Maladaptive perfectionism, hassles, coping, and psychological distress in university professors.

This study examined the roles of hassles, avoidant and problem-focused coping, and perceived social support as mediating the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and psychological distress in a sample of university professors. Hassles and avoidant coping both partially mediated a strong association between maladaptive perfectionism and psychological distress. These results are discussed in terms of the need to better understand how coping styles and social support are associated with the negative impact of perfectionism on the lives of university professors. The implications of these findings for counseling practice are also explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of stressful experiences: Depressive symptoms, self-esteem, gender, and coping.

Numerous studies have identified depressive symptoms as antecedent to stressful experiences. However, the interrelations of depressive symptoms, personal resources, and coping as antecedents of stressful experiences are largely unknown. For this investigation, a prospective design was used to test a model estimating two categories of daily hassles at Time 2 in relation to depressive symptoms, self-esteem, gender, coping, and daily hassles at Time 1. Utilizing simultaneous equations, direct effects were observed for depressive symptoms, Time 1 hassles, gender, and avoidance coping in relation to category of hassles at Time 2. Depressive symptoms and avoidance coping were observed to be mediators for gender and self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression history and coping with chronic pain: A daily process analysis.

This study examined how a previous episode of depression is related to daily pain and reactions to pain among individuals with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome. Seventy-one women with fibromyalgia (including 30 who were previously depressed) rated their pain and mood 3 times daily for 30 days. Each night, participants rated the extent to which they responded to pain by catastrophizing, how much control they had over that day's pain, their ways of coping with pain that day, and the effectiveness of their coping efforts. Multivariate multilevel regression models revealed that after controlling for neuroticism and current depressive symptoms, formerly depressed and never-depressed individuals differed in how they coped with increased pain and in how they appraised the efficacy of their coping efforts. Formerly depressed participants who also reported more current depressive symptoms showed a greater decline in pleasant mood on more painful days than did formerly depressed participants who were experiencing fewer current depressive symptoms. These findings illustrate how a history of depression can be captured in the dynamics of daily life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting hopelessness and psychological distress: The role of perfectionism and coping.

This study investigated an integrative model involving the relationship between perfectionism (P. L. Hewitt & G. L. Flett, 1991) and coping (C. S. Carver, A F. Scheier. & J. K. Weintraub, 1989) to predict changes in hopelessness and general psychological distress among college students. Results indicated that changes in psychological well-being (4-5 weeks later) were predicted by socially prescribed perfectionism, and, as theorized, avoidance coping moderated the link between perfectionism and psychological well-being beyond initial levels of distress. Support was also found for the adaptive effects of cognitive reconstruction coping and other-oriented perfectionism, whereas, under certain conditions, self-oriented perfectionism was shown to be maladaptive. These findings offer support for the proposed model. Implications for intervention and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations of SARS-related stressors and coping to Chinese college students' psychological adjustment during the 2003 Beijing SARS epidemic.

This study examined the main and interactive relations of stressors and coping related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) with Chinese college students' psychological adjustment (psychological symptoms, perceived general health, and life satisfaction) during the 2003 Beijing SARS epidemic. All the constructs were assessed by self-report in an anonymous survey during the final period of the outbreak. Results showed that the relations of stressors and coping to psychological adjustment varied by domain of adjustment. Regression analyses suggested that the number of stressors and use of avoidant coping strategies positively predicted psychological symptoms. Active coping positively predicted life satisfaction when controlling for stressors. Moreover, all types of coping served as a buffer against the negative impact of stressors on perceived general health. These findings hold implications for university counseling services during times of acute, large-scale stressors. In particular, effective screening procedures should be developed to identify students who experience a large number of stressors and thus are at high risk for developing mental health problems. Intervention efforts that target coping should be adapted to take account of the uncontrollability of stressors and clients' cultural preferences for certain coping strategies. A multidimensional battery of psychological adjustment should be used to monitor clients' psychological adjustment to stressors and evaluate the efficacy of intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding children's coping.

