Daily Coping Research Articles

Coping With Side Effects: A Daily Diary Study in Women With Breast Cancer Living With Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy.

Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) is increasingly being prescribed for up to 10years to people diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. AET intake is often accompanied by side effects that significantly impact the well-being of people. The way individuals cope with medication-related side effects might play a pivotal role in their emotional adaption. This intensive-longitudinal study investigated the association between self-reported coping strategies (Brief COPE) and psychological well-being (Patient Health Questionnaire-4) among women undergoing AET. A multilevel factor analysis resulted in the identification of four coping factors, namely, problem-focused, support-focused, meaning-focused, and avoidance-focused coping. Daily coping efforts and experienced side effects were analyzed as predictors of psychological well-being using multilevel modeling. A total of 215 women (Mage=56.5±10.9years) participated, resulting in a total of n=2080 daily surveys (M=9.67±1.08). On average, women reported 3.7±2.2 different side effects per day. Days characterized by an elevated frequency of side effects and increased burden were associated with diminished well-being. Using more problem- and meaning-focused strategies than usual to cope with side effects correlated positively with well-being. Conversely, employing more support- and avoidance-focused coping strategies than usual was linked to reduced psychological well-being. Exploratory analyses focusing on individual coping strategies provided nuanced insights into coping behaviors. The present findings underscore the relationship between women's coping efforts concerning medication-related side effects during AET and their daily well-being. Psychosocial education (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) may offer valuable benefits for patients by helping them develop adaptive coping strategies to manage side effects.

"It's like a kind of chronic pain that goes with you": Understanding the phenomenon of family burden as experienced by primary caregivers of persons with serious mental illness who refuse treatment.

Persons who cope with serious mental illness (SMI) without immediate physical risk to themselves or others have the right to refuse to be treated. Treatment refusal has implications not only for the individual but also for the family, especially the primary caregivers. Still, less is known about the phenomenon of family burden while coping with a situation where the family member with SMI refuses treatment and lives in the community. The present study aimed to understand and describe the caregivers' lived experience of family burden in the context of treatment refusal among their relatives. Using a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach and a semi-structured interview guide, 15 family caregivers of persons with SMI refusing to receive medicinal treatment and rehabilitation services were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts. The caregivers described a complex experience of ongoing and intense burden that had a negative impact on the family cohesion and the caregivers' well-being. Four themes related to the perceived reasons for treatment refusal, the caregivers' experience of the family burden and cohesion, and coping with this situation were identified. The findings demonstrate the unique family burden experienced by the caregivers, mainly as they are the only ones supporting the individual with SMI who refuses treatment. Practitioners should support these families throughout their coping process-from understanding the reasons for the refusal of treatment to continuous support in their daily coping by locating the control of the situation on the family level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of Daily Coping on Psychological Stress: A Multilevel Modeling Approach

The current study examined the association between approach and avoidance coping strategies and psychological stress during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Participants were 62 adults who were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Data collection lasted for 29 d in May 2020. Multilevel modeling revealed no significant association between approach coping strategies and psychological stress among individuals, and engaging in approach coping more than the usual days was also not associated with lower stress. Regarding avoidance coping strategies, they were positively associated with psychological stress among individuals, and when individuals engaged in avoidance coping more than usual, those individuals were more likely to experience psychological stress. Interestingly, the strength of the association between approach coping strategies and psychological stress was dependent on the levels of psychological stress, where the strength became weaker as the level of stress increased. Similarly, the strength of the association between avoidance coping and stress was also dependent on stress at the beginning of the study, where the strength of the association became stronger as the level of stress increased. Current results raise the importance of being mindful of an individual’s psychological stress as the effectiveness of coping strategies may differ based on one’s level of stress.

Empowering self-critical perfectionistic students: A waitlist controlled feasibility trial of an explanatory feedback intervention on daily coping processes.

