What is Coping?
Key part of transactional theory - constantly changing
cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific
internal and/or external demands that are appraised as
stressful or exceeding a person’s resources
Secondary appraisals are based partly on primary
appraisal (is this a threat?) but also the resources a
person believes they have to deal with the threat.
- Appraisal therefore is the basis for coping and leads to
emotional responses and behaviours.
What are the coping tasks?
- Reduce harmful environmental conditions
- Tolerate or adjust to situation
- Maintain + self-image
- Maintain emotional equilibrium
- Maintain good relationships
What is the coping outcome?
- Psychological functioning
- Resume normal life
- Physiological changes (e.g., illness)
What is COPE (; Carver, Scheir, & Weintraub (1989))?
An instrument to assess coping
- The inventory includes some responses that are expected to be dysfunctional, as well as some that are expected to be functional.
- BUT: depends on how controllable situations are.
STRATS TO COPING: What is Problem management?
Strategies directed at changing a
stressful situation
STRATS TO COPING: What is Emotional regulation?
Strategies aimed at changing the way
one thinks or feels about a stressful situation
Theory predicts that if the stressful situation can be changed,
__________ are most adaptive when stressor can’t be
changed, __________ are most adaptive alone or with
problem-based strategies
problem-focused; emotion-based
If the stressor is highly threatening AND uncontrollable,
__________ coping strategies (e.g., distraction, denial,
disengagement) are more likely to be used because it
minimizes the distress but if used over the long term lead to
increased distress because more adaptive coping strategies
aren’t used
disengaging
Asked respondents to identify the most important and stressful
event they had recently experienced, and to indicate how
much personal control they felt they had over it then they
completed measures of control and the COPE inventory as
well as post-event questions about growth, and illness. What was the result? (Litman, & Lunsford (2009))
- The use of acceptance, planning, emotional and instrumental support, and reframing were associated with post-event growth
- Venting and disengagement were related to worse affect after the
event which was related to the development of illness symptoms - Practitioners should help their clients to focus more on seeking
Instrumental Support (i.e. acquire useful advice) over strategies like
admitting limitations
All coping strategies can have value depending on…
- Extent
- Circumstances
What are the three adaptation which may result in short and long term positive or negative outcomes of coping?
- Emotional well-being – worry, positive or negative affect
- Functional status – physical outcomes (e.g., cortisol levels)
- Health behaviors – seeking care, communicating with health providers, adherence to medication or treatments (e.g., physio)
- These outcomes likely interact.
What are Coping strategies?
The cope inventory subscales
- Related to skills, resources
- Can be learned, recruited, adjusted
What are Coping styles?
- Coping tendencies
- ‘Typical’ coping behaviour
- Related to personality
- Difficult to address or change
List of common active coping styles.
- Instrumental/ Problem-focused - confrontative: Doing things directly related to the problem
- Emotion focused: Ruminating about the emotions
- Emotional-approach: Doing things to “work through” the emotions
- Palliative: Doing things to make yourself feel better
List of common passive coping styles.
- Avoidance: Daydreaming
- Procrastination: Engaging in irrelevant tasks
DISPOSITIONAL COPING: Repressors
- Unconsciously direct attention away from threatening information
- ‘Repressors’ tend not be aware of physiological activation because they rapidly avoid or distract themselves, sometimes without even being aware
DISPOSITIONAL COPING: Monitors
High monitors seek information
- Visit physicians more and demand more tests
- Probably as a way of managing uncertainty
DISPOSITIONAL COPING: Blunters
- Actively avoid the threat or the problem
- Want minimal information
DISPOSITIONAL COPING: Message matching
Seems to be more critical to blunters – giving them too much
information increases their distress more than giving too little
information to monitors
POSITIVE APPROACH TO COPING: Positive affect
Can help build resources
- Proves a buffer against stress
- Interrupts negative rumination
Positive affect is also related to positive reappraisal, problem-focused coping and finding positive meaning from life events
POSITIVE APPROACH TO COPING: Benefit finding
Seeing that relationships have improved
after a major illness – related to optimism and positive affect
and long-term health benefits
What is resilience?
Ability to recover and remain healthy after a
stressful event.
- Also linked to appraisals of a stressor (as a challenge rather than a big threat)
Is resilience a personality trait?
Not a personality trait, but rather the ability to have a
healthy functioning after a specific event
What is resilience defined by?
The outcome