Reviews the book, A handbook of children's coping: Linking theory and intervention by Sharlene A. Wolchik and Irwin N. Sandler (1997). The aim of the editors was to bring together "some of the best thinking" in the field, and to facilitate the development and evaluation of theory-based interventions directed at building resilience in youth. A major achievement of the volume is the comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge in the field. The contributors followed guidelines that required them to (a) assess the number of children experiencing the stressor in a given field; (b) evaluate critically the short- or long-term effects of the stress on mental health outcomes; (c) discuss the effect of the most stressful component on coping; (d) reflect on social environmental resources; and (e) consider coping and children's adjustment. Each contributor also reviewed the literature on preventive interventions. This volume provides a major resource for the student or researcher who is interested in youth, and for practitioners in a wide range of health and educational settings. The chapters will appeal selectively, according to the readers' areas of interest. Practitioners should use the chapters as building blocks with which they can enhance their practice rather than expect a how-to manual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religiosity, coping, and psychological well-being among Latter-Day Saint Polynesians in the U.S.

There is limited knowledge about coping and psychological adjustment in Latter-Day Saint (LDS) Polynesians. This study examined religiosity, collectivistic coping, and psychological well-being among 94 LDS Polynesians residing in the Midwest. As hypothesized, religiously committed LDS Polynesians were more likely to have a healthy psychological well-being and were also likely to use collectivistic coping styles, such that high helpfulness ratings on family support and religion-spirituality coping styles were significantly correlated with a positive psychological well-being. Family support also moderated the relationship between LDS Polynesians' religious commitment and psychological well-being. Implications are discussed in terms of religiosity, culture, coping, and psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal adjustment capacities, coping, and subjective well-being: The sample case of caregiving for a family member with mental illness.

This study examined the associations between goal adjustment capacities, coping, and indicators of subjective well-being in 2 waves of data from individuals who provide care for a family member with mental illness. We hypothesized that goal adjustment capacities would predict higher levels of subjective well-being by facilitating coping with caregiving stress. Results showed that goal disengagement was associated with effective care-specific coping (e.g., less self-blame and substance use). Goal reengagement was also associated with effective care-specific coping (e.g., positive reframing), but at the same time it predicted the use of less effective strategies (e.g., venting and self-distraction). Moreover, goal disengagement predicted lower levels of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms and buffered the longitudinal effect of caregiver burden on increases in depressive symptoms. Goal reengagement, by contrast, predicted higher levels of caregiver burden and purpose in life and buffered the cross-sectional association between caregiver burden and depressive symptoms. Finally, effective (and less useful) care-specific coping statistically explained the adaptive (and maladaptive) effects of goal adjustment capacities on participants' well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborative coping and daily mood in couples dealing with prostate cancer.

Collaborative coping (i.e., spouses pooling resources and problem solving jointly) may be associated with better daily mood because of heightened perceptions of efficacy in coping with stressful events. The study examined the daily processes of collaborative coping (individuals' perceptions that the spouse collaborated), perceived coping effectiveness (ratings of how well they dealt with the event), and mood (i.e., Positive and Negative Affect Scale) across 14 days in 57 older couples coping with stressors involving the husband's prostate cancer and daily life in general. In hierarchical multivariate linear models, collaborative coping was associated with more positive same-day mood for both husbands and wives and less negative mood for wives only. These associations were partially mediated by heightened perceptions of coping effectiveness. Exploratory analyses revealed that collaborative coping was more frequent among wives who performed more poorly on cognitive tests and couples who reported greater marital satisfaction and more frequently using collaboration to make decisions. The results suggest that older couples may benefit from collaborative coping in dealing with problems surrounding illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk and resilience factors in coping with daily stress in adulthood: The role of age, self-concept incoherence, and personal control.