This study of 176 university students tested a single-session explanatory feedback intervention (EFI), derived from the perfectionism coping processes model. Participants with higher self-critical perfectionism completed daily measures of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 days. A randomized control design was used to compare an EFI condition with a waitlist control condition over 4 weeks with individualized feedback delivered one-on-one by student trainees in-person or remotely through videoconferencing. The feasibility of the individualized analyses of each participant's daily data was supported by identifying daily trigger patterns, maintenance tendencies, strengths, common triggers, and best targets for reducing negative mood and increasing positive mood across several stressors for each participant. Participant ratings indicated that the comprehensive feedback was coherent and functional. Participants in the EFI condition, compared to those in the control condition, reported increases in empowerment, coping self-efficacy, and problem-focused coping, as well as decreases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Between-group effect sizes were moderate-to-large. There were reliable improvements in empowerment and depressive symptoms for 56% and 36%, respectively, of participants in the EFI condition. These findings demonstrate the broad applicability, conceptual utility, and effectiveness of the EFI for self-critical perfectionistic individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding the chronic pain journey and coping strategies that patients use to manage their chronic pain: a qualitative, patient-led, Canadian study

ObjectiveTo gain an insight into coping strategies that people living with chronic pain use to self-manage their pain.DesignThis qualitative Patient-oriented Research study used the Patient and Community Engagement Research approach....

Supplemental Material for Empowering Self-Critical Perfectionistic Students: A Waitlist Controlled Feasibility Trial of an Explanatory Feedback Intervention on Daily Coping Processes

Supplemental Material for Empowering Self-Critical Perfectionistic Students: A Waitlist Controlled Feasibility Trial of an Explanatory Feedback Intervention on Daily Coping Processes

Life-Changing Coping Mechanisms and Resilience Strategies of Post-Natal Unmarried Teenage Mothers in the Central Region, Ghana

Aim: The paper aimed at exploring the life-changing coping and interventional strategies adopted by unmarried teenage mothers in Enyan Denkyira in the Central Region of Ghana.
 Methods: The paper adopted the phenomenological design and through Snowballing and Purposive techniques, sampled 15 unmarried teenage mothers, 10 church leaders, and 2 District Assembly officials who accounted for their daily coping mechanisms and interventional strategies existing for teenage mothers in the Enyan Denkyira District.
 Results: The study revealed that teenage mothers in Enyan Denkyira continued to engage in labor-intensive occupations such as fetching water for construction works and washing other people's clothes to make ends meet. It was evident that when the support they got from sympathizers did not come and their other sources of income also failed, they were pushed into relying on men which made them become perpetual victims of unprepared pregnancy and premature motherhood.
 Conclusion: It was therefore recommended that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) money should be expanded to benefit more teenage mothers. Also, religious bodies, institutions, and the family must be encouraged and supported by the government to continue to play their roles as sources of social protection for teenage mothers instead of neglecting them.

Event-level associations among minority stress, coping motives, and substance use among sexual minority women and gender diverse individuals

BackgroundSexual minority women and gender diverse individuals (SMWGD) are at heightened risk for alcohol and cannabis use disorders compared to heterosexual and cisgender individuals, and their heightened risk has been attributed to minority stress. However, few longitudinal studies have examined mechanisms through which minority stress may impact substance use, and none have done so at the event-level. MethodsWe utilized data from a 30-day ecological momentary assessment study of 429 SMWGD who used alcohol or cannabis regularly to test a mechanistic process in which minority stress predicts alcohol and cannabis use via coping motives for use at the event-level. ResultsWhen individuals experienced more enacted stigma (e.g., microaggressions) than usual during one assessment, they were more likely to use cannabis to cope during the next. In turn, occasions when cannabis was used to cope were marked by more sessions of cannabis use, longer intoxication, higher subjective intoxication, and more cannabis consequences. Indirect effects of enacted stigma on cannabis use via coping motives were significant. However, only one of internalized stigma’s indirect effects was significant, with internalized stigma predicting cannabis consequences via daily coping motives. No indirect effects predicting alcohol use were significant. ConclusionsFindings provide robust evidence that using to cope is a mechanism through which enacted stigma predicts cannabis use and internalized stigma predicts cannabis consequences. Results did not provide evidence for similar associations for alcohol. Our findings suggest that interventions designed to reduce cannabis use among SMWGD should attend to their minority stress experiences and cannabis use motives and teach alternative coping strategies.

