancer at an outpatient Supportive Care Clinic at a tertiary cancer center completed a novel survey on social media use that assessed patients' social media use practices, attitudes and preferences, and reactions to the survey. Of 117 patients, 72 (61.5%) were women, and the mean age was 56.4years old. We found that 24 (21%) of our patients have discussed their preferences for management of their social media accounts after death. Patients with a lower annual income were significantly more likely to report having such conversations (p = 0.0036). Completing the survey motivated 76 patients (67%) to discuss their social media accounts and 82 patients (71.3%) to explore how social media will be managed after their death. Half of our study participants reported social media as an important source of coping. Few patients have had conversations on the management of their accounts after death, although more were interested in exploring their options further. More research is needed to examine the role of social media as a digital legacy and a coping tool for patients with advanced cancer.

Confronting Adversity: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Receiving Difficult News in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

In neonatal intensive care, the communication of difficult news can have lingering repercussions throughout the lives of those receiving such information. Uncertainty and stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively influence this sensitive yet essential communication process. To analyze the communication of difficult news during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of parents of newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. A qualitative, descriptive research study was completed in a hospital in Brazil. Individual and semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 parents of newborns hospitalized in an intensive care unit and submitted to thematic analysis. Three themes were built: "Tools and strategies to manage difficult news," "What makes difficult news hard to listen," and "The importance of being prepared to receive difficult news." When comparing these findings with prepandemic literature, the COVID-19 period changed communication dynamics, including coping tools and altered family dynamics. Additionally, assessing healthcare providers' positive and negative behaviors by parents could clarify essential skills to support the family's hospitalization process during a crisis. Applying and investing in skills training such as spirituality assessment, providing clear and straightforward information, and empathy can reduce the impact of difficult news and, thus, requires both recognition and action from healthcare professionals. Knowing some of the effects COVID-19 had on the communication process for parents with critically ill infants, healthcare providers can better prepare themselves for communication in several scenarios and establish successful interactions.

“No miracle cure” interface evaluation of a UK suicide prevention app in a Norwegian context

Background 600 Norwegians die by suicide annually. Self-help apps may potentially reach and support suicidal individuals, next of kin, bereaved and professionals with educational information, access to suicide emergency help, hotlines, and coping tools. Knowledge regarding feasible app interface for suicide prevention self-help apps in a Norwegian context is however lacking. Aim Evaluate user-friendliness and user interface of the Norwegian version of the British Stay Alive suicide prevention app and assess whether the app could be useful in suicide prevention. Materials and Methods Eight Norwegian Fountain house members and twelve university students evaluated the app interface, and their experiences were discussed through individual- or focus-group interviews. Results Participants perceived app tools as relevant and useful for suicide prevention, however they raised concerns on privacy, evidence base, interface complexity, unintended symbolic value of app colours and content, and suitability in suicidal states. Conclusion The current Norwegian Stay Alive version has the potential to be user friendly, however improvements of interface are suggested. Significance Stay Alive interface must be adjusted and subjected to reiterative evaluations and feasibility assessments in collaboration with additional stakeholder populations to remedy interface concerns, and identify optimal Norwegian interface design, prior to implementation.

Psychological distress, social media use, and academic performance of medical students: the mediating role of coping style

BackgroundGiven that social media use (SMU) is an increasingly widespread activity among university students, more information is needed to evaluate its relationship with students’ mental health, particularly medical students.ObjectiveThe present study assessed the relationships between SMU and coping style with psychological distress and academic performance of medical students.MethodsAn offline cross-sectional survey conducted with 398 undergraduate medical students. The survey collected data on demographics, psychological distress (DASS-21), coping strategies (Brief COPE Scale), academic performance (grade point average) and estimated average time spent on social media per day. Structural equation modeling was used to clarify relationships between the main study variables. The study also examined the mediating effect of maladaptive coping between SMU and psychological distress.ResultsStudents with higher levels of psychological distress were more likely to be engaged in frequent social media use. Spending more than two hours a day on social media use had a positive association with maladaptive coping (p < 0.001), particularly with substance use and behavioral disengagement both of which could negatively affect academic performance. Maladaptive coping mediated the relationship between students’ SMU and psychological distress.ConclusionThe findings suggest that medical students commonly use social media as a maladaptive coping tool to deal with psychological distress. Empowering students to adopt and foster appropriate coping strategies could help them to enhance resilience against life stresses and ameliorate potential long-term mental health consequences associated with maladaptive behaviors.

