Individual Differences In Coping Research Articles

Daily Stress, Drinking Motives and Alcohol Co-Use with Other Drugs

Background: Recent evidence indicates that alcohol and other substance co-use, compared to alcohol-only use, might be more closely associated with negative reinforcement processes, and thus more likely during periods of increased stress. The present study examined this possibility by using data from an intensive longitudinal (daily) study of college student drinkers (N = 1461, 54% women). We also examined individual differences in coping and enhancement drinking motives as predictors of alcohol and other substance co-use. Results: We used multilevel multinomial logistic regression to predict, relative to alcohol-only days, the likelihood of alcohol co-use with either cigarettes or marijuana, along with alcohol use with multiple substances and other substance-only use from daily interpersonal and academic stress, day-of-the-week, sex, and individual differences in coping and enhancement drinking motives. We found that, relative to alcohol-only, alcohol and marijuana co-use was more likely, and non-alcohol related substance use was less likely, on weekends. Alcohol and marijuana co-use was less likely, and other substance-only use was more likely, on days characterized by greater academic stress, whereas alcohol and cigarette co-use was more likely on days characterized by greater interpersonal stress. Individuals with higher levels of drinking to cope motivation were more likely to engage in alcohol and cigarette co-use, other substance-only use, and alcohol plus multiple substances, relative to alcohol-only. Individuals with higher levels of enhancement motives were more likely to engage in all types of alcohol and other substance co-use and other substance-only use relative to alcohol-only. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in terms of the complex nature of different patterns of co-use patterns when evaluating indicators of positive- and negative-reinforcement processes.

Effective Coping with Academic Stress Is a Matter of Personality Types: Revisiting the Person-Centred Approach.

Recent literature provides alarming data on the increase in university academic stress. The role of personality in understanding and addressing this problem is well established. However, this evidence could be improved by adopting a person-centred approach (e.g., types), as opposed to the usual variable-centred approach (e.g., traits), and considering the role of gender. Our aim was to explore how personality types and gender relate to coping strategies and perceived coping efficacy for academic stress. A total of 810 university psychology students completed the NEO-FFI Inventory and the Coping Strategies Inventory. Post hoc tests for MANOVA and ANOVA were performed. Types and gender were used as predictors and coping strategies, and perceived coping efficacy as criteria. There was no type-gender interaction. Types combining low neuroticism-high conscientiousness (e.g., entrepreneur) chose the most adaptive coping strategies and showed the highest levels of perceived coping efficacy, while high neuroticism-low conscientiousness types (e.g., insecure) opted for maladaptive coping strategies and presented the lowest perceived coping efficacy. Gender was not associated with perceived coping efficacy but with use (e.g., women prefer emotional expression). The personality typology provided useful information on individual differences in coping with academic stress, which can help guide specific strategies to manage it.

Everybody Copes: An Interprofessional Workshop on Stress, Coping, and Helping Primary Care Patients Manage Medical Stressors.

The value of psychological principles has become apparent in medical settings, especially with the rise of patient-centered care. We aimed to provide a curriculum informing medical providers about the theoretical basis and clinical utility of the social-cognitive model of stress and coping. This workshop was delivered to an interprofessional team of faculty and trainees. Our initial pedagogical approach was to relate the concepts of cognitive appraisals and coping strategies to participants' own stress responses. We then used didactic presentation and small-group activities to explore ways to promote adaptive coping with patients to improve health outcomes. Learners participated in a mindfulness exercise, conceptualized coping strategies given a hypothetical case scenario, and, in small groups, role-played a patient encounter to construct an effective coping repertoire for the patient. Participants completed a prework self-assessment and workshop evaluation form. The 2.5-hour workshop had 48 participants from five professions (medicine, education, physician assistant, pharmacology, psychology). We received 35 evaluations (73% response rate). Learners reported increased real-world skills (M = 8.0 out of 10) and feeling better prepared for working in interprofessional settings (M = 7.6 out of 10). Qualitative feedback suggested that participants recognized the importance of individual differences in coping with stress and felt they could categorize strategies into emotion- or problem-focused coping. This workshop provided participants with basic knowledge about the social-cognitive model of stress and coping and allowed them to practice newly learned skills in a role-play as an interprofessional medical care team.