Haphephobia: a rare specific phobia of being touched

IntroductionHaphephobia is a morbid fear of being touched or touching. The symptoms of Haphephobia are very similar to other specific phobias.ObjectivesPresentation of a case of haphephobia due to childhood sexual abuseMethods Mrs. X., A 22-year-old Bangladeshi female, presents to the psychiatric consult service with an intense fear of being touched by her husband. She told that whenever her husband comes closer to her, her heart starts to pound fast, she feels discomfort in the chest, a burning sensation on her whole body, and loses control over the environment. Furthermore, she can’t sleep properly for the fear of being touched. Her in-laws’ parents concluded that some ‘evil spirits’ might cause the symptoms. So her husband brought her to a Psychiatrist. On an in-depth assessment session, ensuring all the confidentiality issues, she told the Psychiatrist that she has a history of brutal sexual abuse followed by the threat to kill her by her stepfather at the age of fourteen.Results After a thorough medical workup and history gathering, her consultant psychiatrist could elucidate the source of the presenting picture and told her that she developed haphephobia, and suggested taking psychotherapy along with prescribed medicines.Conclusions Fear of being touched is a particularly difficult fear to cope with. Patients with haphephobia after sexual assault should be handled very cautiously by the experts keeping confidentiality issues in mind. Cognitive-behavior therapy, Exposure therapy, Virtual reality exposure therapy, practicing mindfulness, using daily coping strategies, and medications like beta-blockers, anxiolytics, antidepressants can help a person to overcome haphephobia.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Exploration of the Independent Housing Experience of People with Mental Illness in a Community

Purpose: This study aims to explore the independent housing experiences of people with mental illness who receive supported independent housing services provided by the public sector.Methods: Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using semi-structured interviews. Twelve participants, who had been living independently in the community for around 11 months, were included. A qualitative descriptive method and a content analysis method were applied.Results: Independent housing experiences of people with mental illness were classified into the following four domains: house effect, growth, challenges and limitations, relationships, and support. Eleven categories included the starting point of life, environmental & psychological comfort, inspire independence and confidence, recognition of goals and responsibilities, positive self-awareness, psychological difficulties, immaturity of daily coping, unstable self-protection, relationship improvement, and importance of support resources.Conclusion: For successful community integration of mentally disabled people, continuous legal institutional preparation for stable housing, government active interest, and flexible financial support are needed. In addition to housing support, a recovery-based independent housing case management model needs to be developed for successful maintenance of independent living. We also suggest a study on the effectiveness of independent housing to determine evidence for making a policy.

Interaction effect of coping self-efficacy and received support in daily life of hematopoietic cell transplant patient-caregiver dyads.

ObjectivesAccording to the social cognitive theory, social support and self-efficacy may interact with each other i.e. compete or account jointly for better adaptation. This study examined the nature of the interaction between coping self-efficacy and received social support in daily lives of patient-caregiver dyads after cancer treatment. We tested whether the effect of daily fluctuations in coping self-efficacy and received support on daily affect was synergistic (positive jointed effect), compensatory (positive competing effect), or interference (negative competing effect).DesignA dyadic daily-diary study conducted for 28 days after hospital discharge following hematopoietic cell transplantation.MethodsCoping self-efficacy, received support, and positive and negative affect were measured in 200 patient-caregiver dyads. The analysis was based on the actor-partner interdependence moderation model using multilevel structural equation modeling.ResultsStatistically significant effect of interaction between daily coping self-efficacy and received support on negative affect was found, although only in the caregivers. In that group, higher daily received support compensated for lower daily coping self-efficacy but had a negative effect when coping self-efficacy was significantly higher than typical. Also, direct beneficial effects of higher daily coping self-efficacy and received support on caregiver positive affect were found. In the patients, higher daily coping self-efficacy was directly associated with better daily affect.ConclusionsDiverse effects of daily coping self-efficacy and received social support were found—the interference effect in the caregivers and the main effect of coping self-efficacy in the patients. Higher daily coping self-efficacy and optimal received social support may provide resilience against affect disturbance after cancer treatment.

