Lazarus Stress Research Articles

Ways parental health and stress shape the parenting of preteens in the rural Ozark Mountains

AbstractObjectiveWe explore how parental health and stress shape the rearing of preteen children in the rural Ozark Mountains.BackgroundIdentifying concerns that impact preteen parents' health and stress levels may facilitate understanding ways to promote resilience and happiness for families in underserved rural communities.MethodsUsing an interpretive phenomenological approach grounded in Lazarus's stress and coping paradigm, the current qualitative study used semistructured interviews with 20 White parents in the rural area of the Ozark Mountains who had at least one child born between 2008–2011.ResultsStudy participants' stories revealed that stressors related to parenting preteen children were rooted in stress from mental health or indirectly tied to social roles, such as occupational stress or financial constraints.ConclusionInterventions and tools need to be developed that are specific to the culture of rural areas and that focus on families as an essential part of developing resilience and happiness and mitigating the adverse effects of stress.ImplicationsInterventions focused on families need to include diverse social factors that impact family resilience and happiness and include education to increase health literacy, family supports related to improving connections between parents and their preteen children, family tax credits to reduce hardships for parents, a tool for screening parents for stress, and expansion of telehealth opportunities.

Older adults' coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic - a longitudinal mixed-methods study.

Older age is a main risk factor for severe COVID-19. In 2020, a broad political debate was initiated as to what extent older adults need special protection and isolation to minimize their risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, isolation might also have indirect negative psychological (e.g., loneliness, stress, fear, anxiety, depression) or physical (e.g., lack of exercise, missing medical visits) consequences depending on individual strategies and personality traits to cope longitudinally with this crisis. To examine the impact of individuals' coping with the pandemic on mental health, a large sample of 880 older adults of the prospective longitudinal cohort TREND study were surveyed six times about their individual coping strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic between May 2020 (05/2020: Mage = 72.1, SDage = 6.4, Range: 58-91 years) and November 2022 in an open response format. The relevant survey question was: "What was helpful for you to get through the last months despite the COVID-19 pandemic? E.g., phone calls, going for a walk, or others." In total, we obtained 4,561 records containing 20,578 text passages that were coded and assigned to 427 distinct categories on seven levels based on qualitative content analysis using MAXQDA. The results allow new insights into the impact of personal prerequisites (e.g., value beliefs, living conditions), the general evaluation of the pandemic (e.g., positive, irrelevant, stressful) as well as the applied coping strategies (e.g., cognitive, emotional- or problem-focused) to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by using an adapted Lazarus stress model. Throughout the pandemic emotional-focused as well as problem-focused strategies were the main coping strategies, whereas general beliefs, general living conditions and the evaluation were mentioned less frequently.

Anxiety and Coping Style between Successful Pregnancy and Non-Successful Pregnancy Regarding Recurrent Abortion

Background: Abortion is a problem with which all societies are dealing all over the world, having psycho-social consequences. The aim of the present study is to investigate the anxiety and coping style between successful pregnancy and non-successful pregnancy regarding recurrent abortion
 Methods: 50 women of 20-45, into 5 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, with at least 2 recurrent abortions were surveyed at Avicenna infertility center in Tehran, Iran. Kattel Anxiety and Lazarus Stress questionnaires were completed, and the outcome of pregnancies was followed up. All data analysis was performed by SPSS 22 software.
 Results: In this study, 32 women successfully passed the 20th week, and 18 women had a miscarriage. The mean score of anxiety in women with recurrent abortion with unsuccessful pregnancies was 12.56 (SD = 1.886) and with successful pregnancies, it was 7.38 (SD = 2.780). The mean score of anxiety for unknown abortion was 12.21, and for immunological, abortion was 6.89. 8.48 were related to abortion because of other reasons. 33% of the variance in stress coping strategy was related to women with recurrent abortion. The anxiety level of women suffering from recurrent miscarriages in secondary recurrent miscarriage (11.67) was higher than primary abortion (7.88). There was a difference between the anxiety of women suffering from recurrent miscarriages and a history of four miscarriages and two miscarriages. This was statistically significant (P < 0.0005).
 Conclusion: The anxiety level of pregnant women that have recurrent abortion history and abortion outcome is more than they have successful pregnancies outcome. Therefore, anxiety can be considered one of the factors influencing recurrent abortion. Therefore, anxiety can be considered one of the factors influencing recurrent abortion.

The construction of the structural equation model of burden, benefit finding, and anxiety-depression of esophageal cancer caregivers based on Lazarus stress and coping theory.

