Personality and coping: three generations of research

Pathways Linking the Big Five to Psychological Distress: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Stress Mindset and Coping Flexibility

Personality affects the vulnerability to the emotional symptoms of depression and anxiety. This study investigated whether stress mindset (general belief about the nature of stress) and coping flexibility (the ability to terminate ineffective coping strategies and adopt alternative ones) mediate the relations of the Big Five personality traits to psychological distress. A total of 260 undergraduate students (60.4% female) in Singapore completed self-reported questionnaires. A series of path analyses was performed. Firstly, a dual-pathway model of stress coping was established, which consisted of (a) a stress-threat-distress pathway where a stress-is-a-threat mindset mediated the association between stressful experiences and psychological distress and (b) a challenge-flexibility-enhancement pathway where coping flexibility mediated the relation of a stress-is-a-challenge mindset to a lower level of psychological distress, without being influenced by stressful experiences. Furthermore, Neuroticism was associated with the stress-threat-distress pathway, with stressful experiences and a stress-is-a-treat mindset mediating the relation of Neuroticism to psychological distress. Conscientiousness was associated with the challenge-flexibility-enhancement pathway, with a stress-is-a-challenge mindset and coping flexibility mediating the relation of Conscientiousness to less psychological distress. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness were directly associated with greater coping flexibility. The findings enrich the literature on personality and stress coping and inform future interventions to promote mental health.

The Link between Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Anger: A Systematic Review Revealing Research Gaps

Anger has been associated with increased pain perception, but its specific connection with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) has not yet been established in an integrated approach. Therefore, the present systematic review focuses on exploring this connection, and based on this connection, delimiting possible gaps in the research, altogether aimed at improving FMS clinical intervention and guiding future research lines. Anger is considered a basic negative emotion that can be divided into two dimensions: anger-in (the tendency to repress anger when it is experienced) and anger-out (the leaning to express anger through verbal or physical means). The current systematic review was performed based on the guidelines of the PRISMA and Cochrane Collaborations. The Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) international database was forehand used to register the review protocol. The quality of chosen articles was assessed and the main limitations and research gaps resulting from each scientific article were discussed. The search included PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The literature search identified 13 studies eligible for the systematic review. Levels of anger-in have been shown to be higher in FMS patients compared to healthy participants, as well as patients suffering from other pain conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis). FMS patients had also showed higher levels of state and trait anxiety, worry and angry rumination than other chronic pain patients. Anger seems to amplify pain especially in women regardless FMS condition but with a particularly greater health-related quality of life´s impact in FMS patients. In spite of the relevance of emotions in the treatment of chronic pain, including FMS, only two studies have proposed intervention programs focus on anger treatment. These two studies have observed a positive reduction in anger levels through mindfulness and a strength training program. In conclusion, anger might be a meaningful therapeutic target in the attenuation of pain sensitivity, and the improvement of the general treatment effects and health-related quality of life in FMS patients. More intervention programs directed to reduce anger and contribute to improve well-being in FMS patients are needed.

What coping tells about personality

In this study, 123 participants (non‐psychology students) who responded to an interpersonal stress situation staged in the laboratory were judged by unacquainted observers in terms of the Big Five dimensions, intelligence and social attractiveness. Coping behaviour appeared to predict personality impressions in a way that mirrors the relations between personality and coping observed in previous research: Overall, higher levels of Extraversion (E), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C) and Openness to experience (O) (as well as intelligence and social attractiveness) were predicted by problem‐focussed behaviour and cognitive restructuring, whereas higher levels of Neuroticism (N) were predicted by withdrawal/passivity. The interpersonal impact of the particular coping reactions, as indicated by a positive personality impression, were largely inconsistent with their impact on affect following the stress induction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Coping as a mediator between personality and stress outcomes: a longitudinal study with cataract surgery patients

Personality and coping were specified as predictors of emotional outcomes of a mildly stressful medical procedure. Situation‐specific coping was examined in contrast to dispositional coping, and it was tested whether one or the other would mediate the relationship between higher‐order personality factors and stress outcomes. Cataract patients (N=110) participated at four measurement points in time during a six‐week period surrounding their scheduled surgery. Dispositional coping did not mediate the personality–outcome relationship. In contrast, situation‐specific coping acquired a mediator status between personality and adaptational criteria and accounted for independent outcome variance once personality traits were included as predictors in the models. Thus, the data suggest that whether or not coping mediates between personality factors and affective outcomes may be related to the methodological approaches of its operationalization. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Situational and dispositional coping: an examination of their relation to personality, cognitive appraisals, and psychological distress