Decision-making style and emotional intelligence in post-COVID young people

OBJECTIVES: To study the interrelationships of decision-making style as a reflection of individual differences in coping with uncertainty and emotional creativity as a factor of self-realization in young people who have had COVID-19.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined 100 convalescents aged 18.2±2.25 years, including 50 men (Group M) and 50 women (Group G) (the age difference between the groups is not significant). The main transferred clinical forms of COVID-19 were the inapparent form — 42.0% (group M — 32 people, group G — 10 people), acute respiratory viral infection — 56.0% (group M — 17 people, group G — 39 people) according to the Russian versions of the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) and the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI).RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In both groups of examined individuals after suffering COVID-19 in all clinical forms of the disease, the «vigilance” strategy, considered as productive, is of the greatest importance in the decision- making process; unproductive strategies are not expressed, which is important for the subsequent medical and psychological support of convalescents. It is noted that the interaction between the factors of emotional creativity is expressed not only in an increase in creativity when high values coincide on two or more faces, but also in the fact that low values of one component can be compensated by high values of another.CONCLUSION: The data obtained are important for conducting medical and psychological support for convalescents and for preventing the formation of professional burnout, and for quick adaptation to various life situations, and for motivation to prevent the occurrence of changes in functional states after suffering COVID-19.

Energy allocation trade-offs between life-history traits in the Mediterranean sardine: an ecophysiological approach

Since 2008, there has been a major decrease in the numbers of old and large sardines in the Gulf of Lions, which has had a major effect on regional fisheries. A bottom-up process involving a shift in diet towards smaller planktonic prey has been suggested as the main driver of this development. Yet, the reproductive capacities of the sardines have not changed, suggesting potential modifications in energy allocation trade-offs. Whether this could also affect maintenance, in particular at the end of the winter reproductive period, and explain the lower adult survival and the disappearance of older individuals remains unclear. We therefore experimentally investigated the consequences of seasonal food availability (summer vs. winter) on life-history traits and energy allocation trade-offs at the individual and population levels. Our results indicate that food resources during summer had a major effect on energy reserves and growth, limiting the maximum size and body condition reached at the end of reproduction. In addition, food restrictions during growth and/or reproduction periods led to physiological costs mediated by increased oxidative damage. Mediterranean sardines did not show any ability for compensatory growth and did not appear to be capital breeders. Instead, they displayed individual differences in coping with physiological constraints and displayed various life-history strategies regardless of food availability. We highlighted 3 main individual energy allocation strategies: (1) preferential allocation to body condition or (2) to growth, or (3) simultaneous allocation to reproduction and growth. These issues are key, as climate change is expected to favour smaller phytoplankton, which might amplify the deterioration in the condition of pelagic fish.

Variability in Behavioral Phenotypes after Forced Swimming-Induced Stress in Rats Is Associated with Expression of the Glucocorticoid Receptor, Nurr1, and IL-1β in the Hippocampus.

Individual differences in coping with stress may determine either a vulnerable or resilient phenotype. Therefore, it is important to better understand the biology underlying the behavioral phenotype. We assessed whether individual behavioral phenotype to acute stress is related with the hippocampal expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), Nurr1, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Wistar male rats were exposed to forced swimming for 15 min and sacrificed at different times. Behavioral response was analyzed, and it was compared with the gene and protein expression of GR, Nurr1, IL-1β and BDNF in the hippocampus for each time point. Behavioral phenotyping showed a group with high immobility (vulnerable) while another had low immobility (resilient). No significant differences were found in the Nurr1, IL-1β and BDNF mRNA levels between resilient and vulnerable rats at different recovery times except for Nr3c1 (gene for GR). However, exposure to stress caused significantly higher levels of GR, Nurr1 and IL-1β proteins of vulnerable compared to resilient rats. This variability of behavioral phenotypes is associated with a differential molecular response to stress that involves GR, Nurr1, and IL-1β as mediators in coping with stress. This contributes to identifying biomarkers of susceptibility to stress.

Personality dimensions and disorders and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose of reviewThe COVID-19 pandemic has tested people's coping and resilience. This article reviews research and scholarly work aiming to shed more light on personality-based factors that account for adjustment to the pandemic situation.Recent findingsMost studies relied on a cross-sectional design and were conducted using personality dimensions based on the Big Five personality model. Findings suggest that high levels of neuroticism constitute a risk for pandemic-induced distress and poor overall coping. People with prominent extraversion, conscientiousness or agreeableness have generally demonstrated a good adjustment to the pandemic, including compliance with containment and mitigation measures imposed by the authorities to limit the spread of COVID-19. A few studies of individuals with borderline personality disorder identified social isolation as the most destabilising factor for them. Poor compliance with containment and mitigation measures has been strongly associated with various antisocial personality traits.SummaryPersonality-based factors account for some individual differences in coping with both COVID-19-related threat and distress and requirements to comply with containment and mitigation measures. Better understanding of these factors could contribute to a more effective adjustment to the challenges of future public health crises.

