Determinants Of Coping Strategies Research Articles

Determinants of coping strategies among agropastoralists in Kitui and Isiolo counties, Kenya

Agropastoralists in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASALs) face various shocks that threaten their livelihoods and expose them to significant health and economic risks. While existing studies often focus on climate-related shocks, they frequently overlook other challenges faced by these communities. A comprehensive understanding of how agropastoralists manage diverse shocks is essential to developing effective vulnerability reduction strategies. This study examined the major shocks experienced by agropastoral households in Kenya’s ASALs, their primary coping strategies, and the determinants informing the choice of the strategies adopted. Using cross-sectional data from 371 households in Isiolo (203) and Kitui (168) counties, this study applied descriptive analysis and multivariate probit (MVP) models to assess coping strategies and influencing factors. From 2016 to 2021, households faced shocks, such as droughts, livestock pests and diseases, crop pests, theft, and intercommunal conflicts. Regional variations were observed: crop pests were common in Kitui, whereas Isiolo experienced higher theft and conflict rates. Coping strategies include income diversification, asset sales, increased farm labor, and reduced food expenditure. Severe droughts and conflicts led to migration, while floods caused extreme measures such as withdrawing children from school. Key factors influencing coping strategies include household demographics, farm characteristics, and market proximity. Households with more adults, higher literacy, or greater income from crops and livestock are less likely to adopt costly strategies. This study recommends integrated interventions to enhance resilience to both climate and non-climate shocks.

COVID-19 Pandemic, household income and coping strategies in Nigeria

This study analyzed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household income and the determinants of coping strategies in Nigeria, using the combination of the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey data and the fourth wave of the General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019. The fourth wave of General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019 data is part of the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) and the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria collected the data in collaboration with the World Bank and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020, Baseline was implemented by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank. The analyses were based on multinomial logistic and multivariate probit models. Multinomial logit regression analysis shows that households that consider the pandemic a substantial threat and households with older heads were more likely to have decreased income while households that received transfer income and self-employed were more likely to have increased income. Several household characteristics exhibited different levels of influence on the choice of coping strategies during the lockdown. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be developed to foster meaningful (wage/self) employment and coping strategies to achieve optimal results in response to the pandemic.

Linking COVID-19-Related Awareness and Anxiety as Determinants of Coping Strategies’ Utilization among Senior High School Teachers in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Cognitive-behavioral coping among teachers is an important issue of investigation due to the reported high prevalence of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas several studies have assessed COVID-19 awareness of individuals as a predictor of anxiety, the moderating role of awareness in anxiety and coping mechanisms remains unclear. The study primarily examined the nexus between awareness of COVID-19 and (a) anxiety and (b) coping strategies, including the interaction effect of COVID-19-related awareness in the link between anxiety and coping strategies among senior high school teachers. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted to conveniently select 184 teachers from senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Questionnaires were administered to the participants and data were analyzed with means, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and linear regression statistical procedures. Summarily, the results revealed a negative relationship between COVID-19 awareness and anxiety levels of teachers. COVID-19-related anxiety significantly predicted coping mechanisms of teachers. Further, COVID-19 awareness significantly moderated the relationship between anxiety and coping strategies adopted. These findings imply that the public health education and mass awareness campaign programs on COVID-19 could act as buffers against the spread of COVID-19, its associated comorbidities, and help improve the mental health of teachers. Promoting adaptation to COVID-19 through the use of functional management strategies such as active coping and emotional support should be encouraged in the Cape Coast Metropolis among teachers.

‘How to cope with stress?’ Determinants of coping strategies used by parents raising children with intellectual disabilities, other developmental disorders and typically developing children. A cross-sectional study from Poland

ABSTRACT Introduction: Constructive coping strategies play an important role during childcare processes. We examined the determinants of coping strategies used by parents raising children with intellectual disabilities or other developmental disorders and by parents with typically developing children. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in Cracow. The participants in the survey were 507 caregivers. The research used the Mini-COPE Inventory for Measurement–Coping with Stress and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: Parents of disabled children and parents of children without disabilities used the strategy of active coping most often and the strategy of substance use the least. Sociodemographic variables such as age, place of residence, education, and sociodemographic situation determined the type of strategy for dealing with stress. The statistical analysis showed the relationship between parents’ self-efficacy and type of coping strategy. Conclusion: There is a need to develop individualized family psychological support programs to stimulate caregivers’ constructive coping strategies.

Особливості копінг-поведінки у студентському віці

The article deals with the theoretical and methodological basis of the study of coping strategies in the student age. It is noted that the importance of coping behavior is to solve the following important tasks in stressful situations: to find the meaning of the situation, to confront the stressor, to maintain relations with those who could be a potential helper in solving the crisis, to maintain emotional balance, to maintain the image of self,social identity and self-belief. Emphasis is placed on the following coping behavior strategies: solving a problem, managing one’s emotions, avoiding a stressful situation. It is noted that the most responsive strategy is to solve the problem. The assumption is made that there is a relationship between the psychological characteristics of the personality structure and the person’s choice of a strategy for behavior in the stress. Such characteristics can be features of thinking (criticality and flexibility), organizational and communication skills, personal readiness to act in situations of uncertainty, readiness to resolve conflicts. It is argued that the choice of coping strategies and their implementation are filled with age-related psychological personality traits. Respectively, in the student-age determinants of coping behavior may be specific internal characteristics of the individual, which are important for the purposeful learning of students adaptive, effective coping. An empirical study of psychological determinants of coping strategies in a student environment is highlighted.

Determinants of coping strategies in two types of natural hazards: Flash floods and costal flooding

Over recent decades, the effects of the intensity of natural disasters, especially hydro-meteorological phenomena, have increased significantly, especially in countries with rapidly-growing economies. Accordingly, it is necessary to identify the coping strategies individuals use and, in particular, their willingness to act. Cognitive and affective variables explain the presence or absence of behavioral intention. The aim of this study was to formulate and empirically test an explanatory model of coping strategies in response to two natural disaster risks: coastal flooding and flash floods. A total of 608 individuals living in Colombia, exposed to these phenomena, participated in our study (257 exposed to flash flooding and 351 to coastal flooding). Structural equation modeling allowed us to establish that although place attachment and personal involvement are constants in determining coping strategies focused on problem solving, the role of risk perception differs significantly according to the risk under study. In the case of flash floods, the longer a person has lived in a place, the more they tend to develop coping strategies to manage stress, while in the case of coastal flooding, risk perception negatively determines strategies based on emotion regulation and avoidance. These findings are discussed in the light of the literature in this field.

Personal and contextual determinants of coping strategies.

This study examined personal and contextual predictors of active and avoidance coping strategies in a community sample of over 400 adults and in a sample of over 400 persons entering psychiatric treatment for unipolar depression. Sociodemographic factors of education and income (except for active-cognitive coping), personality dispositions of self-confidence and an easy-going manner, and contextual factors of negative life events and family support each made a significant incremental contribution to predicting active and avoidance coping. Among both healthy adults and patients, active and avoidance coping were positively associated with negative life events. Individuals who had more personal and environmental resources were more likely to rely on active coping and less likely to use avoidance coping. Moreover, for both groups, most of the predictors continued to show significant relations with active and avoidance coping strategies even after the stable component in coping was controlled in a longitudinal design. A comprehensive framework to understand the determinants of coping can be of practical value in suggesting points for therapeutic interventions aimed at fostering more adaptive coping efforts.