Reliable data on the relationships between situational and dispositional coping strategies are sparse. In order to address this gap in the literature, this study examined the determinants and adaptational outcomes of both types of coping. Two hundred and thirty‐three students completed, along with measures of situational and dispositional coping, measures of personality, cognitive appraisals, and psychological distress, the latter variable being evaluated concurrently and prospectively (10 weeks). Results showed that personality shared as much variance with situational as with dispositional coping, but the patterns of relationships were rather different. In addition, cognitive appraisals were found to add significant incremental validity in predicting situational coping beyond trait coping, but primary appraisals were redundant with personality traits, in particular neuroticism. Finally, in spite of the significant amount of variance shared between the two types of coping, they both accounted for individual differences in concomitant and prospective psychological distress, and the relation between dispositional coping and distress was partially mediated by situational coping. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationships between the two types of coping strategy are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The structure of situations from a personality perspective

A taxonomy of situations was constructed that categorizes situations by means of ratings of one's ability to deal with those situations. A principal components analysis of self‐ and other‐ratings yielded four components of situations: I, situations of pleasure; II, situations of individual adversity; III, situations of interpersonal conflict; and IV, situations of social demand. Ratings of being able to deal with a situation were related to ratings on a personality questionnaire. This resulted in a very clear set of situations for each of the Big Five factors of personality. The Big Five differed in kind and in number of situations for which they were able to distinguish the well handling from the less well handling persons. Especially, it turned out that the so‐called temperament‐factors, Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and also Autonomy, give rise to more situational differentiation than the so‐called character‐factors, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Comparing the present situation structure to that obtained in an earlier study, we found that using the same set of situations does not guarantee obtaining the same set of situation components. Different methods of classification yield differences in the resulting classifications. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parent-child separation: the relationship between separation and psychological adjustment among Chinese rural children

PURPOSE

The current study aimed to explore the characteristics of psychological adjustment among Chinese left-behind children (LBC) in rural areas, and to examine the association between separation duration from parent/parents (SDP) and children's psychological adjustment and the extent to which personality mediates this hypothesized link.

METHODS

We surveyed 534 rural children and adolescents aged 10-17 years at school (440 LBC and 94 non-LBC) in 2013, who were selected for participation using stratified cluster sampling from two counties in Chongqing, China. Measures used included socio-demographic variables, age at the commencement and end of the separation from parents, the revised Chinese Juvenile Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Adolescent Psychological Adaptability Scale.

RESULTS

Most children (82.4%) had experienced separation from parents. t test results showed a marginally significant difference (p = .08) in psychological adjustment between LBC (mean = 64.44, SD = 8.62) and non-LBC (mean = 66.16, SD = 9.26). LBC's mean SDP was 5.64 years (SD = 3.90). Correlation analysis showed that children's SDP was negatively associated with psychological adjustment. Structural equation modeling showed that neuroticism, but not extraversion or psychoticism, fully mediated the link between children's SDP and psychological adjustment.

CONCLUSION

Personality (neuroticism) is one of the mediating pathways through which long-term SDP may predict poor psychological adjustment among children. Given the detrimental impact of long-term SDP, interventions should target the mediating pathway to buffer against the negative impact of parental separation on the affected rural children and to improve their mental health.

A Hypothesis and Review of the Relationship between Selection for Improved Production Efficiency, Coping Behavior, and Domestication

Coping styles in response to stressors have been described both in humans and in other animal species. Because coping styles are directly related to individual fitness they are part of the life history strategy. Behavioral styles trade off with other life-history traits through the acquisition and allocation of resources. Domestication and subsequent artificial selection for production traits specifically focused on selection of individuals with energy sparing mechanisms for non-production traits. Domestication resulted in animals with low levels of aggression and activity, and a low hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. In the present work, we propose that, vice versa, selection for improved production efficiency may to some extent continue to favor docile domesticated phenotypes. It is hypothesized that both domestication and selection for improved production efficiency may result in the selection of reactive style animals. Both domesticated and reactive style animals are characterized by low levels of aggression and activity, and increased serotonin neurotransmitter levels. However, whereas domestication quite consistently results in a decrease in the functional state of the HPA axis, the reactive coping style is often found to be dominated by a high HPA response. This may suggest that fearfulness and coping behavior are two independent underlying dimensions to the coping response. Although it is generally proposed that animal welfare improves with selection for calmer animals that are less fearful and reactive to novelty, animals bred to be less sensitive with fewer desires may be undesirable from an ethical point of view.

