Predictors Of Coping Research Articles

The Relationships Among Workplace Stressors, Coping Methods, Demographic Characteristics, and Health in Australian Nurses

Nursing is known to be stressful. Stress detrimentally can influence job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and physical health. There is a need for increased understanding of the stress that nurses experience and how best to manage it. Three hundred twenty Australian acute care public hospital nurses participated in a study by completing four questionnaires that examined (a) how various workplace stressors relate to ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms, and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of physical and mental health. Significant correlations were found between stressors and physical and mental health. Multiple regression showed age to be the only significant predictor of physical health. The best coping predictors of mental health were escape-avoidance, distancing, and self-control. Other significant predictors of mental health were support in the workplace, the number of years worked in the unit, and workload. Mental health scores were higher for nurses working more years in the unit and for those who used distancing as a way of coping. Mental health scores were lower for nurses who used escape-avoidance, lacked workplace support, had high workload, and used self-control coping. The findings have implications for organizational management, particularly in terms of recommendations for stress management, social support, and workload reduction.

Longitudinal assessment of coping abilities at exacerbation and stabilization in schizophrenia

Background Coping strategies play an important role in one's ability to adapt to stressful life conditions such as schizophrenia. To better understand the nature of various coping mechanisms at various stages in schizophrenia, this study examined task-, emotion-, and avoidance-oriented coping strategies and explored associated clinical factors at exacerbation and stabilization phases of the illness. Method Patients with schizophrenia were examined twice (at exacerbation phase, N = 237 and at stabilization phase, N = 148) with the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and standardized measures of psychopathology and emotional distress severity, side effects, insight, self-constructs, social support, and quality of life. Multiple regression analysis was performed with coping strategies as dependent variables at exacerbation and stabilization including analysis of any change during the 16-month follow-up period. Results Analysis indicated that emotion coping strategies were used more at exacerbation than at stabilization phase. Regression analysis demonstrated emotional distress to be a strong predictor of emotion-oriented coping, with self-efficacy and social support being the best predictors of task and avoidance coping strategies, respectively. Individual changes in these variables also appear to be important predictors for fluctuations of these coping strategies over time. Severity of symptoms accounted for 3.5% and 5.5% to 9% of the total variance of emotion- and task-oriented coping strategies, respectively. Conclusions Emotion, task, and avoidance coping strategies and their predictors are influenced and may vary over the course of schizophrenia illness. Experienced emotional distress, self-efficacy, and social support are the best predictors of coping strategies both at exacerbation and stabilization phases of illness.

Relations Between Coping and Positive and Negative Outcomes in Carers of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

This study examined relations between stress and coping predictors and negative and positive outcomes in MS caregiving. A total of 222 carers and their care-recipients completed questionnaires at Time 1 and three months later, Time 2 (n = 155). Predictors included care-recipient characteristics (age, time since diagnosis, course and life satisfaction), and Times 1 and 2 carer problems, stress appraisal and coping. Dependent variables were Time 2 negative (anxiety, depression) and positive outcomes (life satisfaction, positive affect, benefits). Regressions indicated that, overall, the hypothesised direct effects of stress appraisal and coping strategies on positive and negative outcomes were supported. The hypothesised stress-buffering effects of positive reframing coping were also supported. All but one of the coping strategies were related to both positive and negative outcomes; specifically, practical assistance coping emerged as a unique predictor of distress. Of the model predictors, care-recipient life satisfaction emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of both positive and negative outcomes except benefit finding. Findings support the role of care-recipient characteristics and the carer’s appraisal and coping processes in shaping both positive and negative outcomes. The guiding framework and findings have the potential to inform interventions designed to promote well-being in carers.

Contributions of Leisure Participation in Predicting Stress Coping and Health among Police and Emergency Response Services Workers

This study examined the extent to which frequency and enjoyment measures of leisure participation predict adaptational outcomes, over and above the contributions of general coping. Police and emergency response services workers (N = 132) participated in the study, and a repeated measures design was used. The study provides evidence that the type of leisure activity matters in predicting immediate adaptational outcomes (coping effectiveness, coping satisfaction and stress reduction) and mental and physical health. Relaxing leisure was found to be the strongest positive predictor of coping with stress, while social leisure and cultural leisure significantly predicted greater mental or physical health.