A large number of studies have shown that the assignment of long-term care duties brings great pressure and negative emotions to caregivers of cancer patients, and also affects the quality of care. Lazarus and Folkman's stress and coping theory holds that the process of cognition and evaluation of stress is key to the stress response when a stressor acts on individuals. This study is to explore the mediating effect of benefit finding between caregiver burden and anxiety-depression of esophageal cancer caregivers, according to a model hypothesis constructed based on stress and coping theory. The design of this study involved correlation and theoretical testing using a structural equation model. A total of 228 pairs of esophageal cancer patients from 2 tertiary hospitals and their family caregivers were recruited in this study from May 2020 to January 2021. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the general information questionnaire, the caregiver burden inventory (CBI), the benefit finding scale (BFS), and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). A good fitting model [chi-square (χ2)/degrees of freedom (df) =2.212, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =0.07, comparative fit index (CFI) =0.976, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) =0.964, goodness of fit (GFI) =0.954, normed fit index (NFI) =0.957] indicated the mediating effect of benefit finding between caregiver burden and anxiety-depression of esophageal cancer caregivers. A higher level of benefit finding had a negative effect on caregiver burden and anxiety-depression, which reduced the burden and psychological distress of caregivers. The theoretical hypothesis was validated. Clinical nurses should pay attention to the benefit finding level of caregivers. For caregivers with low-level of benefit finding, intervention measures should be taken to improve the psychological cognitive level of caregivers, which can ultimately improve the quality of life of patients.

Experience of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy: a systematic review of qualitative research.

Chemotherapy exerts adverse effects on physical, psychological and social functioning in women with breast cancer, which may trigger adaptive activities. For a better understanding of the experience of symptoms associated with chemotherapy and the development of targeted interventions, this study aimed to (a) explore the patient experience of chemotherapy, (b) identify patients' strategies to cope with the side effects and distress and (c) explore the link between their experience and coping strategies. Qualitative studies were included if they explored the experience or coping strategies of women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. Instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute were used to critically appraise the methodological quality, extract data and aggregate findings from the included studies. Twelve studies presenting findings from 184 women with breast cancer who had received chemotherapy were included in this review. Three synthesized findings were identified from 8 categories based on 91 original findings: (1) Women living with chemotherapy experienced various stressful side effects, and their lives were changed. (2) Supportive care to address needs is essential to help women get through this difficult time. (3) They engaged in numerous types of coping strategies to deal with side effects and adapt to this difficult journey. Moreover, the link between experience of chemotherapy and coping strategies is based on the Lazarus' stress and coping theory. Although the experience of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy is individualized, we concluded that the distressing experience related to chemotherapy as a stimulus was viewed as a stressor that demands coping or adaptation. Based on the Lazarus stress and coping theory, the ability of a woman to appraise how chemotherapy changed her life and how she appraises her resources to cope with chemotherapy are essential. The results highlight that pre-chemotherapy care programmes, information support systems, social support groups and individual effective coping strategies are helpful in reducing treatment-related distress levels and enhance self-care effects at home.

Совладание с психологическими проблемами у студенческой молодежи России, Турции и Азербайджана

The paper presents the results of a cross-cultural pilot study which focused on the concerns of student youth in Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan and on the strategies used by student youth to overcome problem situations. The study was conducted online in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. The theoretical basis of this research included Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory; the approach of the scientific school of L. Regush, which allows assessing the level of problematic concerns of young people in different areas of their lives; and S. Folkman and R. Lazarus stress and coping theory. The aim of the study was to identify both general and culturally specific psychological problems that are currently experienced by the youth of Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan in various spheres of life. The study also aimed to determine priority strategies for coping with psychological problems. The methodological complex of the research included the Psychological Problems of Youth Questionnaire (L. Regush et al.); Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (A. Ware et al.), Index of Internet Immersion Questionnaire (L. Regush et al.); Ways of Coping Questionnaire (R. Lazarus). The study involved 90 students from Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, of which 50% are men and 50% are women. The study showed that Russian, Turkish and Azerbaijani students demonstrate no statistically significant difference in the level of their anxiety about psychological problems, but employ different coping strategies. The data obtained allow us to speak about the normative age specificity of experiencing problems in the studied sample of young people and about the culture- and gender-specific characteristics of using coping strategies. At the pilot level, we identified the profiles of the correlation between coping strategies of young people in different cultures with psychological problems. The development of these profiles is of interest for further research.

