Effects of disengagement coping with HIV risk on unprotected sex among HIV-negative gay men in New York City.

Objective: This study examined how disengagement coping with HIV risk mediated the association between internalized homophobia and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and how sexual encounters in public venues (public sex) and drug use moderated the association between disengagement coping and UAI among HIV-negative gay men. Disengagement coping included fatalistic beliefs about maintaining HIV-negative seronegative serostatus (fatalism), optimistic attitudes toward medical seriousness of HIV infection and reduced concern about HIV risk due to highly active anti-retroviral therapies (optimism), and negative affective states associated with sexual risk (anxiety). Design: A survey was conducted among 285 HIV-negative gay men at an HIV prevention counseling program in New York City. Main Outcome Measures: Sexual risk was defined as having had UAI with nonprimary partners in the past 6 months. Results: In addition to the positive association between internalized homophobia, disengagement coping, and UAI, fatalism mediated the association between internalized homophobia and UAI; and optimism mediated the association between anxiety and UAI. A significant moderation effect of public sex was found between fatalism and UAI. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of understanding disengagement coping as it affects sexual risk practices among HIV-negative gay men in the continuing epidemic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived group devaluation, depression, and HIV-risk behavior among Asian gay men.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 27(3) of Health Psychology (see record 2008-08834-013). In the aforementioned article, the second sentence of the Results portion of the abstract should read: Among participants most attracted to Whites, group devaluation was associated with higher levels of nonprimary partner UAI; but was associated with lower levels of nonprimary partner UAI among those most attracted to non-Whites.] Objective: This study examined depressive mood and HIV-risk behavior in relation to perceived group devaluation and group identity. Design: Cross-sectional survey of 192 Asian gay men. Main Outcome Measures: Depressive mood assessed using the Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and self-reported receptive or insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the past 3 months. Results: Group devaluation was positively associated with depressive mood. Among participants most attracted to Whites, group devaluation was associated with higher levels of nonprimary partner UAI, among those most attracted to non-Whites. Among participants reporting higher levels of group devaluation, those with more positive personal evaluations of the Asian gay community had lower levels of total UAI compared to those with more negative personal evaluations of the Asian gay community. Conclusions: Results suggest that group devaluation is associated with higher levels of depressive mood among Asian gay men. Asian gay men most attracted to non-Whites or hold more positive evaluations of their group may be buffered from the influence of high perceived group devaluation on UAI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Perceived group devaluation, depression, and HIV-risk behavior among Asian gay men": Correction to Chae and Yoshikawa (2008).

Reports an error in "Perceived group devaluation, depression, and HIV-risk behavior among Asian gay men" by David H. Chae and Hirokazu Yoshikawa (Health Psychology, 2008[Mar], Vol 27[2], 140-148). In the aforementioned article, the second sentence of the Results portion of the abstract should read: Among participants most attracted to Whites, group devaluation was associated with higher levels of nonprimary partner UAI; but was associated with lower levels of nonprimary partner UAI among those most attracted to non-Whites. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2008-03424-002.) Objective: This study examined depressive mood and HIV-risk behavior in relation to perceived group devaluation and group identity. Design: Cross-sectional survey of 192 Asian gay men. Main Outcome Measures: Depressive mood assessed using the Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and self-reported receptive or insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the past 3 months. Results: Group devaluation was positively associated with depressive mood. Among participants most attracted to Whites, group devaluation was associated with higher levels of nonprimary partner UAI, among those most attracted to non-Whites. Among participants reporting higher levels of group devaluation, those with more positive personal evaluations of the Asian gay community had lower levels of total UAI compared to those with more negative personal evaluations of the Asian gay community. Conclusions: Results suggest that group devaluation is associated with higher levels of depressive mood among Asian gay men. Asian gay men most attracted to non-Whites or hold more positive evaluations of their group may be buffered from the influence of high perceived group devaluation on UAI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resisting temptations to smoke: Results from within-subjects analyses.