Coping Strategies as Predictors and Mediators of Disability-Related Variables and Psychosocial Adaptation

This study examined the relationships among four predictors (functional limitations, perceived visibility of condition, and two disability-associated affective responses— anxiety and depression), coping strategies, and two outcome measures of psychosocial adaptation to disability (disability-specific psychosocial adjustment and life satisfaction). Based on responses from 121 university students with disabilities, two models (additive and mediational) were tested to investigate the contribution of coping strategies to psychosocial adaptation to disability. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that coping strategies add significantly to the variance in both outcome measures after controlling for the contribution of disability-related factors. The role of coping strategies as mediators between the set of predictor and outcome variables was mostly unsupported in this sample, however. Reasons for the latter finding are briefly outlined, along with the implications for rehabilitation research and practice.

Coping and defence mechanisms: What are we assessing?

The present research study addresses the disparity between theoretical considerations and empirical evidence regarding the relationships between coping strategies and defence mechanisms. Self-reported measures of coping and defences were administered to a Romanian adult sample (N = 542; 74.53% female, mean age = 31.28). Using structural equation modelling, models that assumed independence between coping and defences were compared with models that assumed the existence of relationships between the two concepts. Findings identified strong relationships between coping and defences, indicating large common variance between the two concepts. Furthermore, results suggested that coping and defences can be classified into two independent types of adaptation processes. Results of this research study suggested that coping and defences are facets of common adaptation processes.

Influence of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on coping response to stress in patients with advanced gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

Coping with cancer is an important determinant of psychological morbidity, quality of life, and treatment adherence in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism and coping response to stress in patients diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer.

METHODS

Ninety-one subjects (60 males, 31 females) recently diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer were recruited. Coping style and distress level were examined using the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and genotyping was evaluated. To examine the temporal stability of the Mini-MAC scores, a 6-week follow-up evaluation was conducted in 72 patients, after completion of two chemotherapy cycles.

RESULTS

Coping style to cancer significantly differed between the Met carriers of BDNF Val66Met and the Val/Val homozygotes. The Met carriers were significantly more anxious than the Val/Val homozygotes.

CONCLUSION

The present findings suggest that the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism may be involved in individual coping responses to cancer. The Met allele of BDNF Val66Met may be predictive of an anxious coping style in patients with advanced cancer.

Forgiveness, coping, and terrorism: do tendency to forgive and coping strategies associate with the level of posttraumatic symptoms of injured victims of terror attacks?

OBJECTIVE

The study examined the tendency to forgive (self, others, and situations) and coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance) among terror attack victims as associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity.

METHOD

The sample included 108 terror victims who had been injured in terror attacks (mean age 46.23, standard deviation = 11.61; 58.3% male). Participants agreed to undergo assessments of their PTSD symptoms, coping strategies, and tendency to forgive.

RESULTS

A nested structural equation model design showed that tendency to forgive is positively associated with problem-focused coping and negatively associated with avoidance coping. Additionally, tendency to forgive and problem-focused coping are associated with decreased PTSD symptom severity, whereas emotion-focused coping is associated with elevated PTSD symptom severity.

CONCLUSIONS

Tendency to forgive and coping strategies are significantly associated with each other and with severity of PTSD symptoms among individuals injured in terror attacks. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

[The effect of coping and appraisal for coping on mental health and later coping]

This study examined the effect of coping and appraisal for coping on mental health and later coping in two longitudinal studies. In Study 1 (Time 1: n = 342, Time 2: n = 367) investigated the influence of selected coping and coping for appraisal on mental health and assumed coping. In Study 2 (Time 1: n = 161, Time 2: n = 154) investigated the influence of selected coping and coping for appraisal on mental health and later coping. The results indicated that coping and coping for appraisal affected mental health and later coping. However, the influence of the coping for appraisal was more limited than selected coping.