Web Exclusive. Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Preparing for Battle: How Hospitalists Can Manage the Stress of COVID-19.

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The Coping Scales From the German Stress and Coping Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents

Abstract. The coping scales from the Stress and Coping Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (SSKJ 3–8; Lohaus, Eschenbeck, Kohlmann, & Klein-Heßling, 2018 ) are subscales of a theoretically based and empirically validated self-report instrument for assessing, originally in the German language, the five strategies of seeking social support, problem solving, avoidant coping, palliative emotion regulation, and anger-related emotion regulation. The present study examined factorial structure, measurement invariance, and internal consistency across five different language versions: English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. The original German version was compared to each language version separately. Participants were 5,271 children and adolescents recruited from primary and secondary schools from Germany ( n = 3,177), France ( n = 329), Russia ( n = 378), the Dominican Republic ( n = 243), Ukraine ( n = 437), and several English-speaking countries such as Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, and the USA (English-speaking sample: n = 707). For the five different language versions of the SSKJ 3–8 coping questionnaire, confirmatory factor analyses showed configural as well as metric and partial scalar invariance (French) or partial metric invariance (English, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian). Internal consistency coefficients of the coping scales were also acceptable to good. Significance of the results was discussed with special emphasis on cross-cultural research on individual differences in coping.

Observing Children’s Play Activity Using the Children’s Developmental Play Instrument (CDPI): A Qualitative Validity Study

ABSTRACTThis is a qualitative study of three children’s play activity and the concept of children’s play styles using the Children’s Developmental Play Instrument (CDPI). A brief summary description of the CDPI and the concept of play styles introduces the reader to the play scale. Two of the children’s play activity was previously rated as part of a larger quantitative study (N = 160) as manifesting attributes of the inhibited/conflicted play style. A third child was selected as a comparison example whose play activity was observed as predominantly manifesting the adaptive play style. Each child’s play activity is described in detail and analyzed using categories of the CDPI. Peer play and solitary play activity are discussed to illustrate individual differences in coping with the challenges confronting children at this age as they enter preschool. The authors use this issue to clarify the contributions of qualitative analysis to the understanding of play styles.

SERT gene polymorphisms are associated with risk-taking behaviour and breeding parameters in wild great tits

Individual differences in coping with potentially dangerous situations are affected by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. How genetic polymorphisms and behavioural variations are related to fitness is unknown. One of the candidate genes affecting a variety of behavioural processes, including impulsivity, anxiety and mood fluctuations in both humans and other vertebrates, is the serotonin transporter gene (SERT/SLC6A). The aim of this study was to assess an association between SERT genotypes and novelty-seeking and risk-taking behaviours as well as breeding parameters of great tits (Parus major) in a natural environment. We associated polymorphisms in the promoter exonic regions of the SERT gene with parental risk-taking-related behaviour and fitness traits. Our results show that: (1) risk-taking behaviour in our great tit population is linked to single nucleotide polymorphisms in the SERT gene exon 3 and exon 8; (2) the genotype-behaviour associations are consistent with the presence of different stressors; and (3) polymorphisms in exon 8 could be associated with fitness-related traits, such as the start of egg-laying and hatching success. We showed for the first time that genetic variability of SERT plays an important role in shaping individual decision-making that affects fitness in a wild population. However, the results are based on one population and on the polymorphisms that are in a single gene. Therefore, replication studies are needed in order to confirm these preliminary results.

Preliminary Identification of Coping Profiles Relevant to Surrogate Decision Making in the ICU