Adolescent Perspectives on Their E-Cigarette Initiation Experiences.

To examine adolescents' perspectives regarding external and internal influences of the e-cigarette initiation process. Semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews. California, remote videoconference. Adolescents ages 13-17 who currently or previously used e-cigarettes (n = 47). Interviews occurred from May 2020-February 2021. Two researchers coded transcripts based on a codebook developed inductively. Coded excerpts were reviewed to identify encompassing themes related to adolescent e-cigarette initiation. Adolescents were often near e-cigarette use by peers, family members, and others, creating ample opportunities to try e-cigarettes in response to curiosity, peer pressure, and desires to cope with stress or belong to a group. Adverse first experiences were common (eg, throat irritation, nausea), but many adolescents vaped again or continued to use regularly in attempts to cement friendships or alleviate symptoms of stress and anxiety. Specific characteristics of e-cigarette devices, including low-cost, concealability, and variety in designs and flavors facilitated initiation, continued use, and nicotine dependence. Adolescents progress to e-cigarette use via a multistage process, starting where social expectations and opportunity converge. While individual circumstances vary, many continue to vape as a perceived coping tool for emotional issues, to gain social belonging, or influenced by e-cigarette characteristics that contribute to ongoing use and dependence. Efforts to deter use should address the devices themselves and the social forces driving youth interest in them.

Use of tobacco during COVID-19: A qualitative study among medically underserved individuals.

The COVID-19 pandemic produced stress for people around the world. The perception that tobacco can be a coping tool for stress relief suggests that the conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic can provide insight into the relationship between stress and tobacco use patterns, particularly among those most at risk for severe COVID-19 disease. The goal was to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on tobacco use and preparedness for smoking cessation among individuals who smoke and are older and medically underserved. We conducted in-depth interviews with 39 patients to learn about individuals' smoking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a modified grounded theory approach to code and analyze all qualitative data. We conducted thematic analysis to identify key factors associated with smoking behaviors during COVID-19. Our results indicated that increases in perceived stress and social isolation may have been associated with increased tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic-related social isolation contributed to increases in smoking, despite respondents being concerned about the severity of COVID-19. While many respondents felt that smoking relieved their stress from the pandemic, they appeared unaware of the stress-inducing properties of tobacco use. Our findings indicate that pandemic-related stress impacted smoking behavior among older, medically underserved smokers. Results may assist clinicians in addressing the role of tobacco use in response to highly stressful events. Smoking cessation strategies should consider the implications of stress on smoking behavior, including smoking relapse in response to highly stressful events-particularly for medically underserved populations.

WOMEN, STRESS AND COPING WITH TIKTOK

Abstract: This research paper delves into women’s consumption of TikTok to cope with everyday stress by examining the significant meanings of TikTok to women as a coping tool, exploring women’s motivations for engaging with TikTok for stress and emotion management, and finally, investigating the relationship between women’s social and economic conditions and their consumption of TikTok for coping. Using the Media Dependency Theory, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six women from lower-income (B40) backgrounds. Our findings identified two themes: Characteristics of Stress and Coping via Consumption. These findings suggest that TikTok has several positive outcomes in women’s coping processes and emotional well-being; as such, we found that TikTok positively affects women’s moods and emotions through its various media content. TikTok is also used as a tool for women to comprehend the nature of their stressors, including gaining mutual emotional support through online discussions. Additionally, TikTok encourages women to seek self-betterment and practice healthy, effective coping strategies. The implications of this paper can help us understand the nature of stress women face in this current era, and how social media is capable of becoming an effective tool for coping.