Challenging circumstances moderate the links between mothers' personality traits and their parenting in low-income families with young children

The need for research on potential moderators of personality-parenting links has been repeatedly emphasized, yet few studies have examined how varying stressful or challenging circumstances may influence such links. We studied 186 diverse, low-income mother-toddler dyads. Mothers described themselves in terms of Big Five traits, were observed in lengthy interactions with their children, and provided parenting reports. Ecological adversity, assessed as a cumulative index of known risk factors, and the child's difficulty observed as negative affect and defiance in interactions with mothers were posited as sources of parenting challenge. Mothers high in Neuroticism reported more power assertion. Some personality-parenting relations emerged only under challenging conditions. For mothers raising difficult children, higher Extraversion was linked to increased observed power assertion, but higher Conscientiousness was linked to decreased reported power assertion. There were no such relations for mothers of easy children. By contrast, some relations emerged only in the absence of challenge. Agreeableness was associated with more positive parenting for mothers who lived under conditions of low ecological adversity, and with less reported power for those who had easy children, and Openness was linked to more positive parenting for mothers of easy children. Those traits were unrelated to parenting under challenging conditions.

Relationships between personality characteristics of people who stutter and the impact of stuttering on everyday life

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the association between the five-factor model of personality measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES). The OASES measures the adverse impact of stuttering on a person's life.

DESIGN

Participants in the present study were 112 persons who stutter from Germany.

METHODS

All participants filled in both the NEO-FFI and the OASES questionnaires.

RESULTS

Results revealed a strong positive correlation between the personality trait Neuroticism and scores on the OASES. Moreover, Extraversion was negatively correlated with the OASES scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that people with higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion scores experience a greater impact of stuttering on their daily life. The results underscore the importance of considering personality as a potential moderator or mediator factor in future stuttering research and, potentially, also in treatment.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The reader will learn (a) about the different personality dimensions reflected by the NEO-FFI, (b) why it is important to consider the impact of stuttering on everyday life from the perspective of the people who stutter and (c) how personality is linked to the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES).

Does maladaptive coping mediate the relationship between borderline personality traits and reactive and proactive aggression?

The aim of this study was to identify associations between borderline personality (BP) traits and reactive and proactive aggression, and to compare the meditational effects of maladaptive coping in samples of older adolescents (n = 133) and young adults (n = 93), which has not hitherto been explored. This was a cross-sectional study that used self-report measures to assess BP traits on a continuum, trait-based reactive and proactive aggression, and coping strategies. In adults, maladaptive emotional coping significantly mediated the relationship between BP and reactive aggression, and maladaptive avoidant coping mediated the relationship between BP and proactive aggression; no significant mediational effects were found for adolescents. These findings highlight potential explanations for associations between BP traits and reactive and proactive aggression in young adults, and indicate that reactive aggression in adult BPs could be decreased by reducing emotional coping, and proactive aggression by reducing avoidant coping.

Improving quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease: influence of acceptance and personality

BACKGROUND

A low health-related quality of life (HQL) is associated with the evolution of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and mortality in patients in end-stage of the disease. Therefore research on psychological determinants of HQL is emerging. We investigate whether acceptance of the disease contributes to a better physical and mental health-related quality of life (PHQL and MHQL). We also examine the impact of personality characteristics on acceptance, PHQL and MHQL.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients from an outpatient clinic of nephrology completed self-report questionnaires on quality of life, acceptance and personality characteristics. We performed correlations, regression analyses and a path analysis.

RESULTS

Our sample of 99 patients had a mean duration of CKD of 10.81 years and a mean estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD)-formula of 34.49 ml/min (SD 21.66). Regression analyses revealed that acceptance had a significant positive contribution to the prediction of PHQL and MHQL. Neuroticism was negatively associated with acceptance and MHQL. Path analysis showed that 37% of the total effect of neuroticism on MHQL was mediated by acceptance.

CONCLUSIONS

Acceptance is an important positive variable in accounting for HQL, however, clinicians must be aware that if patients have a high level of neuroticism they are likely to have more difficulties with this coping strategy. These results provide a better understanding of psychological determinants of HQL in CKD, which can initiate another approach of these patients by nephrologists, specific psychological interventions, or other supporting public health services.