Predictors of Coping in Sexually Abused Girls

Predictors of Coping in Sexually Abused Girls

Predictors of Coping with Work Stress: The Influences of Sex, Gender Role, Social Desirability, and Locus of Control

This investigation examined the influence of 4 personal attributes—sex, gender role, social desirability, and locus of control—as predictors of coping with work stress. Participants were 208 employed adult students (154 females and 54 males), primarily European Americans (90.4%) from working-class backgrounds. Theresults indicated that men were more likely to use alcohol and women more likely to use direct action. Femininity and/or masculinity scores predicted control-related coping butwere unrelated to escape-related coping. High social desirability scores predicted direct action coping, whereas low scores predicted alcohol use. In terms of locus of control, an internal orientation predicted help-seeking and positive thinking, a powerful others orientation predicted avoidance/resignation, and a chance orientation predicted alcohol use.

Predictors of the process of coping in surgical patients

Abstract The present study examined predictors of coping in 482 surgical patients in which coping with different surgical conditions was measured at four points of time. Previously, conceptually consistent and psychometrically adequate coping scales from the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), that grouped into correlated ‘passive’ and ‘active’ coping strategies, had been derived. Both strategies declined significantly over time and shared three of six different psychological predictors: emotional symptoms, stress, and the personality factor, extraversion. Chance health locus of control and neuroticism predicted passive while openness predicted active coping. Emotional symptoms predicted a prolongation in the use of active coping. The findings indicate that coping is multifactorially determined and that there is a substantial general coping-response in the stressed individual, who tends to use all of the available strategies during an acute coping response to stress.

Personality as a predictor of coping efforts in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The aim of the study was to explore personality traits as predictors of coping with disease-related distress in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). All patients with clinically definite MS in a city with a population of approximately 100000 were asked to complete the NEO Personality Inventory and a multidimensional coping inventory (COPE). There was an 83% response rate yielding 49 patients for the study population and 49 controls, matched for age, gender and educational level to the MS-patients, were used as comparison. Only Neuroticism correlated significantly with emotion-focused coping in both groups. Extraversion and Openness to Experience were linked to task-oriented coping strategies in normal controls but not in the MS-group. Agreeableness was associated with avoidance-oriented coping strategies only in the MS-group. Thus, the relation of certain personality characteristics to the choice of strategies for coping with the disease-related distress appear to differ from coping with stressful problems in everyday life. As dispositional characteristics may interfere with adaptive coping responses, analysis of personality traits and coping strategies could contribute while attempting to relieve the consequences of chronic disease on everyday life.

Perceived Fitness Predicts Daily Coping Better Than Physical Activity or Aerobic Fitness

This study sought to evaluate the association between perceived physical fitness, actual fitness measured by VO2max, daily physical activity measured by an ambulatory activity monitor, and coping with daily stress. One hundred and thirty participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring perceived fitness as well as daily stress and coping levels each day for one week. Participants were also provided with a digital physical activity monitor (Yamax Digi-Walker SW 200) and instructed to wear it throughout the seven day assessment period. Upon completion of the week evaluation, participants then were evaluated for actual physical fitness by treadmill testing. Multiple regression and effect size analysis revealed that perceived fitness predicted daily coping better than actual fitness and daily physical activity. Coping was unrelated to age, gender,VO2max, and physical activity. Results suggest that perceived fitness may be a better predictor of coping with daily stress than actual physical fitness or physical activity.

Attachment as an Organizational Construct for Affect, Appraisals, and Coping of Late Adolescent Females

The purpose of this study was to 1) compare general affective dispositions (depression and anxiety) and negative affect during interpersonal conflict as a function of attachment security, 2) examine appraisals as a function of attachment style and as predictors of coping, 3) compare strategies of coping with interpersonal conflict as a function of attachment style, and 4) investigate the roles of attachment style, affect, and appraisals in predicting coping in the context of interpersonal conflict. Seventy-three late adolescent females participated. Insecure participants reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and negative affect during interpersonal conflicts. Insecure participants were more likely to cope with interpersonal conflicts through support seeking or avoidance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that general and specific attachment style, affect, and appraisals significantly predict coping strategies. Implications for general and specific models of attachment as organizational constructs and attachment as a predictor of coping with interpersonal and non-interpersonal stressors are discussed.

