Focused Coping Style Research Articles

Perfectionism and coping styles with stress

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between perfectionism and coping styles with stress in a sample of students. 378 students were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Farsi version of the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (FPANPS) and the Tehran Coping Styles Scale (TCSS).The results revealed that positive perfectionism was positively associated with problem-focused and positive emotional focused coping styles, and negatively associated with negative emotional focused coping style. The results also revealed that negative perfectionism was negatively associated with problem-focused and positive emotional focused coping styles, and positively associated with negative emotional focused coping style.

Emotional intelligence and coping styles with stress

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and coping styles with stress in a sample of students. Four hundred and thirteen students (140 boys, 273 girls) were included in this study. All participants completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and the Tehran Coping Styles Scale (TCSS). The results revealed that EI was positively associated with problem-focused and positive emotional focused coping styles, and negatively associated with negative emotional focused coping style. EI is supposed to influence coping strrategies through management and regulation of emotions, utilization and facilitation of emotions, and apprisal of emotions.

Psychological coping style versus disease extent, tumour treatment and quality of life in successfully treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients

To study self-reported coping style by the COPE questionnaire and the association to tumour node distant metastasis (TNM) stage, received treatment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population of successfully treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. Disease free HNSCC patients were interviewed during a regular outpatient visit to the Department. All patients <80 years who had been diagnosed with HNSCC, in Western Norway, in the period from 1992 to 1997 and who were disease free in the year 2000 were included. The HNSCC patients were studied by the European organization for research and treatment of cancer quality of life (QoL) questionnaire and by the COPE questionnaire from which coping styles profiles were extracted. Clinical and socio-demographic variables were also gathered. Level of problem focused coping style was associated with the T stage and whether or not the patient was given neck radiotherapy. An avoidance-focused coping style was generally associated with lowered HRQoL. Employment of emotional focused coping was associated with low HRQoL among the patients treated with surgery only, and associated with increased HRQoL among patients treated with radiation therapy only. The associations between HRQoL and coping style levels were stronger for HRQoL indexes reflecting cognitive/emotional function than for HRQoL indexes reflecting physical function. In former HNSCC patients, level of problem focused coping style was associated with the T stage and if given neck radiotherapy. Level of avoidance coping was inversely associated with the HRQoL, and level of emotional coping was associated with HRQoL in a complex manner.

Stress, coping, uplifts, and quality of life in subtypes of depression: a conceptual frame and emerging data

Background: Depressive illness is associated with several functional disturbances, including increased stress perception and reliance on emotion focused coping styles, reduced perception of uplifting events, and impairment of several aspects of quality of life. Inasmuch as different subtypes of depression may be accompanied by differing neuroendocrine profiles, it was of interest to establish whether they could also be distinguished from one another on the basis of functional behavioral indices. Methods: Major stressors, day-to-day stressors and uplift perception, coping styles, and quality of life were assessed in control participants, as well as in acute or chronically (dysthymia) depressed patients exhibiting either typical or atypical features, and in treatment resistant major depressive patients. Results: Relative to controls, the depressive groups had higher perceptions of day-to-day stressors (hassles), reduced perception of uplifting events, excessive reliance on emotion-focused coping strategies, and diminished quality of life. Among depressed patients the hassles, coping styles and some elements of quality of life were related to symptom severity, as well as treatment-resistance. Limitations: Data concerning stress, coping and quality of life were collected retrospectively, and the number of subjects in each condition was small. Hence, the relationship of the outcome measures to depression need to be considered cautiously. Conclusions: Quality of life represents a functional index of the behavioral and cognitive impact of depression. This outcome measure is sensitive to differences as a function of depressive characteristics, and may prove to be a useful assessment tool in evaluating treatment efficacy.