Bem-estar no trabalho: um estudo sobre suas relações com clima social, coping e variáveis demográficas

O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar o impacto de variáveis demográficas, do clima social e coping no bem-estar no trabalho. Para abordar bem-estar foi utilizado modelo que unifica as correntes eudaimônicas e hedonistas, e foram utilizadas as escalas de bem-estar no trabalho, compostas pelos fatores: realização no trabalho, afetos positivos e negativos; clima social. Esta, por sua vez, composta pelos aspectos: inovação e desempenho, reconhecimento e autonomia, adaptada para o contexto organizacional, validada no estudo e coping, composta pelos fatores: esquiva, manejo e controle. Participaram da pesquisa 2.438 funcionários de uma organização confessional do ramo de educação, que corresponde a 58% da população. As análises de correlação e regressão demonstraram que os fatores de clima impactam no bem-estar, dentre esses, autonomia apresentou correlação positiva e de moderada a alta com bem-estar, e os fatores inovação, desempenho e reconhecimento apresentaram correlações mais fortes. Nos fatores de coping, esquiva teve resultado fraco na correlação, porém, manejo e controle tiveram resultado significativo. Concluiu-se que o clima social e as estratégias de enfrentamento do estresse impactam no bem-estar no trabalho. Apesar das contribuições, foram limitações a coleta ter sido realizada pela própria organização, e o estudo se restringir a uma organização apenas.

Agentic personality characteristics and coping: their relation to trait anxiety in college students

Anxiety and its disorders, often present before adulthood, have high personal and societal costs for men and women. This study tested a mediation model in which 3 forms of coping mediate the relation of 3 agentic personality characteristics (i.e., traits associated with the belief that people can effectively exercise control over their lives) to lower levels of anxiety within 1 subgroup of young adults (i.e., college students). The agentic personality characteristics were (a) hardiness, (b) personal growth initiative, and (c) coping self-efficacy. The forms of dispositional coping were (a) problem-focused, (b) emotion-focused, and (c) avoidant. Results suggest that agentic personality characteristics differentially relate to forms of coping and trait anxiety. In addition, coping appears to fully mediate the relations of the personality characteristics to anxiety. The results imply that agentic personality characteristics and coping are important in decreasing and/or protecting against anxiety, in part because of how they relate to forms of coping, and suggest the need for more research.

Gender Influences on the Work-Related Stress-Coping Process

The increasing incidence of occupational stress is recognized as a global phenomenon that is having a detrimental impact on both individuals and organizations. This study aims to identify whether men and women adopt different stress and coping processes when subjected to stress in a work context. A total of 258 workers of various professions (males = 106, females = 152) participated in the study. Results indicated that men and women differ in their stress and coping processes, forming two very distinct groups and adopting specific process models when encountering a stressful situation at work. Limitations and implications from this study are discussed.

Rearing Difficult Children: Parents' Personality and Children's Proneness to Anger as Predictors of Future Parenting

OBJECTIVE: This multi-method study of 102 mothers, fathers, and children examined children's difficult temperament as a moderator of the links between parental personality and future parenting. METHODS: Parents described themselves on the Big Five traits and Optimism. Children's difficult temperament was observed at 25 and 38 months in paradigms that assessed proneness to anger. Each parent's responsive, affectively positive parenting was observed in lengthy naturalistic interactions at 67 months. RESULTS: Regardless of child temperament, for mothers, low Neuroticism, and for fathers, high Extraversion predicted more positive parenting. For difficult, anger-prone children, mothers' low and high Optimism and fathers' low and high Openness were associated, respectively, with less or more positive parenting. CONCLUSIONS: Challenges due to children's difficult temperaments appear to amplify links between parental personality traits and parenting.

Trait and Social Influences in the Links Among Adolescent Attachment, Depressive Symptoms, and Coping

Attachment insecurity and maladaptive coping are associated with depression in adolescence; however, it is unclear whether these links primarily reflect stable individual differences among teens (trait influences), experiential differences in their interactions with relationship partners (social influences) or both. In this study, teens (ages 14-18; N = 150) completed questionnaires to assess their attachment security, depressive symptoms, and coping strategies with different attachment figures. Measures were completed three times, based on experiences with a maternal figure, paternal figure, and closest peer. Generalizability analyses were used to separate each construct into trait and social influence components. Next, multivariate g correlations were computed to examine the correlations among the constructs for the trait component as well as the social component. Correlation magnitudes differed depending on whether the trait or social influence components were examined.