Stress Among Working Women: Counselling Services Using the Lazarus Stress Theory and the Practice of Solution-Focused Therapy


 
 
 This paper aims to understand the stress among working women and helping method that can be used by counseling practitioners through the concept of Lazarus Stress Theory and Solution-focused Therapy application. The Focused issue is the stress among working women. Stress is an issue that often occurs to women working due to factors such as work load, health problems, childcare, social relations, relationships with spouses, time management and self-care. Although there are various methods that can be used to help them reduce the level of stress, it still can not be resolved properly. In fact, it continues to effect women's emotions and their quality of life. The adverse effects of stress can be identified based on four aspects namely physical, emotional, behavior and thinking. Therefore, it is important for counseling practitioners to help women to manage their stress. The application of the concept of Lazarus Stress Theory in counseling sessions is important as a guide to counselors in understanding the factors, effects, and situations that are happening to the client. Based on Lazarus's Theory, stress can be understood through three aspects, namely the stimulus, the respond and the process. After getting a clear understanding of the issue, counselors can apply specific techniques in Solution-Focused Therapy such as scaling techniques and miracle questions to help clients. The combination of understanding theoretical concepts and application of therapeutic techniques enhances counseling services as well as demonstrating professionalism of counselors in carrying out their duties.
 
 

Relationship between alexithymia and coping strategies in patients with somatoform disorder

PurposeA multidimensional intervention integrating alexithymia, negative affect, and type of coping strategy is needed for the effective treatment of somatoform disorder; however, few studies have applied this approach to the three different dimensions of alexithymia in patients with somatoform disorder. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between type of coping strategy and three different dimensions of alexithymia expressed in patients.Patients and methodsA total of 196 patients with somatoform disorder completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, and the Lazarus Stress Coping Inventory. The relationships between alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale – 20 score and subscales), demographic variables, and psychological inventory scores were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis.ResultsThe mean Toronto Alexithymia Scale – 20 total score (56.1±10.57) was positively correlated with the number of physical symptoms as well as with psychopathology scores (Self-Rating Depression Scale, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory trait, state, and Somatosensory Amplification Scale), but negatively correlated with planful problem solving, confrontive coping, seeking social support, and positive reappraisal coping scores. With respect to coping strategy, multiple regression analyses revealed that “difficulty in identifying feelings” was positively associated with an escape–avoidance strategy, “difficulty in describing feelings” was negatively associated with a seeking social support strategy, and “externally oriented thinking” was negatively associated with a confrontive coping strategy.ConclusionAlexithymia was strongly associated with the number of somatic symptoms and negative affect. Patients with high “difficulty in describing feelings” tend to rely less on seeking social support, and patients with high “externally oriented thinking” tend to rely less on confrontive coping strategies. The coping skills intervention implemented should differ across individuals and should be based on the alexithymia dimension of each patient.

Une approche psychothérapique méconnue : la résolution de problèmes sociaux

The capacity to solve problems can be considered as a factor reducing the impact of negative life experiences, thereby contributing to making the adaptation of the individual easier. The Problem Solving Therapy (PST) is an original therapeutic approach integrating elements of the Lazarus stress model and of the cognitive and behaviour therapies emphasizing the social context of psychopathology. In this approach, the resolution of problems plays a mediator role as a coping strategy for an individual in interaction with his environment, with stressing life events, with his emotional arousal and with his physical and psychological wellbeing. The article indicates the main characteristics of the Problem Solving Therapy model and of its link to an interaction stress model in which: “problem solving” is defined as a cognitive and behavioural self-focused process with which a person seeks identification or discovery of adaptive solutions to specific problems to which he is confronted in everyday life; the “problem”, defined as a situation in which an adaptive response or behaviour is needed to maintain an optimal functioning, and the patient does not have this response immediately; the “solution”, defined as the response given to cope with the situation and which corresponds to the solving problem process. A detailed description of the two underlying solving problem processes is also made. The problem orientation, the set of immediate cognitive and emotional responses of an individual when confronted to a problem and the solving itself, that is to say the application of four techniques, each of them having a specific objective in the process. These techniques can be perceived as a behavioural chain in which the “definition and formulation of the problem”, the “generating of alternative solutions”, the “decision making” and finally, the “implementation and the verification of the selected solution” take part. The last part of this article deals with the practical interest of PST with several examples of clinical applications and results in the field of psychopathology. Anxiety disorders (panic disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and social phobia), mood disorders (major depressive episodes, suicidal ideation), psychotic disorders, addiction disorders (alcohol dependence) and somatic disorders (handicap, chronic pain, cancer) are put forward. This literature review finally brings to the fore the diversity of the populations who could benefit from the PST (adolescents, students, adults, elderly persons, mentally disordered offenders, nurses, caregivers) and encourages an extension of its application.