ObjectiveThe Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a stressful environment for families of critically ill patients and these individuals are at risk to develop persistent psychological morbidity. Our study objective was to identify individual differences in coping with stress and information presentation preferences of respondents exposed to a simulated ICU experience.MethodsParticipants were recruited from a university and two community populations. Participants completed questionnaires that measured demographic information and characteristics that may be relevant to an individual’s ICU experience. Quality of life was measured by the EQ-5D, personality dimensions were examined with the abbreviated Big Five inventory, coping with stress was assessed with Brief COPE. Shared decision making preferences were assessed by the Degner Control Preferences Scale (CPS) and information seeking style was assessed with the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS). Social support was examined using an abbreviated version of the Social Relationship Index. Participants also completed a vignette-based simulated ICU experience, in which they made a surrogate decision on behalf of a loved one in the ICU.ResultsThree hundred forty-three participants completed the study. Three distinct coping profiles were identified: adaptive copers, maladaptive copers, and disengaged copers. Profiles differed primarily on coping styles, personality, quality of their closest social relationship, and history of anxiety and depression. Responses to the simulated ICU decision making experience differed across profiles. Disengaged copers (15%) were more likely to elect to refuse dialysis on behalf of an adult sibling compared to adaptive copers (7%) or maladaptive copers (5%) (p = 0.03). Notably, the MBSS and the CPS did not differ by coping profile.ConclusionDistinct coping profiles are associated with differences in responses to a simulated ICU experience. Tailoring communication and support to specific coping profiles may represent an important pathway to improving ICU experience for patients and families.

Aportes de la psicología positiva a la comprensión y abordaje de los comportamientos suicidas

Traditionally, the psychological study and approach of suicidal behaviors aimed to the identification of the associated risk factors. However, progressively in recent decades and in line with developments called salutogenic, research on the subject has begun to turn to the identification and understanding of protective and resilient factors, referring as those that act as buffers against suicidality. By salutogenic approach it is understood the body of theoretical developments oriented to study personal strengths and resources that promote health potential on people and allow to detect individual differences in coping with adversity. Within this approach, it is particularly interesting the positive psychology, so it has been the movement that consolidate these developments, which initiate at mid twentieth century. In this context, the work presented aimed to review the contributions of positive psychology to the conceptualization, assessment and treatment of suicidal behaviors. Basically, they are presented three contributions: optimism and suicidality, theory of positive emotions, and the perspective of the theory of self-determination in relation to the interpersonal theory of suicide. The implications are discussed.

Perceived stress, coping, and cortisol reactivity in daily life: A study of adolescents during the first year of college

Adolescents change how they cope with stress across different situations, but also differ from one another in their general capacity to cope. The current study examined whether cortisol reactivity to perceived daily stress varies with both situational (within-person) and individual (between-person) differences in coping. First-year college students (N=63; Mage=18.85) provided 15 stress-coping diaries and 15 corresponding saliva samples across 3 weekdays. Results from hierarchical linear growth models revealed that perceiving greater stress than usual in the last hour was significantly associated with elevations in cortisol (relative to diurnal patterning) only during situations characterized by greater than usual diary-reported engagement coping. Regarding individual differences, perceiving greater stress than usual was significantly associated with elevations in cortisol only for adolescents below average on trait measures of engagement coping or belief in their ability to handle stress. Findings indicate that cortisol reactivity to daily stress varies with both situational variation and individual differences in coping.

Ineffective VTA Disinhibition in Protracted Opiate Withdrawal

Recently, Kaufling and Aston-Jones showed that, under protracted opiate withdrawal, control of dopamine activity by the tail of the ventral tegmental area shifts from a bidirectional influence towards one-way inhibition. Beyond dysphoric states accompanying withdrawal, these results may also impact research on depression and individual differences in coping and affect.

Cope and Grow

In this grounded theory qualitative study, we interviewed 34 graduates from one cohort of 51 students from a prestigious early college entrance program in China. Based on the interview data, we identified distinct convergent and divergent patterns of lived experiences and changes. We found several dominant themes, including peers’ mutual stimulation for excellence, academic competition, big-fish-little-pond effect, coping with academic challenges, transition to college life, developing intrinsic interests, and making critical career decisions. Based on the thematic analysis, we developed a Cope-and-Grow model of strivings for academic excellence while developing one’s self-identity. Three interrelated claims are made about the unique situation in which early college entrants found themselves, individual differences in coping and growing experiences, and intrapersonal changes over time. Rich connections are made between the Cope-and-Grow model and the extant empirical research and theories, such as aptitude theory, developmental asynchrony theory, and talent development theory. We also discussed the implications of the findings for curricular and instructional adaptation, counseling interventions, and future research.

Emotional user experience: Traits, events, and states☆

Emotional experience has become an important topic in human–technology interaction research and design. Nevertheless, such research and design often lacks a proper explanatory basis and methodologically robust operationalisation. In this article, a conceptualisation of emotional user experience is formulated based on the appraisal theory of emotion, where the goal congruence of the interaction events and the task-independent individual traits are thought to underlie the user′s emotional response. A laboratory study with N=50 participants conducting ordinary computer tasks is reported. The results suggest that subjective emotional experience depends on a number of factors relating to individual differences in coping and task events. Emotional user experience, as analysed according to a competence–frustration model of emotion, is dependent on the user׳s technological problem-solving tendency, frustration tendency, pre-task self-confidence, and task performance.