The development and initial validation of the self-care belief and behavior questionnaire

ABSTRACT The construct of self-care offers a promising area of study as a possible intervention point to improve quality of life. However, current operationalizations of self-care have been limited by emphasizing self-care behavior without considering self-care beliefs. This study created and tested the psychometric properties of a novel measure, the Self-care Belief and Behavior Questionnaire. The measure was informed by Butler et al. (2019) proposed self-care definition that includes six life domains. Exploratory factor results showed that the measure had 3 factors (e.g. self-care behavior, worthiness related to self-care, and negative perceptions of self-care). The confirmatory model showed an acceptable fit (χ2 = 50.5, df = 32, p = .02; χ2/df = 1.58; CFI = .956; TLI = .939; SRMR = .061; RMSEA = .061; 90% RMSEA CI [.025, .092]) with indices within the recommended cutoffs (CFI & TLI > .90; SRMR < .08; RMSEA .05–.08). Self-care behavior scores were positively related to self-compassion (r = .537, p < .001) and self-esteem (r = .51, p < .001), scores were not correlated with the social desirability scale (r = -.025, p < .05) and were positively correlated with psychological wellbeing (r = .52, p < .001) indicating that this factor met convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity standards. Self-care is a multi-faceted concept that involves beliefs, thoughts about the self and actual behaviors. Future research should test this measure in other populations such as helping professionals as self-care is often a recommended coping tool in the face of emotional challenging work.

Adaptive Self-Reflection as a Social Media Self-Effect: Insights from Computational Text Analyses of Self-Disclosures of Unreported Sexual Victimization in a Hashtag Campaign

Hashtag campaigns calling out sexual violence and rape myths offer a unique context for disclosing sexual victimization on social media. This study investigates the applicability of adaptive self-reflection as a potential self-effect from such public disclosures of unreported sexual victimization experiences by analyzing 92,583 tweets that invoked #WhyIDidntReport. A supervised machine learning classifier determined that 61.8% of the tweets were self-disclosures of sexual victimization. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) analysis showed statistically significant differences in four psycholinguistic dimensions (greater use of past focus, cognitive processes, insight, and causation words) connected with reflective processing in tweets with self-disclosed sexual victimization compared to those without. Additionally, topic modeling and thematic analysis identified nine salient topics within the self-disclosing tweets, comprising three self-distanced representations (i.e., relatively abstract and insightful construals) of the unwanted experiences: (a) acknowledging one’s previously unacknowledged victimization, (b) reaffirming one’s rationale for not reporting, and (c) decrying invalidating response to one’s disclosure. Moving beyond reception effects and social support in extant research about social media as a coping tool, this study provides new empirical insights into the potential of social media to promote expressive meaning-making of upsetting and traumatic experiences in ways that support recovery and resilience.

“I Wish I Had That!”: A Qualitative Analysis of Psychosocial Treatment Preferences Among Young Adults With Recent Concussion and Anxiety

ObjectiveTo assess psychosocial treatment preferences and factors that may affect treatment participation among young adults with a recent concussion and co-occurring anxiety. DesignIn-depth, semi-structured individual qualitative interviews, followed by thematic analysis using a hybrid deductive-inductive approach. SettingAcademic medical center in the US Northeast. ParticipantsSeventeen young adults (18-24y) who sustained a concussion within the past 3-10 weeks and reported at least mild anxiety (≥5 on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresPrimary outcomes include preferences for program content (eg, topics and skills), delivery modality, format, and barriers and facilitators to participation. ResultsWe identified 4 domains characterizing participants’ perceptions of and preferences for treatment. (1) Program content: Participants preferred a program early after injury that included psychoeducation and coping skills (eg, activity pacing, deep breathing, mindfulness). (2) Therapeutic processes: Participants preferred a person-centered approach in which clinicians normalized anxiety postconcussion and reassured them of recovery. (3) Program logistics: Participants endorsed that a brief, virtual program would be acceptable. They preferred access to program components through multiple modalities (eg, audio, video) and accommodations to manage concussion symptoms. (4) Barriers and facilitators to participation: Barriers included acute concussion symptoms (eg, screen sensitivity), time constraints, and forgetting sessions. Facilitators included a program that is flexible (format, scheduling), personalized (self-chosen mode for reminders, measure of accountability), and accessible (ie, advertising through health care professionals or social media). ConclusionsParticipants need psychosocial support that normalizes their experiences and provides education and coping tools. Treatments should be accessible, flexible, and person centered. Psychosocial treatments meeting these preferences may help optimize the recovery of young adults with recent concussion and anxiety.