Dimensionality of coping: an empirical contribution to the construct validation of the brief-COPE with a Greek-speaking sample

The construct of coping has received increasing attention over the past years in relation to psychological and physical health, yet its dimensional and conceptual understanding is not consistent across theoretical models. The present study investigates the dimensionality of coping in a sample of 1127 Greek-speaking adults using the Brief-COPE. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a structure comprised of eight factors, four of which were broader, and included active/positive, avoidant, support seeking and negative emotional approaches. Results indicated adequate psychometric characteristics for the Greek translation of the Brief-COPE for this population. Associations between coping strategies with gender, education, and psychological symptomatology are also discussed.

Conversational displays of coping resources in clinical encounters between patients with epilepsy and neurologists: a pilot study

How people with epilepsy (PWE) cope is an important determinant of their resilience to seizures. More adaptive ways of coping are an independent predictor of health-related quality of life. Coping styles have typically been assessed using self-report questionnaires. However, such questionnaires fail to capture the complexity of the phenomenon of coping. This study explores whether close examination of the interactional and linguistic resources used by PWE can be used to enhance our understanding of coping behavior as it naturally emerges in semistructured, first clinical encounters between patients with refractory epilepsy and a neurologist. At a more superficial (topical) level of analysis, our examination of nine interactions reveals that PWE tend to present themselves as resourceful individuals who are in control of their disorder (which thereby becomes less significant). In contrast, the analysis of more subtle linguistic and interactional features indicates that some PWE actually find their disorder quite difficult to deal with.

Correlates of coping styles in psychotic illness -- An extension study

Coping/recovery styles of integration and sealing over, reflecting the patient's dealing with his or her psychotic illness, influence the treatment adherence and, perhaps, the therapy outcome. Knowledge of these styles' potential clinical and personality correlates is so far limited. A semi-structured interview and self-rating questionnaires were used to assess 64 inpatients recovering from an acute episode of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder with regard to the prevailing coping/recovery style, depressive and negative syndromes, global functioning, locus of control and personality characteristics of novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence. A significant positive correlation was found between coping/recovery style of sealing over and both negative syndrome and external control (by powerful others) orientation; a significant negative correlation was found between sealing over and good global functioning. The final multivariate model comprised negative syndrome, global functioning and a personality characteristic of reward dependence; together these three variables explained 44% of the coping/recovery style variance. Thus, in patients with disorders in the schizophrenia spectrum, the inclination towards sealing over is positively correlated with the higher degree of the overall severity of psychiatric disturbance and it is closely associated with a negative syndrome. In contrast, both the degree of depression and personality characteristics measured do not seem to play an important role with regard to the prevailing coping/recovery style of integration and sealing over.

The Japanese version of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced: a study of Japanese schoolteachers

To investigate the internal consistency reliability and three types of validity of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE), a survey was conducted among 209 English schoolteachers in Japan. The Japanese version of the COPE Inventory was developed through a back-translation process. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the Japanese version were above .70 for all subscales except five, including Acceptance and Restraint, so internal consistencies for these five were insufficient. Goodness of fit indexes for a confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable except for the Comparative Fit Index. Scores on COPE subscales were significantly correlated with scores on other tests (29 of 75 correlations were in the expected directions). Further exploration is required for several subscales and for generalization to Japanese-speaking populations in careers other than teaching to ensure the Japanese version of the COPE will be useful in assessing coping strategies. Given the limitations, present data for Japanese teachers are encouraging.

Associations Between Personality and Coping Styles Among Norwegian Adolescents

The aim of this research was to determine prospectively to what extent the outcomes of coping styles are determined by personality traits in a sample of adolescents (aged 14 through 16 years). The sample consisted of 259 (132 females, 127 males) students in two Norwegian secondary schools. The results showed that adolescents’ coping styles were only moderately correlated with the personality traits of Neuroticism and Extraversion. Coping styles and personality showed consistent patterns over the 1-year period. In addition, although personality explains a substantial part of the variance in the criterion variables, coping styles also contribute to a significant portion of this variance, which may support the hypothesis that coping styles are partially determined by the personality traits of Extraversion and Neuroticism. In view of these findings, it could be surmised that coping styles among these adolescents might not just be epiphenomena of enduring personality traits.

