Test of a model of coping with involuntary job loss following a company closing.

This study presented and tested a model of response to involuntary job loss based on R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman's (1984) theory of stress, appraisal, and coping. The sample included 202 individuals who provided self-report survey data at approximately 6 and 12 months following a company closing. Structural equation modeling provided support for the fit of the overall model and partial support for the hypotheses. Specifically, results indicated that coping resources are related both to the cognitive appraisal of job loss and the coping strategies developed in response to job loss, cognitive appraisal is related to the use of coping strategies, and coping strategies are related both to the level of distress felt by the individual and to the level of reemployment attained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective, physiological, and behavioral effects of threat and challenge appraisal.

The applicability of R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman's (1984) cognitive appraisal model of stress was examined in 3 laboratory experiments involving the repeated performance of active (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and passive (Study 3) coping stress tasks (P. A. Obrist, 1981). Threat appraisals of upcoming coping tasks were positively related to Ss' self-reported task stress. Cardiac reactivity during active coping stressors was related positively to challenge appraisals and negatively to threat appraisals. Vascular reactivity, however, was related positively to threat appraisals and negatively to challenge appraisals. During passive coping stressors, cardiac and skin conductance reactivity were related positively to threat appraisals. The fractionation of self-report and physiological measures during active coping was interpreted in terms of energy mobilization and effort. The implications for the use of physiological measures as indicators of stress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Symposium: Family caregiving to dependent older adults: Stress, appraisal, and coping.

Articles presented in this 1987 APA symposium adopt a stress, appraisal, and coping framework for conceptualizing the experience of family caregiving. Each article emphasizes 2 themes: (a) caregivers' adaptation to the chronic demands of in-home caregiving and (b) factors that mediate the relationship between caregiving stress and caregiver's adaptation. The articles presented in this symposium illustrate both the utility of this theoretical approach to studying caregiving stress and the difficulty inherent in its use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Stress, appraisal, and coping.

Reviews the book, Stress, appraisal, and coping by R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman (1984). In this book, the authors analyze the psychology of stress and research on stress-related issues. The volume is organized around the three central concepts that serve as its title. Overall, this book provides a clear and cogent perspective on stress, with implications to professionals in a number of fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal control and stress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis.

Analyzes the role of personal stress and coping processes from the perspective of a cognitively oriented theory developed by R. S. Lazarus and colleagues, beginning in 1951. Believing that an event is controllable does not always lead to a reduction in stress or to a positive outcome, and believing that an event is uncontrollable does not always lead to an increase in stress or to a negative outcome. The present author shows how 2 forms of control, generalized beliefs about control and situational appraisals of control, fit into the overall model of Lazarus and colleagues. Situational appraisals of control are explored, especially as they relate to health matters. The theoretical formulation of stress and coping is drawn on to examine 3 important issues: (a) how believing one has control in a stressful transaction can heighten threat, (b) the relationship between control and coping, and (c) pathways through which control can affect the adaptational outcomes of stressful encounters. (88 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive appraisals, coping strategies, and support resources as correlates of parenting and infant development

By applying R. S. Lazarus's (1993) theoretical model, the authors explored the dynamics of stress and coping as central mechanisms underlying parenting adjustment and infant development. Longitudinal assessment of 140 primiparous mothers included measures of cognitive appraisals of parenting, coping strategies used, and supportive coping resources at pregnancy and 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. Maternal outcome measures of adjustment included maternal well-being, parental efficacy, and observed behaviors of caregiving and affiliation. Infant developmental outcome was measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (N. Bayley, 1993). All measures of the stress and coping model showed systematic developmental changes across the transition to parenthood as well as relative stability of individual differences. In addition, the stress and coping variables were found to have additive and interactive effects in predicting both maternal adjustment and infant development.     

Psychosocial predictors of AIDS risk behavior and drug use behavior in homeless and drug addicted women of color.

The present study examined a causal model consisting of personal and social resources, threat appraisal processes, coping styles, and barriers to risk reduction as predictors of general AIDS risk and specific drug use behaviors among homeless African American (N?=?714) and Latina (N?=?691) women. The model, which was based on a stress and coping framework, supported many of the hypothesized relationships. Active coping was associated with fewer general AIDS risk behaviors for both groups and less specific drug use behavior among African American women. Specific drug use behavior was predicted by high threat appraisal and avoidant coping for both groups. Ethnic differences and implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositional optimism and primary and secondary appraisal of a stressor: Controlling for confounding influences and relations to coping and psychological and physical adjustment.