Sociability Alcohol Expectancies Shape Predictions of Drinking Behavior and Anxiety in a Novel Affective Forecasting Task

Background : Existing work proposes that people with higher social anxiety symptoms and sociability alcohol expectancies believe alcohol can lower their anxiety. However, studies have primarily analyzed retrospective reports, not anticipatory motives. Since predictions of future emotion (i.e., affective forecasts) strongly influence behavior, it is critical to understand how people predict alcohol will influence their anxiety. Additionally, intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is related to the use of alcohol as a coping tool, but there is a dearth of work testing whether IU influences alcohol-related forecasts. Objectives : Utilizing a novel affective forecasting task, we tested the prediction that social anxiety symptoms, sociability alcohol expectancies, and IU would relate to predictions about alcohol use. In an initial study and preregistered replication, participants imagined themselves in stressful social scenarios and forecasted how anxious they would feel when drinking and when sober. In the replication, participants also forecasted whether they would drink in the imagined scenarios. Results : Contrary to hypotheses, social anxiety symptoms and IU did not significantly predict higher forecasted anxiety across studies, nor did they predict forecasted drinking. Exploratory analyses showed that participants with higher sociability alcohol expectancies forecasted being more likely to drink, and forecasted feeling less anxious when drinking (versus being sober). Even after statistically controlling for social anxiety, the effect of sociability expectancies remained significant in predicting forecasted anxiety and forecasted drinking. Conclusions : Clinicians could consider specifically targeting sociability expectancies for alcohol use difficulties, and future research should continue utilizing affective forecasting paradigms to test links between social anxiety, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol-use problems.

Women’s perspectives of social media for coping

This paper analyses women’s experience of consuming TikTok to cope with everyday stress. Our objectives are to examine the significant meanings of TikTok to women as a coping tool, to explore the motivations behind women’s engagement with the platform for stress and emotion management, including to investigate the relationship between women’s social and economic conditions and their consumption of TikTok for stress-coping. The investigation is carried out by conducting semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data. Six women were purposively sampled from a lower-income (B40) background who all use TikTok. Our results indicate several positive outcomes in women’s stress and emotion management, particularly in managing work and personal stressors when consuming TikTok. Moreover, the results revealed that TikTok does not necessarily gratifiy as a tool for social validation but rather as a tool to comprehend and cope with women’s stress. Additionally, TikTok positively affects women by encouraging them to seek self-betterment through its various media channels of entertainment, information, and distraction. The implications of this paper could be used to better understand the nature of stress that women face in this current era, and how social media is capable of becoming an effective tool for stress-coping

Stress Level in Education professionals from an educational institution in North Lima

Stress in nurses is one of the most common problems today that exert difficulties for quality care by them, therefore, the research objective is to determine the level of stress in education professionals working in an educational institution in Callao. It is a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a total population of 200 nurses who answered a questionnaire of sociodemographic data and the stress scale in nursing. In their results, 91 (n=45,5 %) have low stress, 88 (n=44 %) medium stress and 21 (n=10,5 %) high stress. In conclusion, strategies should be sought to develop coping tools against stress within the working day

FAITH AND HEALTH: THE INTRICATE INTERPLAY OF MARITAL QUALITY, RELIGIOSITY, AND DIABETES

Abstract Although chronic illness in later life can negatively affect marital quality and life satisfaction through increased stress and burden, religiosity and spirituality are known robust protective factors in relational and psychological outcomes. Stress theory suggests that religious behaviors can help moderate this negative relationship by providing patients with a sense of meaning in illness, external social support, and healthy coping mechanisms. Using data from the Life and Family Legacies Study, we analyzed cross-sectional data from 1,210 married participants around age 70 in 2016. Using an OLS linear regression model, we found main effects which showed that type 2 diabetes among older adults was predictive of lower positive marital quality and lower life satisfaction. When religious behaviors were included in the model as a moderator, religious behaviors interacted significantly with diabetes such that individuals with type 2 diabetes who reported high religiosity had high positive marital quality, while those with low religiosity reported significantly lower positive marital quality. Findings suggest that when persons with type 2 diabetes participate regularly in church services, prayer, and scripture study they experience more positive marital quality. This indicates that religiosity may be a significant protective factor and coping tool for marital quality when chronic illness is present.