Psychotherapy of an Adolescent with Dissociative Identity Disorder

A female adolescent with dissociative identity disorder was assessed using structured interviews and the Rorschach test before and after one year of individual psychotherapy. In addition to improvement in several comorbid psychiatric disorders, according to the structured evaluation, criteria for neither dissociative identity disorder nor borderline personality disorder were met at the second evaluation. The main differences on the Rorschach assessments before and after integration were in the development of form-dominated color and human movement responses and a diminution in the externally focused coping style. The differences were interpreted as improvement in aggressiveness, impulsivity, anxiety, and better identification with social environment. This case study suggests that the Rorschach test can be used to evaluate the change of patients with dissociative identity disorder in psychotherapy.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms following shipwreck of a Norwegian Navy frigate — an early follow-up

The purpose of this study was to conduct an early follow-up of survivors from the shipwreck of a Norwegian Naval frigate. In the accident one person died and nine were injured of a total crew of 114 persons. Two weeks after the shipwreck, the crew were assigned to a new identical frigate for a period of 4 months in order to complete their scheduled operational duties. Post-traumatic stress reactions were measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10) at 3 weeks, 4 and 12 months after the shipwreck. The results showed that even a trained military crew displayed a high number of acute stress reactions. Contextual factors like social role (e.g. being a conscript) and personality factors like an avoidance focused coping style, measured by the Coping Style Questionnaire (CSQ-30), were strongly associated with more acute stress reactions. Over time, the overall level of post-traumatic stress reactions were reduced and the scores of the conscripts did not differ from those of the officers. One implication of these findings could be the need to develop more sophisticated screening procedures in order to target early preventive interventions and acute treatment after maritime accidents.

Influence of Personal Characteristics on Salespeople's Coping Style

Researchers are devoting efforts to developing and testing theory concerning how salespeople cope with job stress. To further understanding in that area, the present study evaluates the influence of four personal variables, locus of control, task based self-efficacy, continuance commitment, and social support relative to Problem Focused and Emotion-Focused coping styles. Findings suggest that salespeople who employ a Problem-Focused Coping (PFC) style possess a more internal locus of control and greater self-efficacy beliefs. None of the four personal characteristics variables were predictive of salespeople's use of Emotion-Focused Coping (EFC) style.

Circulating lymphocyte subsets in obsessive compulsive disorder, major depression and normal controls

Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) shares several features with depressive illness (e.g., comorbidity, early escape from dexamethasone suppression, effectiveness of serotonergic pharmacotherapy). It was of interest to establish whether OCD, like major depression, was also associated with immune alterations, notably elevations of circulating natural killer (NK) cells. Method: Circulating lymphocytes were determined from morning blood samples taken from OCD and major depressive patients, as well as from age- and sex-matched controls. Stress perception and coping styles were evaluated in order to assess whether such variables accompanied the NK alterations. Finally, in a subset of patients, symptoms of the illness, stress/coping, and circulating lymphocytes, were also evaluated following 12 weeks of antidepressant medication (serotonergic reuptake inhibitor). Results: The major depressive and OCD patients reported increased perception of day-to-day stresses, coupled with reliance on emotion focused coping styles. Moreover, circulating NK cells were elevated among male OCD and major depressive patients, whereas only a modest increase of NK cells was seen in female major depressives. Twelve weeks of medication alleviated depressive and OCD symptoms, and resulted in normalization of NK cells in the major depressives. However, in OCD patients the reduction of symptoms was not accompanied by significant variations of circulating NK cells. Conclusions: Although major depression and OCD are both accompanied by elevated circulating NK cells, at least in males, normalization of NK cells following treatment was only evident in depression. The persistent elevations of NK cells among male OCD patients may reflect either a trait characteristic of the illness, or symptom reduction and not true remission. Limitations: Although elevations of lymphocyte subsets in major depressive and OCD patients were observed, conclusions concerning immune status in OCD ought to be held in abeyance pending assessment of other indices of immune and cytokine functioning.

Success and failure in the labour market

AbstractIn previous research on unemployment, conflicting evidence has been found for a ‘reverse causation interpretation’, indicating that prolonged unemployment is a consequence of psychological distress instead of the reverse. The present longitudinal study was conducted to test this reverse causation explanation. A second issue addressed in this study was whether getting a job or not depends more strongly on subjective or psychological factors than on objective factors (e.g. a person's biographical background, length of unemployment). Two independent samples were examined: Sample 1 (n = 635) consisted of school‐leavers, and sample 2 (n = 467) consisted of subjects who had been unemployed for more than one year. Some support was found for the reverse causation explanation. In addition, more than objective factors, a strong job orientation and a problem focused coping style appeared to be a precursor of success in the labour market. Accordingly, getting a job seems to be primarily a function of one's own efforts.