Emotional approach coping and the effects of online peer-led support group participation among patients with breast cancer: a longitudinal study.

BackgroundPrevious research on the effects of online peer support on psychological well-being of patients with cancer showed mixed findings. There is a need for longitudinal studies explaining if and when online peer-led support groups are beneficial. How patients cope with emotions that come along with the cancer diagnosis might influence effectiveness of online participation. Emotional approach coping is a construct encompassing the intentional use of emotional processing and emotional expression in efforts to manage adverse circumstances.ObjectiveIn this longitudinal study, we hypothesize that mixed findings in previous research are partly caused by individual differences in coping with emotions, which may moderate the effects of online support group participation on patients’ well-being.MethodsA total of 133 Dutch patients with breast cancer filled out a baseline (T0) and a follow-up (T1, 6 months later) questionnaire assessing intensity of online participation within the online support community, emotional approach coping (ie, actively processing and expressing emotions), and psychological well-being (depression, emotional well-being, and breast cancer–related concerns). There were 109 patients who visited an online support community at both points in time. Repeated measures ANOVAs assessed change in well-being over time.ResultsResults showed 3-way interactions of time, online intensity of participation, and emotional approach coping on emotional well-being (F 1,89=4.232, P=.04, η2 ρ=.045) and depression (F 1,88=8.167, P=.005, η2 ρ=.085). Online support group participation increased emotional well-being over time for patients who scored low on emotional approach coping at T0, provided that they were highly active online. Patients who were highly active online with a high score on emotional approach coping reported no change in sense of well-being, but showed the highest score on well-being overall. Participating less frequently online was only beneficial for patients who scored high on emotional approach coping, showing an increase in well-being over time. Patients participating less frequently and with a low score on emotional approach coping reported no significant change in well-being over time.ConclusionsThis study extends previous findings on the effects of online peer support in two ways: by testing changes in well-being as a function of intensity of online support group participation and by examining the role of individual differences in emotional coping styles. Findings showed no negative effects of intense support group participation. Participating frequently online was especially helpful for patients who approach their emotions less actively; their emotional well-being increased over time. In contrast, frequent online users who actively approach their emotions experienced no change in well-being, reporting highest levels of well-being overall. For patients who participate less intensively within the support community, coping style seems to outweigh effects of online participation; over time, patients who actively approached emotions experienced an increase in psychological well-being, whereas patients with a low score on emotional approach coping reported no change in depression and emotional well-being.

Coping with bullying and victimisation among preadolescents: the moderating effects of self-efficacy

Bullying and victimisation may result from ineffective coping with interpersonal stressors. However, little is known about the preadolescents who are most susceptible to dysfunctional coping styles. Self-efficacy beliefs may be one source of individual differences in coping among those involved in bullying and victimisation. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether links between bullying/victimisation and coping were moderated by self-efficacy beliefs. Participants were 262 Greek preadolescents who completed self-report assessments of bullying/victimisation, coping, and self-efficacy. Results indicated that self-efficacy moderated the association between bullying/victimisation and coping, in that greater use of ineffective coping (i.e., resignation, passive avoidance) predicted bullying and victimisation among preadolescents with moderate and low levels of social and emotional self-efficacy, whereas greater use of adaptive coping (i.e., positive self-instructions, social support) was reported by those with higher self-efficacy beliefs. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Individual Differences in Coping with Mortality Salience in Germany vs. Poland: Cultural World View or Personal View Defense?

Abstract We investigated the influence of personality and culture on effects of mortality salience (MS) over cultural worldview defense (CWVD). We hypothesized that CWVD reactions to MS differ between Germany and Poland because of the higher conservatism of the latter country, and that they are moderated by action vs. state orientation. In this study German (N=112) and Polish (N=72), participants were exposed either to MS or to a control condition (dental pain). Punishment ratings to trivial offences and serious social transgressions were measures of CWVD. Results showed that social transgressions in both conditions were more strongly punished in Poland than in Germany. Additionally, compared to the control condition, under MS action oriented punished serious transgressions more strongly in Germany whereas state oriented punished serious transgressions more strongly in Poland. That is, the effects of MS on CWVD are moderated by personality and culture. We interpret the opposite pattern of punishment to serious social transgressions given by action and state orientedin in Germany and Poland, respectively, according to the higher emotional autonomy of action-oriented persons in either culture.