Within-subjects analyses were used to examine differences between resisted temptations to smoke (either a specific close call or the most common temptation) and smoking lapses among 130 participants lapsing within 1 month after a self-initiated quit attempt. Participants were more likely to report coping during resisted temptations than during lapses; those who reported coping in both were more likely to report using multiple strategies and combining cognitive and behavioral strategies during the resisted temptation. Participants were more likely to report that the lapse was precipitated by others smoking, but this difference was not significant when the sample was restricted to those reporting a specific close call. No other statistically significant differences were found. Results support previous findings that the use or nonuse of coping strategies during a temptation to smoke is the variable most strongly associated with its outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between coping styles, performance, and responses to stressful scenarios in police recruits.

This study investigated the relationship between coping styles and police recruits' stress responses and performance during a stressful event and the relationship between coping styles and traumatic symptoms. Recruits participated in a simulated stressful policing situation and were scored by expert raters. Distress measures included biological and psychological indicators of stress. Coping styles were associated with subjective and physiological distress but not with performance. Different coping styles were associated with different patterns of traumatic symptoms in the participants. Police recruits appear to rely on their training and skill sets in stressful situations regardless of how they manage their emotional response. Furthermore, the results suggest that different posttraumatic stress disorder manifestations may represent different pathologies, each associated with a different style of coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies for negative mood regulation, coping, and dysphoria among college students.

Participants (N?=?222) completed measures of negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancies, negative life events, coping responses, dysphoria, and somatic symptoms. After 6 to 8 wks, they completed the same questionnaires except that daily hassles in the previous month were assessed instead of negative life events. In cross-sectional analyses and with stable variance in coping and symptoms controlled, NMR expectancies were positively related to active coping and negatively related to avoidant coping and symptoms. Changes in NMR expectancies and dysphoria were correlated. Time 1 dysphoria was positively related to daily hassles at Time 2, which in turn was associated with changes in coping and dysphoria from Time 1 to Time 2. Implications for counseling and stress-management interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fathers' cognitive appraisals, coping strategies, and support resources as correlates of adjustment to parenthood.

Adjustment to parenthood was explored among fathers by applying R. S. Lazarus's (1993) theoretical model of stress and coping. Within a longitudinal framework, the assessment of 90 primiparous fathers and 90 primiparous mothers included measures of cognitive appraisals of parenting, coping strategies used to deal with parenting issues, and support resources at 1 month postpartum. Adjustment to parenthood in terms of well-being and involvement with the infant was assessed at 12 months postpartum by means of measures of parental burnout as well as observed caregiving and affiliative behaviors. Patterns of appraisals, coping strategies, and support resources related to parenting were both found to differ substantially between fathers and mothers and to be differentially associated with adjustment to parenthood. The results are discussed in light of the socialization theory and the role constraint theory explaining gender differences in the coping processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spiritual struggle related to plasma interleukin-6 prior to cardiac surgery.

Spiritual struggle appeared consistently to predict poor health outcomes, including mortality. Despite surging interest in the health benefits of religion and spirituality, the health hassle of existential conflicts and proinflammatory cytokines as a potential physiological mechanism has been overlooked. Based on psychological and theological assumptions, we argue for the universal nature of spiritual struggle, a crisis-related existential conflict, and for investigating its physiological influence as essential to understanding human nature. Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been linked with adverse health outcomes and negative emotions. This study thus examined spiritual struggle related to plasma IL-6 in 235 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery, along with positive religious coping, general coping, and optimism, controlling for standardized clinical medical indicators. Multiple regression analysis, following a preplanned sequence, showed that spiritual struggle (p = .011), behavioral coping (p = .013) were positively associated with excess plasma IL-6, controlling for medical correlates (e.g., left ventricular ejection fraction). We conclude that spiritual struggle, indicating the crisis in an existential relation, and behavioral coping strategies are associated with elevated pre-operative plasma IL-6. The interdisciplinary implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping, locus of control, social support, and combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A prospective study.

We examined the relations between coping, locus of control, and social support and combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The sample consisted of 262 Israeli soldiers who suffered a combat stress reaction episode during the 1982 Lebanon war and were followed 2 and 3 years after their participation in combat. Cross-sectional analyses revealed significant relations between locus of control, coping, and social support and PTSD at the two points of assessment. Changes in PTSD from Time 1 to Time 2 were also associated with changes in coping. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications of the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of social support receipt.