Covid-19 Korkusu, Dini Başa Çıkma ve Ruh Sağlığı Arasındaki İlişki Üzerine Bir Araştırma

It is known that some measures are applied at the individual and social level during the pandemic process, which is called a global trauma. Although these measures work to protect individuals from physical diseases, they are known to cause some mental health problems. Religion, as one of the coping tools used by people in the fight against psycho-social problems that emerged during the pandemic period, draws attention as a mechanism that people show more interest in, especially in times of crisis. In this aspect, religious coping comes to the fore as an important defense tool that people often resort to in the process of coping with stressful situations. In the Covid-19 process, the functional power of religion on people's mental health becomes even more important. As a matter of fact, the limited possibilities of combating the epidemic draws attention as an effective factor in turning to religion. When we look at the studies around "religious coping", it is seen that there are studies with mostly European-American centered participants/sample groups. In this context, it can be stated that there is a need for studies on different ethnic and religious groups during the pandemic process. As a matter of fact, religious coping can reveal different effects in individuals who follow different religions.&#x0D; This study aims to examine the associations between fear of Covid-19, religious coping, and mental health by using a data set coming from 402 participants who are 18 and older (%55.7 women; %44.3 man). After measuring fear of Covid-19, religious coping, depression, stress, and anxiety levels of the participants, we conducted Pearson correlation and regression analyses. As expected, significant relationships were found between the main variables of the study. The findings have indicated that (a) fear of Covid-19 is positively associated with negative religious coping, (b) fear of Covid-19 is entirely unrelated to positive religious coping, (c) positive religious coping is inversely associated with depression, stress, and anxiety, (d) negative religious coping is positively associated with depression, stress, and anxiety, and (e) positive religious coping buffers the deleterious effects of depression, stress, and anxiety.

Early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease: do socio-demographic variables differentiate family caregivers on social support, self-efficacy and coping strategies?

There is an urgent need to deepen understanding of the particular experience of family caregivers of people with early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease. In this effort, we aim to identify the socio-demographic variables associated with social support, self-efficacy and coping strategies. Not belonging to the family lineage carrying the disease-causing mutation, having secondary or professional education, and caring for a relative in the early stages of dementia are associated with better coping tools. However, belonging to the family lineage carrying the mutation increases the use of passive coping, escape or emotional discharge, which risks adverse psychological outcomes.

Understanding highly engaged adolescent gamers: integration of gaming into daily life and motivation to play video games

ABSTRACT It is assumed that many adolescent gamers who play intensively are highly engaged rather than problematic gamers and that they mostly do not experience negative consequences. This study aimed to explore how highly engaged adolescent gamers integrate gaming into their lives, how they experience gaming motivation, and how they view the effects that gaming has on them. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 adolescent gamers who played intensively and attended high schools. The interviews were analysed with thematic analysis and two main themes were extracted from the data: The integration of games into one’s life and What drives adolescent gamers to play. Adolescent gamers were found to be active integrators of gaming into their lives, mostly managing to balance gaming with other daily activities and tasks. Although a few of them experienced problematic gaming, they managed to recover, and were generally aware of the dangers. Gaming was purposeful and useful for them, for example for socialising, competition, learning English, becoming more ‘tech-savvy’, and coping with everyday stress. However, it was important for them to engage in other purposeful activities in addition to gaming and not to use gaming as an exclusive coping tool. Theoretical and practical applications are laid out.

Survey of the Relationship Between Online Committee of Friends Meetings, Burials, and Coping With Bereavement Among Nigerians in Ebonyi State.

Online committee of friends meeting is a new trend in Nigeria. There is a continuous online interaction that goes on among the group members. The qualitative research design was used to carry out the study. The unstructured interview method was used to get information from the study participants. It was found among other things that the bereaved read, digest and accept the online condolence messages which serve as a coping tool to the loss of the loved one. Online COF is also a veritable tool in soliciting for and raising funds from online to facilitate the burial of loved ones owing to rising cost of conducting burials in Nigeria. It was concluded that coping with death is achieved in online COF through formation of whatsapp group, condolence messaging, friends digestion of information and acceptance of the pieces of advice raised and as divine will which comes when it will.