Personality and coping: their influence on affect and behaviour following myocardial infarction

A cross sectional design was employed with questionnaires distributed to a population of men between 3 and 12 months following myocardial infarction (MI) in order to explore the relationship of two trait variables (hostility and hardiness) and one state process (coping) with mood and behaviour during this time. One hundred men were sent measures of hostility, hardiness, coping strategies, mood and health behaviours through the post. Fifty-nine fully-completed replies were received and were analysed. Hostility, control, commitment and a number of coping variables were associated with affect. In turn, each trait measure was associated with a number of coping variables. Regression analyses showed commitment, for example, to be negatively associated with the use of alcohol or drugs and behavioural disengagement as a means of coping with stress, and positively associated with the use of planning. Depression, but not hostility, was also associated with lower engagement in ‘healthy’ behaviours. Hardiness may prove a useful predictor of coping and affect following MI. The results also reinforce the value of assessment for, and treatment of, depression following MI.

Does trait coping exist? A momentary assessment approach to the evaluation of traits.

This study investigated the extent to which momentary reports of coping are a traitlike phenomenon and the validity of a questionnaire assessment of coping style. Participants (N = 96) completed the questionnaire, then monitored stressful events and coping activities for 2 days using a hand-held computer that administered a brief assessment every 40 min. Momentary reports exhibited a sizable traitlike component: Individual differences accounted for 42% of the variance for 2 coping items and 15-30% of the variance for 15 items. The questionnaire assessment of coping style was a poor predictor of average momentary coping; the coping style measure and the aggregated momentary measure of trait coping shared 23% of their variance for religion and 0-12% for the 16 other coping measures. Self-report assessments of trait coping are poor measures of the trait component of momentary coping and very poor predictors of coping in specific situations.

Personality and Coping Strategies During Submarine Missions

Relations between personality profiles, measured by the Personality Characteristics Inventory (PCI), and habitual coping strategies, measured by the Utrecht Coping List (UCL), were investigated in a sample of submarine personnel and office employees. The predictive validity of these instruments were examined for reported stress, health complaints, and salivary cortisone measures during 3 submarine missions. PC1 and UCL were completed before the missions, and questionnaires and saliva were collected weekly. The results showed no significant relations between PC1 profiles and coping strategies. Interpersonal orientation, achievement motivation, and habitual coping strategies were predictors for coping during the submarine missions. Problem-directed strategies and interpersonal sensitivity combined with strong achievement motivation were related to low indicated stress from social factors (lack of privacy, interpersonal tension, and crowding) and homesickness. The findings suggest that interpersonal characteristics need to be considered in the selection of submariners and personnel for other military settings in which units are exposed to prolonged stress and isolation.

Attributions as Predictors of Coping and Distress

Attempts to predict coping, distress, and stress-related pathology with person-related variables have had only limited success. With greater attention to their controllability, focus, and place in the causal sequence, it was believed that attributions might yet prove strong predictors. Two field studies, one large (N = 679) and cross-sectional, the other small (N = 60) and longitudinal, tested this premise. Confirming hypotheses, the perceived controllability of an attribution proved essential to prediction, and attributions for coping failures proved superior to attributions for stressful events as predictors. Results also revealed a causal sequence in which attributions affected distress both directly and by influencing the choice of coping strategy. Implications for future applications of attribution theory to stress research are discussed.

Family, Migration, and Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness

ABSTRACT The present study examines the coping style of new immigrants in Israel from the former Soviet Union who have been diagnosed with cancer. One hundred and six new immigrants, who were being treated at the Linn Clinical Oncological Institute in Haifa during the first six months of 1992, participated in the study. They were assessed regarding family functioning, the stresses of the migratory process, odier life stresses, and psychosocial adjustment to the illness. Contrary to expectations about the influence of family adaptability and cohesion on coping with illness, immigrant participants reported that the combination of stressful events related both to the migratory process and to the illness itself is the best predictor of coping with illness.