Daily coping moderates the relations between stress and actigraphic sleep: a daily intensive longitudinal study with ecological momentary assessments

BackgroundTheoretical models argue that coping reduces stress responses, yet no studies have tested whether coping moderates the prospective stress effects on sleep in daily life. PurposeThis study tested if coping moderates the stress-sleep association using a daily, intensive longitudinal design across 7–12 days. Methods326 young adults (Mage = 23.24 ± 5.46) reported perceived stress and coping (problem-focused, emotional-approach, and avoidance) every evening between 20:00–02:00, providing over 2400 nights of sleep data and 3000 stress surveys from all participants. Actigraphy and sleep diaries measured total-sleep-time and sleep efficiency. Multilevel models tested the interaction effects of within- and between-person stress and coping on sleep. ResultsWithin-person problem-focused and emotional-approach coping moderated the within-person stress effects on actigraphic total-sleep-time (both p = 0.02); higher stress predicted shorter total-sleep-time only during high use of problem-focused or emotional-approach coping (both p = 0.01). Between-person avoidance moderated the between-person stress effect on actigraphic total-sleep-time (p = 0.04); higher stress predicted shorter total-sleep-time for high avoidance coping (p = 0.02). Within-person emotional-approach coping buffered the between-person stress effect on actigraphic sleep efficiency (p = 0.02); higher stress predicted higher sleep efficiency for high emotional-approach coping (p = 0.04). ConclusionsThis study showed that daily coping moderates the effects of evening stress on sleep that night. More efforts to cope with stress before bedtime had a short-term cost of shorter sleep that night. However, high use of emotional-approach coping buffered the impact of stress to promote sleep efficiency.

Coping under a COVID-19 lockdown: patterns of daily coping and individual differences in coping repertoires

ABSTRACT Background Polyregulation—the concurrent or sequential use of multiple strategies to regulate affect or cope with stressors—is a frequent but understudied phenomenon. Objectives We aimed to identify patterns of daily coping and individuals’ coping repertoires (i.e., range of coping patterns employed across situations) during a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. We investigated day-level covariates (appraisals, worrying, mood) of daily coping patterns and person-level covariates (psychopathology, average mood) of coping repertoires. Design: A non-representative community sample (n = 322, 15–82 years old) participated in a 21-day ambulatory assessment study. Methods We applied multilevel latent class analysis.. Results We identified seven daily coping patterns and ten classes of individuals differing in the size of their coping repertoire and their propensity for polyregulation. Daily coping patterns differed in daily perceived controllability and mood (but not in daily worrying or stress). At the person level, individuals with a higher level of average coronavirus-related worrying more frequently engaged in a high degree of polyregulation. The size of individuals’ coping repertoire was unrelated to psychopathology and average mood. Conclusion The findings provide insights into the composition of daily coping patterns and individuals’ coping repertoires during crisis periods and contribute to a new polyregulation perspective on coping.

Delivering an efficient and effective support group for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs): patient perspectives of key concerns and predictors of inclination to attend

BackgroundA subset of patients experience psychological distress following insertion of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and ICD support groups are recommended, however access to these groups is limited. This study aimed: to gauge a better understanding of patients’ key ICD-related concerns; to determine patient interest in a support group and topics deemed helpful to address in a support group; and to examine factors which affect patient inclination to attend.MethodsOne hundred and thirty nine patients completed the ICD Patient Concerns Questionnaire – Brief (ICDC-B) and a semi-structured survey. Non-parametric tests were used to examine associations and differences in the quantitative data. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.Results42% of respondents said they would attend a support group and inclination to attend was associated with higher ICD concerns and a shorter time since implant. Topics considered important to address in a group were information about heart conditions and devices, the impact of an ICD on daily life and coping with fear of shocks.ConclusionWe concluded that there is interest in further support amongst many patients and that ICD support groups may be delivered efficiently by targeting patients who have higher levels of ICD concerns and within the first few years after implant.