A review on coping mechanisms against obesity bias in physical activity/education settings

Obesity bias such as teasing or weight criticism during physical activity can lead to psychological or emotional damage for overweight or obese individuals. The literature indicates that the adverse effects of stigmatization on overweight or obese individuals can be mediated by coping mechanisms. However, little is known about how overweight or obese children and adolescents cope with weight stigma in physical activity/education settings. This paper provides a conceptual analysis of coping mechanisms through reviewing work on weight stigma in psychology literature and discusses the future research directions. The most promising areas for future research include conducting an in-depth qualitative exploration of overweight or obese individuals' coping mechanisms against obesity bias and studying potential individual and situational factors as moderating variables in physical activity/education settings.

Bem-estar subjetivo emocional e coping em adultos de baixa renda de ambientes urbano e rural

Este estudo objetivou avaliar o bem-estar subjetivo emocional e identificar a principal estratégia de enfrentamento (coping) utilizada por indivíduos de baixa renda, com idade adulta avançada (entre 40 e 55 anos), dos ambientes urbano e rural da Paraíba. Considerou-se uma amostra não-probabilística por cotas, distribuídas por ambientes (rural e urbano) e por sexo. Participaram 280 indivíduos, com idade média de 46 anos. Os instrumentos foram: adaptação do Questionário de Saúde Geral, escala de coping e dados biodemográficos. Observou-se que os participantes tendem mais ao bem-estar subjetivo emocional do que ao distress, e que no ambiente rural essa tendência é maior do que no urbano. A fonte central de distress é a questão econômica; a estratégia de enfrentamento mais utilizada é, no geral, a focalizada no problema. Quanto ao sexo, verificou-se que as mulheres utilizam mais as práticas religiosas do que os homens. Discussões acerca desses resultados encontram-se ao longo do artigo.

Monitoring: a dual-function coping style

Monitoring (Miller, 1991) is defined as a cognitive coping style characterized by the tendency to seek information about threats. This study found that information seeking in stressful situations is perceived by individuals as related to the emotion-focused more than the problem-focused function of coping and that there is considerable variance among individuals in the perceived functions of information seeking and the relationships among information-seeking reactions and their perceived functions. Information-seeking preferences in a natural stressful situation (a final course examination) were predicted by individual differences in perceived functions of information seeking rather than by generalized behavioral coping styles (monitoring). The results were interpreted in relation to the cognitive-affective system theory (Mischel & Shoda, 1995), and implications for the measurement of coping dispositions were discussed.

Enhancing Health and Emotion: Mindfulness as a Missing Link Between Cognitive Therapy and Positive Psychology

Mindfulness meditation is an increasingly popular intervention for the treatment of physical illnesses and psychological difficulties. Using intervention strategies with mechanisms familiar to cognitive behavioral therapists, the principles and practice of mindfulness meditation offer promise for promoting many of the most basic elements of positive psychology. It is proposed that mindfulness meditation promotes positive adjustment by strengthening metacognitive skills and by changing schemas related to emotion, health, and illness. Additionally, the benefits of yoga as a mindfulness practice are explored. Even though much empirical work is needed to determine the parameters of mindfulness meditation’s benefits, and the mechanisms by which it may achieve these benefits, theory and data thus far clearly suggest the promise of mindfulness as a link between positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapies.

An Exploration of the Influence of Dispositional Traits and Appraisal on Coping Strategies in African American College Students

This study explored the correlates of self-reported coping strategies from both an appraisal (e.g., severity, impact, desirability of the event, as well as perceived stress) and a dispositional (e.g., preferred/typical coping style, self-concept clarity, self-esteem, emotion regulation, problem-solving style, anxiety) perspective. Participants were 211 African American undergraduate and graduate students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. The results indicated that dispositional traits (especially problem-solving style) are associated uniquely with preferred/typical coping styles. The results also provided modest evidence that dispositional traits and subjects' appraisals (e.g., challenge, harm/threat, impact) are predictive of subjects' coping strategies in specific ongoing stressful situations. The general findings from this study appear to mirror research on Caucasian subjects.

Coping With Interpersonal Stress: Role of Big Five Traits

Seventy-one couples living in a stepfamily context reported interpersonal family stressors and related coping strategies daily for 1 week in a daily process study. The role of personality and of the stressful context in each of the spouse's coping was examined. Personality was assessed via the Five-Factor Model (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). Two types of stressors emerged as primary dimensions of stepfamily stress: marital conflict and child misbehavior. These were treated as contextual factors in multilevel modeling analyses examining the independent and interactive effects of personality and situation on coping. Nine subscales of coping were examined based on three main functions of coping: problem-, emotion- and relationship-focused. Both the situational context and the five dimensions of personality examined were significantly and independently related to coping-strategy use. Moreover, there were significant personality-by-context interactions. The present study highlights the importance of considering personality in context when examining coping behaviors.