中学生野球選手の試合前競技状態不安 : ストレスに関わる認知的要因の因果的関連に基づく検討

This study examined the relationship between precompetitive state anxiety and competitive trait anxiety, sport motivation, sport achievement orientation, stress appraisal, and stress coping prior to competition. Sixty-five male junior high school baseball players responded to the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) on three occasions during the precompetition period: 1 week, 2 days, and 1 day before competition. They also completed a series of questionnaires 1 week prior to competition, measuring sport competitive trait anxiety (SCAT-C), sport achievement goals (TEOSQ), sport motivation (SMS), and their stress appraisal and stress-coping style when they were unable to exhibit anticipated performances in their club activity. Path analyses were employed in order to clarify the dependence of these psychological factors on the basis of the Lazarus stress model (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). It was found that the junior high school baseball players were distressed, reported high precompetitive trait anxiety and high amotivation, or reported themselves to have a high intrinsic motivation to accomplish their goal, when they felt they were unable to fulfill assignments during club activity. However, players who considered that they could cope positively with stressful circumstances reported low precompetitive state anxiety.

Stress and self-regulation: Theoretical interaction problems

During the last two decades more and more attention has been paid to the research of the phenomenon of self-regulation of behaviour. Human desire and ability to successfully regulate and control his behaviour has not just big theoretical but also practical, economic value, therefore the need of self-regulation laws practical application is increasing in such areas as health care, education, management of organizations.Self-regulation skills may also be successfully used for stress related problems solving as in other life spheres. However both on the level of theories and practically the interaction of self-regulation and stress phenomena is not completely clear and unambiguously understood. The purpose of this paper was to clarify the possibilities of creation of stress and self-regulation phenomena comprising theoretical model.We have defined behaviour self-regulation as the whole of internal and transactional processes, enabling the purposeful behaviour of individuals in time and in the presence of changing circumstances (Karoly, 1993).We have developed in detail the concept of self-regulation uniting various ideas of the authors of selfregulation paradigms (social-cognitive, cybernetic, dynamic, decision making) into one theoretical model, taking as the basis the feedback loop model suggested by cybernetic paradigm (Carver, Scheier, 1998).Stress has been described on the basis of R. S. Lazarus stress conception as the relation between the individual and environment, which threatens the personal wellbeing of the latter (Lazarus, Folkman, 1984), however instead of the concept of wellbeing we suggested to use the concept of goals. In such case they became the main connecting link between stress and self-regulation: the person is seeking self-regulation using the aid of self-regulation, and stress is raising barriers for these goals achievement.Further we have analysed certain stress and selfregulation interaction peculiarities. The major part of attention was directed to the dynamics of emotional reactions. Having assigned the transmission of informatikon as the main function, which is performed by them during the process of self-regulation, we defined three possible sources of this information during the time of stress. We also suppose that the emotions may also provide the information about what is the character of the goals, which are affected by stress. The other important question is the search of the methods for decreasing of negative stress influence on the selfregulation. In order to make them more productive we suggest to unite the researches carried out in the areas of coping and self-control, also to direct attention to the peculiarities of coping depending on the character of the pursued goals.In the further researches of stress and self-regulation we suggest to direct attention to the emotionalmotivational side of these effects’ interaction and try to explain how differing character of the goals (approach-avoidance) influences coping, how stress is influencing disengagement of goals or their revision, what the character of stress influence on various self-regulation processes is, how self-regulation is changing with the increasing stress strength, in case of its increase to the extreme and etc.

Short-term effects of research participation on college men.

College students in a social science core curriculum course were given an option of completing a packet of psychological inventories and demographic questions. The last inventory in the packet, the Lazarus Stress Questionnaire, evaluated the emotional impact of answering the questionnaires. Positive feelings were endorsed significantly more than negative feelings. Further analyses, using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Life Experiences Survey, revealed characteristics that may predispose participants to positive or negative emotional reactions to participation in research. Results are discussed in terms of self-focus mechanisms and ethical standards in the treatment of students who participate in research.