57-LB: Daily Communal Coping and Blood Glucose in Young Adult Couples with Type 1 Diabetes

Young adulthood is a time when persons with type 1 diabetes (PWD) become more fully responsible for diabetes management. Establishing healthy diabetes routines during this period is foundational for successful management across adulthood, yet this age group experiences higher HbA1c levels and more frequent diabetes-related hospital visits than any other age group. New partnered relationships during young adulthood may play a crucial role in mitigating these risks. Long-term married couples with type 1 diabetes report poorer outcomes (lower self-care, lower physical health and higher HbA1c) when they report greater critical and overprotective behaviors from their spouse (Helgeson et al., 2019). Daily collaboration and support may be associated with poorer self-care (Berg et al., 2020). The objective of this study was to examine associations between daily communal coping and PWD blood glucose. Twenty-four young married couples (ages 20-37, M=25.7 years) wherein one spouse had T1D completed daily measures of communal coping (i.e., emotional support, instrumental support, over-protective behavior, illness avoidance, and controlling behavior) for 9 consecutive days. Daily average blood glucose and time-in-range were computed from PWD glucose meter or continuous blood glucose monitor. Results from multilevel models suggested that higher within-person (person mean centered) instrumental support (b = -1.38, p=.002) and overprotective (b = -1.36, p=.025) or controlling (b = -1.86, p=.027) spousal behaviors predicted lower PWD time-in-range. Higher between-person (grand-mean centered) overprotective spousal behaviors predicted higher PWD daily average blood glucose (b = 32.20, p=.002). Findings suggest that some young romantic partners may engage in behaviors that are associated with higher average PWD blood glucose and lower time-in-range. Disclosure J. B. Yorgason: None. J. Saylor: None. C. Berg: None. S. Rellaford: None. D. L. Steeger: None. A. Davey: None.

Perfectionism, efficacy, and daily coping and affect in depression over 6 months.

This study examined how perfectionism and efficacy impacted the maintenance of daily coping and affect in depression over six months. Forty-six depressed patients (69.6% female, mean age = 41.11 years) completed measures of perfectionism dimensions (self-critical, personal standards), efficacy, and depressive severity at Time 1. Participants then completed daily diaries of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 consecutive days at Time 1 and Time 2, 6 months later. Perfectionism dimensions and efficacy were differentially correlated with appraisals, coping, and affect across Times 1 and 2. Behavioral disengagement tendencies mediated the relation between self-critical perfectionism and daily negative affect over 6 months, controlling for depressive severity. Efficacy was related to daily positive affect over 6 months through problem-focused coping tendencies. Results highlight the importance of addressing perfectionism, efficacy, and daily coping tendencies to more effectively reduce distress and bolster resilience in people with depression.

Appraisal and Coping Link Sexual Victimization History to Emotional Experience: A Multilevel Daily Diary Study.

Sexual victimization (SV) history is common among college students and has many adverse effects on health, but little is known about whether these effects are explained by everyday stress and coping. Further, most studies conflate between- and within-person effects, limiting our understanding of distinct trait- versus state-level pathways. To address these gaps, we examined the multilevel association of SV history with contemporary positive and negative affect and somatic symptoms via daily control appraisals and coping (problem-focused, meaning-focused, and avoidance) with daily stressors. Online daily diary surveys assessed stress, appraisals, coping, affect, and somatization among 261 undergraduates with and without SV history over 11 consecutive days. Between- and within-person differences in appraisals, coping, affect, and somatic symptoms were examined using multilevel covariance modeling in a causal system, testing daily stressor type as a moderator of within-person effects. Across days, SV history was indirectly linked only to average positive affect via meaning-focused coping, with no other between-person indirect effects. At the within-person level, greater negative affect was experienced in the context of interpersonal stress, driven by greater problem-focused coping, greater positive affect was experienced in the context of academic stress, driven by greater control appraisals, and less positive and negative affect were experienced in the context of intrapersonal stress, driven by lower control appraisals and less problem-focused coping. SV may influence daily stress processes at multiple levels, depending on stressor type. Appraised control and active coping are potentially important but understudied ways in which SV history informs contemporary stress management.