Psychological correlates of social support receipt were examined in an investigation of stress and coping among 150 middle-aged community residents. Subjects were interviewed monthly for 6 months, each time concerning a specific stressful situation in the previous month. Social support received and methods of coping were assessed each time, as well as other variables. Factors hypothesized to be associated with support receipt were person predispositions, appraisal patterns with regard to specific stressful encounters, and coping strategies used. Each was most strongly associated with a particular type of social support. Person predispositions related most strongly to emotional support received, appraisal factors related most strongly to aid, and coping strategies related most to informational support received. Furthermore, of the three sets of variables, the individual's ways of coping appeared to be most strongly associated with all types of social support received. Two implications are explored. First, we suggest that the three types of social support studied represent different constructs with different antecedents and consequences. Second, we argue that coping behavior provides interpersonal cues regarding what is wanted or needed in a stressful situation and that the members of the social environment respond accordingly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life stress and lymphocyte alterations among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Studied the relation between life stress and immune parameters for 33 30–70 yr old female rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients interviewed during 3 routine monthly clinic checkups. Life stress from major and minor events, coping efficacy, and self-reported psychological distress were assessed, and immunofluorescence of T-cells and B-cells was performed on the blood drawn during each visit. Small stressful events were positively related to the proportion of circulating B-cells, psychological distress was inversely related to proportion of circulating T-cells, and major life events were associated with lower T-helper/T-suppressor cell ratios. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping of school-age children in the sealed room during scud missile bombardment and postwar stress reactions.

Children's coping behaviors in the sealed room (a shelter against chemical and biological weapons) during scud missile attacks in the Persian Gulf War were examined in relation to postwar stress reactions. Three weeks after the war, 5th, 7th, and 10th graders (N?=?492) completed questionnaires assessing coping behaviors and emotional responses in the sealed room, as well as current stress reactions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite an underlying feeling of tension, the dominant emotional stance in the sealed room was one of detached optimism. Common forms of coping involved information seeking, checking, and wishful thinking. Emotion-focused coping such as avoidance and distraction strategies was associated with less postwar stress reactions than persistence at direct problem-focused actions once the minimal actions available had been undertaken. Fifth graders were found to use less emotion-focused and more problem-focused coping strategies than were the 7th and 10th graders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational burnout, tolerance for stress, and coping among nurses in rehabilitation units.

The relation of problem-solving confidence, perceived tolerance of stressors, and situation-specific coping efforts to occupational burnout was examined among 88 nurses in physical rehabilitation units. Participants completed measures of problem solving and burnout, and were administered a questionnaire that required them to list stressors encountered at work and their ability to tolerate this stressor. Participants were also asked to list their typical ways of coping with this stressor. Consistent with predictions, confidence in one's ability to handle problems and perceived tolerance were significantly predictive of lower burnout scores, regardless of time spent on the job. Of the coping variables, emotion-focused coping was significantly associated with higher burnout scores. Post-hoc analyses of self-reported coping activities indicated that some coping efforts (e.g., taking time off from work, confronting a supervisor) could be construed as symptoms of burnout, according to theoretical conceptualizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitating and debilitating trait anxiety, situational anxiety, and coping with an anticipated stressor: A process analysis.

19–23 yr-old college students completed anxiety and coping diaries during 10 periods that began 7 days before an academic stressor and continued through the evening after the stressor. Profile analysis was used to examine the anxiety and coping processes in relation to 2 trait anxiety grouping variables: debilitating and facilitating test anxiety (D-TA and F-TA). Anxiety and coping changed over time, and high and low levels of D-TA and F-TA were associated with different daily patterns of anxiety and coping. Participants with a debilitative, as opposed to facilitative, trait anxiety style had lower examination scores, higher anxiety, and less problem-solving coping. Covarying F-TA, high D-TA was associated with a pattern of higher levels of tension, worry, distraction, and avoidant coping, as well as lower levels of proactive coping. Covarying D-TA, high F-TA was associated with higher levels of tension (but not worry or distraction), support seeking, proactive and problem-solving coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, coping, and family resources in stress resistance: A longitudinal analysis.

