Meaning making and psychological adjustment following cancer: The mediating roles of growth, life meaning, and restored just-world beliefs.

Cancer survivors' efforts at meaning making may influence the extent to which they successfully make meaning from their experience (i.e., experience posttraumatic growth, find life meaningful, and restore beliefs in a just world), which may, in turn, influence their psychological adjustment. Previous research regarding both meaning making processes and meanings made as determinants of adjustment has shown inconsistent effects, partly because of the lack of clearly articulated theoretical frameworks and problematic research strategies. In a 1-year longitudinal study, the authors distinguished the meaning making process from the outcomes of that process (meanings made), employing specific measures of both. The authors tested pathways through which meaning making efforts led to 3 different meanings made (growth, life meaning, and restored just-world belief) in a sample of 172 young to middle-age adult cancer survivors, and they explored whether those meanings made mediated the effect of meaning making efforts on psychological adjustment. Cross-sectional and longitudinal path models of the meaning making process indicate that meaning making efforts are related to better adjustment through the successful creation of adaptive meanings made from the cancer experience. The authors conclude with clinical implications and suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an integrative perspective on bereavement.

For nearly a century, bereavement theorists have assumed that recovery from loss requires a period of grief work in which the ultimate goal is the severing of the attachment bond to the deceased. Reviews appearing in the 1980s noted a surprising absence of empirical support for this view, thus leaving the bereavement field without a guiding theoretical base. In this article, the authors consider alternative perspectives on bereavement that are based on cognitive stress theory, attachment theory, the social functional account of emotion, and trauma theory. They then elaborate on the most promising features of each theory in an attempt to develop an integrative framework to guide future research. The authors elucidate 4 fundamental components of the grieving process—context, meaning, representations of the lost relationship, and coping and emotion-regulation processes—and suggest ways in which these components may interact over the course of bereavement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental-contextual model of couples coping with chronic illness across the adult life span.

A developmental-contextual model of couples coping with chronic illness is presented that views chronic illness as affecting the adjustment of both the patient and the spouse such that coping strategies enacted by the patient are examined in relation to those enacted by the spouse, and vice versa. The developmental model emphasizes that dyadic coping may be different at various phases of the life span, changing temporally at different stages of dealing with the illness as well as unfolding daily as spouses interact around dyadic stressors. In addition, couples engaged in dyadic coping are affected by broad sociocultural factors (culture and gender) as well as more proximal contextual factors (quality of the marital relationship and the specific demands of the chronic illness). The model provides a framework for understanding how couples coping with chronic illness may together appraise and cope with illness during adulthood and for determining when spousal involvement is beneficial or harmful to both patient and spousal adjustment. The developmental-contextual model to dyadic appraisal and coping has numerous research implications for the field, and the authors conclude with specific recommendations for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observational coding in family therapy process research.

Observationally based coding systems represent one major source of information regarding the process of family therapy, the nature of change mechanisms, and the necessary components of intervention manuals. In this article, the authors introduce a two-dimensional framework for organizing the diverse approaches to observational coding that currently exist. These dimensions focus on the information used in identifying the coding unit and the degree of inference involved in assigning a code (i.e., meaning) to that unit. The goal in developing this framework is to provide a common basis on which observationally based family therapy process research initiatives can be developed, compared, and integrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal goals of older adults: Issues in assessment and prediction.

Identifies dimensions of individual difference in the content of older adults' personal goals and examines demographic, loss-related, and contextual influences on these goals. Results are based on the responses of 179 elders to a 112-item inventory designed to tap achievement, maintenance, disengagement, and coping goals in 16 life domains. Factor analyses yielded 10 dimensions that describe themes of global motivation, concerns about support and desired pace, and complexity of life. Demographic disadvantages and age-related transitions were related to greater desire for disengagement, support, and stability. Elders who were married and healthy were more likely to report a desire for an energetic lifestyle. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research on elders' goals as a context for understanding the meaning of self-evaluation and environmental influences on aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doing the things we do: A grounded theory of academic procrastination.