Coping strategies, injury characteristics and long-term outcome after burn injury

Coping consists of cognitive and behavioural strategies aimed at enhancing adaptation, and the use of certain coping strategies is proposed to be beneficial for health. The relationship between coping strategies and burn injury characteristics, sociodemographics and long-term outcome was evaluated in 161 previous victims of severe burn injury. Functional and psychosocial restrictions were measured with the burn specific health scale-brief (BSHS-B) and related to coping strategies measured by the coping with burns questionnaire (CBQ). Patients were on average 47.7 years at measurement of health status and they were assessed 9.2 (S.D. = 4.8) years after injury. The mean area burned was 24.0 and 7.2% was full thickness injury. There was no relation between coping strategies and injury characteristics except in individuals with a full thickness burn exceeding 10%, who exhibited more Revaluation/adjustment. An Avoidant coping strategy was related to work status, marital status and living conditions, and this was the strategy most clearly related to "Bad outcome" in all scales of the BSHS-B. Emotional support was the most beneficial strategy and was mainly associated with the psychosocial scales of the BSHS-B.

Paternal reactions to a child with epilepsy: uncertainty, coping strategies, and depression

AIM

This paper reports a study examining the stress that fathers experience when caring for a child with epilepsy.

BACKGROUND

A seizure, which is frightening and potentially damaging, creates uncertainty about its possible effects and threatens the integrity of family systems. In the Chinese social context, epilepsy is stereotyped 'sudden craziness' of people and affected family feel shamed by the diagnosis. When a child has epilepsy, the stereotype of epilepsy affects the family experience in terms of stress and their coping process. Few studies have focused on how a father with an ill child adapts to family stress.

METHODS

This study was based on the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, and was designed to examine the relationships among fathers' uncertainty, coping strategies, and depression. From three teaching hospitals in Taiwan, 210 fathers were recruited. A pilot study was conducted to establish the reliability and face validity of the Chinese language version of the Coping Health Inventory for Parents.

FINDINGS

Results showed that paternal uncertainty was negatively associated with the total Coping Health Inventory for Parents score for family coping patterns for factors I, II, and III. Uncertainty and coping strategies for factors II and III were indicators of paternal depression and accounted for 10.3% of the total variance.

CONCLUSIONS

The results give insight into the unique family stress that fathers experience as a result of the interaction between the social context of a child with epilepsy and the family's coping patterns. They also suggest ways to improve family-centred nursing interventions to help parents establish effective caring patterns to manage the family stress.

Myocardial infarction: gender differences in coping and social support

AIM

The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about gender differences in perceptions of coping and social support among patients who have experienced myocardial infarction.

RATIONALE

Women with coronary heart disease have physical, social and medical disadvantages compared with their male counterparts, which can influence their perception of recovery after cardiac events. No review has been found which focuses on gender differences in coping and social support in myocardial infarction patients.

METHOD

A computerized search was conducted using the keywords 'myocardial infarction', 'coping', 'gender differences' and 'social support'. Forty-one articles, published between 1990 and October 2002, were scrutinized.

FINDINGS

Two studies report that women used more coping strategies than men. Several qualitative studies found that women used a variety of coping strategies. Women minimized the impact of the disease, tended to delay in seeking treatment and did not want to bother others with their health problems. Household activities were important to them and aided their recovery. Men were more likely to involve their spouses in their recovery, and resuming work and keeping physically fit were important to them. Women tended to report that they had less social support up to 1 year after a myocardial infarction compared with men. They received less information about the disease and rehabilitation and experienced lack of belief in their heart problems from caregivers. Further, they received less assistance with household duties from informal caregivers. Men tended to report more support from their spouses than did women.

CONCLUSIONS

Traditional gender-role patterns may influence the recovery of patients who have experienced myocardial infarction. Caregivers may need to be more sensitive to gender-specific needs with regard to risk profiles, social roles, and the patient's own role identity. For many women, especially older ones, household duties and family responsibilities may be an opportunity and a base for cardiac rehabilitation.