Previous research has shown that dispositional optimism (M. E Scheier & C. S. Carver, 1985) is linked to both coping and adjustment but has failed to consider the potential influence of appraisals in the stress and coping process (R. S. Lazarus & S. Folkman, 1984). The present study examined the influence of optimism and appraisals on coping and psychological and physical adjustment in 726 college students. Results from correlational analyses indicated that stress-related appraisals were associated with optimism, coping, and adjustment. Comparative analyses further indicated that optimists (n?=?109) and pessimists (n?=?110) differed significantly in secondary (but not primary) appraisal, coping, and adjustment. In addition, optimism was found to add significant incremental validity in predicting adjustment, beyond what was accounted for by appraisals and coping. The implications of these findings for understanding the influence of dispositional optimism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress, appraisal, coping, and social support as predictors of adaptational outcome among dementia caregivers.

A stress and coping model was used to study predictors of individual differences in caregiver adaptation. A total of 54 family caregivers of elderly dementia patients completed interviews and questionnaires assessing the severity of patient impairment and caregiving stressors; caregiver appraisals, coping responses, and social support and activity; and caregiver outcomes, including depression, life satisfaction, and self-rated health. Correlational and regression analyses supported the utility of the stress and coping model. Appraisal, coping responses, and social support and activity were significant predictors of caregiver outcome, even when severity of caregiving stressors was statistically controlled. The importance of a multidimensional approach to assessing caregiver outcomes was supported by regression analyses indicating that each caregiver outcome was predicted by different patterns of stressors, appraisal, coping, and social support and activity. Results are discussed in terms of a stress and coping model of caregiving, and clinical implications for work with caregiving families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping strategies and collective efficacy as mediators between stress appraisal and quality of life among rescue workers.

Fire-fighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians routinely confront potentially traumatic events in the course of their jobs. The mediation role of coping strategies and collective efficacy in the relationship between stress appraisal and quality of life was examined (compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout) in a correlational study. Participants were 463 Italian rescue workers (fire fighters and different categories of emergency health care professionals). Participants filled out measures of stress appraisal, collective efficacy, coping strategies, and quality of life. The results showed that emotion and support coping, self-blame coping, and self-distraction mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and compassion fatigue. Moreover, collective efficacy, self-blame coping, and religious coping mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and burnout. Finally, collective efficacy, self-blame coping, and problem-focused coping mediated the relationship between stress appraisal and compassion satisfaction. Cognitive restructuring and denial did not mediate the relation between stress appraisal and any of the quality of life dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach, avoidance, and coping with stress.

Notes that the study of stress and coping points to 2 concepts central to an understanding of the response to trauma: approach and avoidance. This pair of concepts refers to 2 basic modes of coping with stress. Approach and avoidance are simply metaphors for cognitive and emotional activity that is oriented either toward or away from threat. Formulations of the approach–avoidance dimension are reviewed along with coping effectiveness literature. A general approach–avoidance model of coping is presented in the context of contemporary theoretical approaches to coping. The potential costs and benefits of approach and avoidance are outlined, and an ideal case of coping with stress, in which both modes would be operative, is presented. It is suggested that research focus on studying one stress or trauma at a time and following the coping processes over time. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence du processus de coping de l’enfant d’age scolaire sur son adaptation à la séparation parentale et aux conflits entre ses parents.

There exists an abundant literature on the effects of parental separation on children. However, few studies focus on the coping process employed by children to help them deal with this familial restructuring. Eighty-five children and their parents, from intact or separated families, answered questionnaires measuring parental conflicts, the child’s coping process, and the child’s adaptation to validate a theoretical model of child adaptation and to identify the mechanisms by which this process is related to their adaptation. The model takes into account the coping process of children subjected to family-related stress. Path analyses show that threat appraisal influences the choice of coping strategies, and reveal that active strategies influence the perceived efficacy of the coping strategies. The results also show that the children’s coping process is partially tied to their adaptation in various ways. However, avoidance and support seeking coping strategies could have different impacts on the adaptation of the children of each group. This study also draws attention to the direct impact of conjugal conflicts on the child’s adaptation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress appraisal in women with spinal cord injury: Supplementary findings through mixed methods.

A study was conducted to examine how women with spinal cord injury (SCI) perceive the stressors they encounter, and how cognitive appraisal is associated with coping and life satisfaction. Fifty women with SCI were interviewed regarding their experience with stress and coping. The interviews were then coded using a framework based on stress and coping theory (transactional model). The systematic application of quantitative methods to the coded interview data allowed for statistical analyses, which demonstrated that the context in which the women spoke about their experiences with various stressors was associated with coping strategies, time since injury, and life satisfaction. Although stress and coping are commonly seen as interacting constructs that influence quality of life outcomes, current findings suggest that appraisal of stressors in the context of loss (more common among women more recently injured) may have a direct impact on life satisfaction apart from any coping strategies put into effect. Interventions designed to facilitate coping with loss and enhance problem-solving skills, along with education about available resources, may foster a sense of empowerment after SCI and ultimately change how stressors are perceived and managed in order to dampen their negative impact on life satisfaction. (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)     

Dysphoria: Relations to appraisals, coping, and adjustment.