The authors conducted a grounded theory study of academic procrastination to explore adaptive and maladaptive aspects of procrastination and to help guide future empirical research. They discuss previous research on the definition and dimensionality of procrastination and describe the study in which interview data were collected in 4 stages, identifying 33 initial categories and 29 macrothemes. Findings were validated by member checks. The authors describe in detail informants' perceptions of procrastination, which were used to construct a 5-component paradigm model that includes adaptive (i.e., cognitive efficiency, peak experience) and maladaptive (i.e., fear of failure, postponement) dimensions of procrastination. These dimensions, in turn, are related to conditions that affect the amount and type of procrastination, as well as cognitive (i.e., prioritizing, optimization) and affective (i.e., reframing, self-handicapping) coping mechanisms. The authors propose 6 general principles and relate them and the paradigm model to previous research. Limitations of the research are discussed, as well as implications for future theory development and validation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping.

In a conceptual and temporal framework, derived from research on social cognition, social interaction, and stress and coping, the authors analyze the processes through which people anticipate or detect potential stressors and act in advance to prevent them or to mute their impact (proactive coping). The framework specifies five stages in proactive coping: (1) resource accumulation, (2) recognition of potential stressors. (3) initial appraisal, (4) preliminary coping efforts, and (5) elicitation and use of feedback concerning initial efforts. The authors detail the role of individual differences, skills, and resources at each stage. They highlight the unique predictions afforded by a focus on proactive coping and the importance of understanding how people avoid and offset potential stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task Complexity and Older Adults' Decision-Making Competence.

This article reports progress in an ongoing research program examining older adults' decision-making competence (DMC). Using a theoretical framework that emphasizes the person-task fit in assessing DMC, the authors report the results of a study comparing older versus younger adults' decision performance on simple and complex tasks about health, finance, and nutrition. The authors hypothesized and found that increasing age and task complexity were related to greater comprehension errors and inconsistency in decision making. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a large amount of age-related variance in performance on the decision tasks could be accounted for by exogenous social variables, health measures, basic cognitive skills, and attitudinal measures. The discussion emphasizes several directions for future research, including the need to validate the meaning of performance on these tasks for real-life decision processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crisis decision theory: Decisions in the face of negative events.

How do people respond to negative life events? Crisis decision theory combines the strengths of coping theories with research on decision making to predict the responses people choose under negative circumstances. The theory integrates literatures on coping, health behavior, and decision making, among others, into 3 stages that describe the process of responding to negative events: (a) assessing the severity of the negative event, (b) determining response options, and (c) evaluating response options. The author reviews and organizes the relevant research on factors that shape information processing at each stage and that ultimately predict decisions in the face of negative events. Finally, the author presents a critique of crisis decision theory and discusses areas for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work Group Diversity and Group Performance: An Integrative Model and Research Agenda.

Research on the relationship between work group diversity and performance has yielded inconsistent results. To address this problem, the authors propose the categorization-elaboration model (CEM), which reconceptualizes and integrates information/decision making and social categorization perspectives on work-group diversity and performance. The CEM incorporates mediator and moderator variables that typically have been ignored in diversity research and incorporates the view that information/decision making and social categorization processes interact such that intergroup biases flowing from social categorization disrupt the elaboration (in-depth processing) of task-relevant information and perspectives. In addition, the authors propose that attempts to link the positive and negative effects of diversity to specific types of diversity should be abandoned in favor of the assumption that all dimensions of diversity may have positive as well as negative effects. The ways in which these propositions may set the agenda for future research in diversity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of core self-evaluations in the coping process.

In 2 studies, the authors investigated whether core self-evaluations (CSE) serve as an integrative framework for understanding individual differences in coping processes. A meta-analytic review demonstrated that CSEs were associated with fewer perceived stressors, lower strain, less avoidance coping, more problem-solving coping, and were not strongly related to emotion-focused coping. Consistent with the meta-analytic results, a daily diary study demonstrated that individuals with high CSE perceived fewer stressors, experienced less strain after controlling for stressors, and engaged in less avoidance coping. However, both studies demonstrated that emotional stability was uniquely related to the stress and coping process and that emotional stability moderated the relationship between stressors and strain. The discussion focuses on the distinction between depressive self-concept represented by CSE and the anxiety and worry represented by emotional stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model of meaning-making coping and growth in combat veterans.