The Impact of Critical Injury as Described by a Spouse

This descriptive study explored the initial experience of critical injury from a spouse's perspective. A case study was used to examine the Lazarus stress and coping paradigm. The subject was 43-year-old Caucasian woman, with three young children. Semistructured interviews were conducted 1 month following critical injury. Analysis of data confirmed the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional coping processes as suggested by Lazarus. From the spouse's description, three distinct phases of the critical care experience also emerged: notification, arrival at the hospital, and waiting periods. Cognitive, behavioral, and emotional coping processes were clustered according to the spouse's distinct phases of this experience. A 3 x 3 matrix provides a description of the coping processes during the initial critical care period and offers direction for nursing interventions.

Stress and tobacco addiction.

Primary care providers are confronted on a daily basis with persons who are addicted to tobacco. Research studies have demonstrated an association between substance use and stress and coping. This paper discusses macro- and micro-level perspectives of stress that need to be considered in the management of tobacco addition. Lazarus's stress and coping paradigm is emphasized as a useful framework for managing addicted clients.

Stressors and coping strategies of patients with automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators

This study investigated the stressors of and coping strategies used by patients living with the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator. A descriptive study of stress perceptions and coping strategies was conducted with quantitative and qualitative methods. The Lazarus stress and coping paradigm was used as a theoretic framework. Interviews of 20 subjects revealed a mixture of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies in the physical, psychologic, and social areas. The optimistic coping style facilitated coping best. Nursing implications include fostering the use of mixed coping strategies, including optimism, in living with this device.

The Free State Floods: A Case Study

This is an exploratory study of the stress experiences of 20 flood victims in the Bloemfontein area. Measures consisted of demographic variables, Rotter's Locus of Control scale, Horowitz's Impact of Event scale and unstructured interviews. Whereas female subjects reported higher levels of stress than male subjects, no differences in the subjects' experiences of stress were found with regard to age, occupation or the measure of internal-external locus of control. In accordance with Lazarus's stress model, the interviews revealed that the subjects' initial reactions to the disaster (primary appraisals) included feelings of numbness, despondency, helplessness and reduced control over their circumstances. With regard to secondary appraisals the subjects reported having employed a number of successful as well as inadequate coping strategies. Sex differences occurred especially with regard to the subjects' accounts of primary appraisals and their use of external (outwardly directed) coping strategies.

Coping In Hospitalized Children

This study examined the range of coping behaviors identified by the authors of 39 published case studies of hospitalized children age 20 months to 10 years and the pattern of coping revealed when the behaviors described in the published studies were analyzed according to the category system based on the Lazarus stress and coping paradigm. The behaviors reported in the case studies were subjected to a content analysis of the various labels attributed by the authors to the behaviors and then to a detailed content analysis according to the Type of Coping Behavior Category System. The range of labels of coping behavior used in the case studies showed that there had been no systematic and consistent approach to analysis of the children's coping strategies. The results of the analysis using the category system indicated that the coping strategies could be categorized in a systematic way. The pattern of coping revealed indicates that the system is sensitive to the influence of level of development.

Motor Performance under Stress as a Function of the Amount of Practice

The effects of stress on performance are far from clear (Beam, 1955; Castanda & Lipsett, 1950; Farber & Spence, 1953). Stress has been shown to either improve or impair performance depending upon varying experimental conditions. Two factors that appear important in determining the effects of stress are the relative difficulry of the skill to be performed and the degree of proficiency in the skill when stress is inuoduced. Using a motor skill (balancing on a pivoted platform) that permitted the relative level of difficulty to be varied, Ryan (1961b) found that after 12 practice uials threat of electric shock had no deleterious effects on performance of an easier skill but impaired performance on a more difficult skill. Earlier Deese and Lazarus ( 1952 ), investigating the effects of failure-stress on rotary pursuit performance, found that stress introduced early produced a small decrement in performance, while failure-stress introduced late in learning produced a small facilitation. If the assumption can be made that skills become easier as learning progresses, these studies support each other. In Ryan's study stress had no effect on the easy skill but impaired the more difficult one. In the smdy by Deese and Lazarus stress had no effect on performance late in learning when the task would be assumed to be easiest, but early in learning when the task would be assumed ro be more difficult stress impaired performance. From chis it appears that the relative ease of performance may be a crucial factor in determining the effects of stress on performance, with stress having its most disruptive effect early in learning when performance appears most difficult, then becoming less disruptive as learning progresses. From this hypothesis the prediction would be that performance on the difficult motor skill used in the Ryan study (1961b) would not be expected to show the same deleterious effect under stress late in learning as it did earlier. METHOD Silbject~.-Ss were 40 male university students, all volunteers, from various areas of specialization. None had previous experience in performing similar tasks.