Lived Experiences of Young People who Live with Mental Healthcare Users in Limpopo, South Africa

Mental illness is more than just the diagnosis to an individual – it also has an impact on the social functioning of the family at large. When a parent or relative has a mental illness, all other family members are affected, even the children. The purpose of the study was to provide insight into the lived experiences of young people who live with mental healthcare users and the way in which their daily coping can be maximised. A qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological research was undertaken to explore and describe the lived experiences of young people who live with mental healthcare users in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Audiotaped, unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 young people who grew up and lived with a family member who is a mental healthcare user in their homes, until data saturation was reached. A content analysis was used to derive themes from the collected qualitative data. Four major themes emerged as features reflective of the young people’s daily living with mental healthcare user, namely psychological effects, added responsibilities, effects on school performances, and support systems. This study recommends that support networks for young people be established through multidisciplinary team involvement and collaboration and the provision of burden-sharing or a relief system during times of need. With the availability of healthy coping mechanisms and support systems, the daily living situations and coping of young people could be maximised, thereby improving their quality of life while living with their family members with mental illness.

Daily Coping With Social Identity Threat in Outgroup-Dominated Contexts: Self-Group Distancing Among Female Soldiers

We examine the degree to which women in a male-dominated field cope with daily experiences of social identity threat by distancing themselves from other women. A daily experience-sampling study among female soldiers (N = 345 data points nested in 61 participants) showed women to self-group distance more on days in which they experienced more identity threat. This was mediated by daily concerns about belonging but not achievement in the military, supporting the explanation that women distance from other women as a way to fit in a masculine domain. However, on a daily basis, self-group distancing did not appear to protect women's outcomes as it was related to lower daily well-being and motivation. The findings indicate that targets are not passive recipients of identity threat but active agents coping daily with the challenges they face, but that regulation strategies may also incur costs. Implications for theories on coping with stigma and costs are discussed.

Psychological coping strategies associated with improved mental health in the context of infertility

To examine the use of psychological coping strategies across the menstrual cycle in relation to within-person changes in depressed mood, anxious mood, and infertility-related distress, in a sample of women struggling to conceive. Sixty-five women from Canada and the USA (aged 19-43years) trying to conceive naturally for ≥ 12months were recruited via social media. On the first day of each participant's menstrual period, and every 3days until the end of their cycle, participants completed questionnaires assessing depressed and anxious mood, and infertility-related distress. In addition, participants completed a 13-item coping questionnaire assessing four general coping strategies: emotional suppression, active coping, engagement in activities unrelated to trying to conceive, and downplaying the importance of biological children. The within-person effect of daily coping strategies on person-centred mood and infertility-related distress was examined. Day-to-day use of behavioural engagement was associated with lower person-centred depression scores, β(SEM) = - 3.25(.51), p < .0001, anxiety scores, β(SEM) = - 2.07(.36), p < .0001, and infertility-related daily distress, β(SEM) = - .64(.22), p = .005. Downplaying the importance of biological children was also associated with person-centred depression scores, β(SEM) = 1.14(.47), p = .016. Neither active coping nor emotional suppression was related to depression, anxiety, or distress (ps > .0125). These findings point to promising targets of future intervention studies, including promoting increased engagement in behaviours unrelated to conceiving and promoting acceptance, rather than denial and resistance, of feelings throughout the infertility journey.