More than 1.6 million military men and women have deployed to fight the global war on terror. Although studies have suggested that approximately one third of these service men and women return with a mental health condition or a brain injury, a gap remains in our understanding about how these individuals cope with and grow from their experiences. In this article, we review the existing body of research related to growth and recovery from trauma and then propose an empirically informed and contextually sensitive model to guide future research with combat veterans. We draw from research focused on resilience, posttraumatic growth, and decline (negative or pathological) change trajectories, and we propose that meaning-making coping is a core mechanism of the posttraumatic growth process for combat veterans. Implications for practitioners and the next steps for future research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the association between socioeconomic status and physical health: Do negative emotions play a role?

In this article, the authors evaluate the possible roles of negative emotions and cognitions in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and physical health, focusing on the outcomes of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. After reviewing the limited direct evidence, the authors examine indirect evidence showing that (a) SES relates to the targeted health outcomes, (b) SES relates to negative emotions and cognitions, and (c) negative emotions and cognitions relate to the targeted health outcomes. The authors present a general framework for understanding the roles of cognitive-emotional factors, suggesting that low-SES environments are stressful and reduce individuals' reserve capacity to manage stress, thereby increasing vulnerability to negative emotions and cognitions. The article concludes with suggestions for future research to better evaluate the proposed model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events.

Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between “meaning-making efforts” and “meaning made,” and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When and where do we apply what we learn?: A taxonomy for far transfer.

Despite a century's worth of research, arguments surrounding the question of whether far transfer occurs have made little progress toward resolution. The authors argue the reason for this confusion is a failure to specify various dimensions along which transfer can occur, resulting in comparisons of "apples and oranges." They provide a framework that describes 9 relevant dimensions and show that the literature can productively be classified along these dimensions, with each study situated at the intersection of various dimensions. Estimation of a single effect size for far transfer is misguided in view of this complexity. The past 100 years of research shows that evidence for transfer under some conditions is substantial, but critical conditions for many key questions are untested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence.

In this article the author reviews research evidence on the prevalence of mental disorders in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) and shows, using meta-analyses, that LGBs have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than heterosexuals. The author offers a conceptual framework for understanding this excess in prevalence of disorder in terms of minority stress--explaining that stigma, prejudice, and discrimination create a hostile and stressful social environment that causes mental health problems. The model describes stress processes, including the experience of prejudice events, expectations of rejection, hiding and concealing, internalized homophobia, and ameliorative coping processes. This conceptual framework is the basis for the review of research evidence, suggestions for future research directions, and exploration of public policy implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the study of stress and coping in rehabilitation settings.

The purpose of this article is to assist rehabilitation researchers in making decisions about the design and conduct of stress and coping research. The authors offer a selective review of the stress and coping literatures, with a focus on rehabilitation-specific work. The authors first address stress, focusing on different definitions and on how it relates to adaptation, and then consider coping, focusing on the levels at which coping operates, its relation to features of the situation, and its influence on adjustment. The authors urge researchers to collect additional data, including assessing changes over time, and to examine multiple aspects of stressful experiences to better capture the complexity of stress and coping processes. Researchers should specify the nature of the coping construct used, use assessment methods clearly linked to the facet of the coping construct being examined, and investigate specific mechanisms by which coping influences rehabilitation outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys.

Theory and research on sex differences in adjustment focus largely on parental, societal, and biological influences. However, it also is important to consider how peers contribute to girls' and boys' development. This article provides a critical review of sex differences in several peer relationship processes, including behavioral and social-cognitive styles, stress and coping, and relationship provisions. The authors present a speculative peer-socialization model based on this review in which the implications of these sex differences for girls' and boys' emotional and behavioral development are considered. Central to this model is the idea that sex-linked relationship processes have costs and benefits for girls' and boys' adjustment. Finally, the authors present recent research testing certain model components and propose approaches for testing understudied aspects of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)