Previous research has shown that individual differences in dysphoria are linked to adjustment, but the potential mediating influence of appraisals and coping has not been studied until now (R. Lazarus & S. Folkman, 1984). This study examined the direct and indirect influences of dysphoria on primary and secondary appraisal, coping, and psychological and physical adjustment in 361 college students. Results from conducting path analyses indicated that the link between dysphoria and adjustment was mediated by appraisals and coping. These results also suggest that dysphoria has both direct and indirect influences on adjustment. Implications for future research and development of appropriate interventions for working with dysphorics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamics of a stressful encounter: Cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes.

Investigated the functional relations among cognitive appraisal and coping processes and their short-term outcomes within stressful encounters. The authors used an intraindividual analysis of the interrelations among primary appraisal (what was at stake in the encounter), secondary appraisal (coping options), 8 forms of problem- and emotion-focused coping, and encounter outcomes in a sample of 85 married couples (females aged 35–45 yrs and males aged 26–54 yrs). Findings show that coping was strongly related to cognitive appraisal; the forms of coping that were used varied depending on what was at stake and the options for coping. Coping was also differentially related to satisfactory and unsatisfactory encounter outcomes. Findings clarify the functional relations among appraisal and coping variables and the outcomes of stressful encounters. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal model of stress and coping: Women in management.

A model of managerial women's stress was tested (N?=?249) with structural equation modeling. The model was developed from R. S. Lazarus's (1966) theoretical framework of stress/coping and incorporated 3 causal antecedent constructs (Demographics, Sex Role Attitudes, and Agentic Traits), 4 mediating constructs (Environment, Appraisals, Engagement Coping, and Disengagement Coping), and 3 outcomes (Work Performance, Distress, and Satisfaction). The final model, found to be most plausible in the sample population, accounted for 56% of the total variance among the constructs. Lazarus's theory of psychological stress, which postulates a central role for cognitive appraisals and coping, was supported. In addition, agentic traits and sex role attitudes had both direct and indirect effects on outcome variables. Implications for career development theory and counseling, as well as limitations of the study, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with sexual harassment: Personal, environmental, and cognitive determinants.

A multidimensional coping typology and a process model of coping were used to examine coping strategies in response to sexual harassment, the personal and environmental determinants of these strategies, and the cognitive processes underlying strategy choice. Survey responses of 15,404 military members who reported unwanted sex-related attention were analyzed. Strong support was found for the usefulness of both the typology and the model. Choice of specific coping strategies used in response to sexual harassment varied significantly depending on occupational status, gender, climate, harassment severity, and power differential. Cognitive appraisal mediated the determinant-coping relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress, anxiety and coping: The multidimensional interaction model.

Discusses and tests the multidimensional interaction model of stress, anxiety and coping processes. The aim is to advance understanding of the systematic nature of coping processes in relation to psychological variables such as anxiety, as well as to determine how coping is related to other personality and situational variables, and to physical and mental well being. Coping styles and strategies mediate between antecedent stressful events, and such consequences as anxiety, psychological distress, and somatic complaints. Task-oriented coping is most efficacious in a controllable situation, while emotion-oriented coping is most efficacious in an uncontrollable situation. While avoidance-oriented coping may be initially appropriate as a reaction to stress, in the long run task-oriented coping is most efficacious. A number of laboratory studies assessing the multidimensional interaction model are reviewed. These studies have both theoretical and practical implications, and contribute to empirical knowledge about stress, coping processes, and personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adjustment to multiple sclerosis: Application of a stress and coping model.

This study examined the use of a stress and coping model of adjustment to multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 122 MS patients were interviewed and completed self-administered scales at Time 1 and 12 months later, Time 2 (n?=?96). Predictors included stressful life events, illness (duration, severity, and disability), social support, appraisal (threat and control/challenge), and coping (problem focused and emotion [wishful thinking, self-blame, and avoidance] focused). Adjustment outcomes were Time 2 depression, global distress, social adjustment, and subjective health status. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for the effects of Time-1 adjustment, better Time-2 adjustment was related to less disability, greater reliance on problem-focused coping, and less reliance on emotion-focused coping. There was limited support for the stress buffering effects of coping and social support. Findings offer some support for the use of a stress and coping model of adaptation to MS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)