A longitudinal analysis was conducted in which stress-resistance factors in the areas of personality, coping, and family support assessed at an initial testing were used to predict psychological and physical adjustment 1 yr later, controlling for initial adjustment. 245 men (mean age 46.8 yrs) and 248 women (mean age 44 yrs) in randomly selected families in the San Francisco Bay area were surveyed on psychosomatic symptoms and depression, negative life changes, personality characteristics, avoidance coping, and family support. Findings show that feelings of self-confidence, an easy-going disposition, a disinclination to use avoidance coping, and the availability of family support operated jointly to protect Ss from negative psychological consequences of life stress. For women, stress resistance was related to emotional and physical distress; for men, resistance was associated with emotional distress. Negative life changes predicted depression and psychosomatic complaints in both sexes even when initial distress was considered. Results support previous research on the causal role of stress resistance in emotional and physical health. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multidimensional approach to the study of the structure of coping with stress

This article described a study in which the responses of 199 respondents to measures of coping with stress were submitted to multidimensional scaling. The three-dimensional solution suggests that respondents' perceptions of coping with stress are best explained along the following dimensions: (a) active coping versus denial/escape, (b) turning to interpersonal support versus seeking religious comfort, and (c) instrumental/cognitive disengagement versus affective/spiritual engagement.     

Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research.

Progress and issues in the study of coping with stress during childhood and adolescence are reviewed. Definitions of coping are considered, and the relationship between coping and other aspects of responses to stress (e.g., temperament and stress reactivity) is described. Questionnaire, interview, and observation measures of child and adolescent coping are evaluated with regard to reliability and validity. Studies of the association of coping with symptoms of psychopathology and social and academic competence are reviewed. Initial progress has been made in the conceptualization and measurement of coping, and substantial evidence has accumulated on the association between coping and adjustment. Problems still remain in the conceptualization and measurement of coping in young people, however, and aspects of the development and correlates of coping remain to be identified. An agenda for future research on child–adolescent coping is outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping dimensions, life stress, and adolescent substance use: A latent growth analysis.

The relation of seven coping dimensions to substance (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana) use was tested with a sample of 1,668 participants assessed at mean age 12.5 years and two yearly follow-ups. An associative latent-growth model showed one index of engagement (behavioral coping) to be inversely related to initial level of adolescent use and growth over time in peer use. Three indices of disengagement (anger coping, helpless coping, and hangout coping) were positively related to initial levels of peer use and adolescent use and to growth in adolescent use. Moderation tests indicated that effects of coping were significantly greater at higher level of stress; behavioral coping buffered the effects of disengagement. Effects of life stress were greater for girls than boys. Results are discussed with reference to mechanisms of coping-substance use relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with job stress and burnout in the human services.

Conducted a mail survey of 141 human service workers (aged 25–65 yrs) to investigate the effects of coping on psychological strain and burnout produced by job stress. The survey assessed job stressors and coping strategies with open-ended questions and measured strain using closed-ended alienation, satisfaction, and symptom scales. Because previous research suggested that individual coping responses do not alleviate strain produced by job stress, the survey elicited information on group coping (social support) and on coping strategies initiated by agencies. Job stress was associated with high levels of strain, and group coping with low levels, but individual responses had little effect. Although Ss identified many strategies that agencies could use to reduce stress and strain, actual use of such strategies was slight. Because men and women worked in the same jobs, no sex differences in individual coping were predicted and none were found; women, however, reported more social support than men. There was no evidence for moderating (interaction) effects of stress and coping on strain. Results suggest that social service agencies should take actions to reduce stress among employees. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of the human Alpha1-antitrypsin gene into pulmonary macrophages in vivo

Issues related to psychological recovery following coronary bypass surgeries (CABG) have emerged in recent years. Other research has shown the effects of spiritual or religious activities on health and aging. However, little is known about the relationship of spiritual coping, including religious coping, to post-CABG adjustment. This study addressed multifactorial determinants of postoperative psychological recovery and the effects of private prayer, a form of spiritual coping, on the recovery of 151 older patients. Results show that most patients pray about their postoperative problems and that private prayer appears to significantly decrease depression and general distress one year post-CABG.