Optimism and neuroticism as predictors of coping and adaptation in older women

This prospective correlational study looked at the relationship between optimism, perception of stress, coping, and adaptation in women over the age of 60. One hundred and nine women took part in two interviews, separated by a minimum interval of 3 months. Although optimism was found to be correlated with most of the dependent variables (DVs), hierarchical regression analyses revealed that it lost its predictive power when the effects of the covariates, particularly Time 1 measures of the DVs and neuroticism, were statistically removed. The most important predictors of coping, distress, and life satisfaction were initial measures of these variables, followed by neuroticism. The discussion of the findings focuses on the need to clarify the construct of optimism. It supports the idea that optimism may be better conceptualized as a two-dimensional construct (optimism/pessimism), subsumable under two of the ‘Big Five’ personality factors, namely Extraversion and Neuroticism, respectively.

Coping style and situational appraisals as predictors of coping strategies following stressful events in sport as a function of gender and skill level.

The purpose of this study was to examine links between coping style, situational appraisals and the subsequent use of coping strategies in response to acute stress among competitive Australian basketball players (N = 190, 93 men and 97 women, ranging in age from 18 to 44 years). Regression analyses indicated that participants' approach and avoidance coping responses varied across four sport-related stressful situations. In addition, both personal and situational factors accounted for significant variation in players' approach coping responses, with situational factors better predictors of approach coping than personal dispositions. For avoidance coping, situational appraisals (i.e. perceived stress and controllability) were again better predictors than personal dispositions. The results lend credence to the interactional (contextual) model of coping in which participants' use of coping strategies is at least a partial function of situational demands.

Maternal, paternal, and marital functioning in families of preadolescents with spina bifida.

Based on a family systems/social-ecological perspective, mothers and fathers of 8- and 9-year-old children with spina bifida (n = 55; 28 male, 27 female) were examined in comparison to a matched group of parents with 8- and 9-year-old able-bodied children (n = 55; 29 male, 26 female) across several areas of functioning (individual, parental, and marital). Findings suggested that mothers and fathers in the spina bifida sample tended to report more psychosocial stress than their counterparts in the able-bodied sample. Specifically, mothers and fathers in the spina bifida group reported less parental satisfaction than parents in the able-bodied group. Mothers in the spina bifida group reported less perceived parental competence, more social isolation, and less adaptability to change; fathers in the spina bifida group reported more psychological symptoms. No differences between the spina bifida and able-bodied groups were found with respect to marital satisfaction. Coping predictors of adjustment tended to vary as a function of parent gender rather than group status.

Adaptational Style and Dispositional Structure: Coping in the Context of the Five‐Factor Model

ABSTRACT We review prior evidence—and present data of our own—linking measures of adaptational style to the traits comprising the five‐factor model of personality. Neuroticism has been studied most extensively and is consistently associated with passive and ineffective coping mechanisms. Conscientiousness has emerged as an equally powerful predictor of coping; however, it is related to active, problem‐focused response strategies. Extraversion is less broadly related to coping but tends to be correlated with social support seeking, positive reappraisal, and problem‐focused coping. Openness is largely unrelated to many traditional coping inventories, but appears to reflect a more flexible, imaginative, and intellectually curious approach to problem solving. Finally, Agreeableness is only modestly related to coping. These results demonstrate the value of using well‐articulated taxonomic schemes as a framework for trait‐based research.

Anticipatory Stress: The Relation of Locus of Control, Optimism, and Control Appraisals to Coping

This paper examined the locus of control beliefs and optimism as predictors of control appraisals and coping associated with three different anticipatory stressful situations (employment decisions, teacher bias, and natural disaster). The 118 undergraduate participants completed measures of locus of control (Rotter I-E), optimism (Life Orientation Test) and control appraisals (Stress Appraisal Measure) 2 weeks prior to completing the Inventory of Coping Schemas to report their coping strategies used in dealing with each stressor. Regression analyses indicated that optimism and locus of control were relatively independent predictors of control appraisals and that control appraisals were generally better predictors of coping than either locus of control or optimism. As expected, somewhat different patterns of significant predictors were obtained for the three stressors. Results are discussed in terms of the congruence model of effective coping, which predicts relations among control appraisals and coping for various types of stressful situations.