This study observed young, middle-aged, and older adults (N = 239; Mage = 49.6 years; range = 18–89 years) for 30 consecutive days to examine the association between daily stress and negative affect, taking into account potential risk (i.e., self-concept incoherence) and resilience (i.e., age, perceived personal control) factors. Results indicated that younger individuals and individuals with a more incoherent self-concept showed higher average negative affect across the study. As well, individuals reported higher negative affect on days that they experienced more stress than usual and on days that they reported less control than usual. These main effects were qualified by significant interactions. In particular, the association between daily stress and negative affect was stronger on days on which adults reported low control compared with days on which they reported high control (i.e., perceptions of control buffered stress). Reactivity to daily stress did not differ for individuals of different ages or for individuals with different levels of self-concept incoherence. Although all individuals reported higher negative affect on days on which they reported less control than usual, this association was more pronounced among younger adults. The current study helps to elucidate the role of risk and resilience factors when adults are faced with daily stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What works in coping with HIV? A meta-analysis with implications for coping with serious illness.

Knowledge of effective ways of coping with HIV is critical to help individuals with HIV maintain the best possible psychological and physical well-being. The purpose of the present article is to determine, through meta-analysis, the strength of the evidence regarding 2 questions: (a) Which types of coping are related to psychological and physical well-being among people with HIV? and (b) Do contextual (pre?post introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies [HAART]; time since diagnosis), measurement (HIV-related event vs. generic prompts for coping measurement), or individual (gender) variables affect the extent to which coping is related to physical and psychological well-being? The authors' analysis demonstrates that Direct Action and Positive Reappraisal were consistently associated with better outcomes in people coping with HIV across affective, health behavior, and physical health categories. In contrast, disengagement forms of coping, such as Behavioral Disengagement and Use of Alcohol or Drugs to Cope, were consistently associated with poorer outcomes. The findings also indicate that in some cases, coping effectiveness was dependent on contextual factors, including time since diagnosis and the advent of HAART. (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)     

Reactivity to daily stressors in adulthood: The importance of stressor type in characterizing risk factors.

This study examined daily stressors in adults ages 18 to 89 years (M = 49.6 years) over 30 days. We examined the role of individual factors (i.e., age, self-concept differentiation [SCD], perceived control) in physical and psychological reactivity to interpersonal, network, home, and health stressors. Findings were consistent with the perspective that adults were less reactive to stress on days during which they felt in control and that younger adults and adults with high SCD were more vulnerable to stress. Age, SCD, and daily perceived control, however, interacted with one another, and findings varied by stressor type. For example, age differences in reactivity were moderated by SCD whereby older adults with low SCD were particularly resilient to home stressors. In addition, whether perceived control buffered adults’ reactivity to daily stress varied by age and SCD. For example, only adults with high SCD were psychologically reactive to network stressors and this was the case only on days during which they reported experiencing low control. The findings emphasize the importance of considering the varying ways in which individual characteristics interact to influence stress reactivity to different types of stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

This article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of “climate change” as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting process with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the human dimensions of global environmental change can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided that identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial aspects of adaptation that have been neglected in the arena of climate change science. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social “psychological adaptation” processes that powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial adjustment among cancer survivors: Findings from a national survey of health and well-being.

Objective: The current study examined whether cancer survivors showed impairment, resilience, or growth responses relative to a sociodemographically matched sample in four domains: mental health and mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality. The impact of aging on psychosocial adjustment was also investigated. Design: Participants were 398 cancer survivors who were participants in the MIDUS survey (Midlife in the United States) and 796 matched respondents with no cancer history. Psychosocial assessments were completed in 1995–1996 and 2004–2006. Main Outcome Measures: Outcomes including self-report measures of mental health and mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality. Results: Findings indicated that cancer survivors demonstrated impairment relative to the comparison group in mental health, mood, and some aspects of psychological well-being. Longitudinal analyses spanning pre- and postdiagnosis clarified that while mental health declined after a cancer diagnosis, poorer functioning in other domains existed prior to diagnosis. However, survivors exhibited resilient social well-being, spirituality, and personal growth. Moreover, age appeared to confer resiliency; older survivors were more likely than younger adults to show psychosocial functioning equivalent to their peers. Conclusion: While younger survivors may be at risk for disturbances in mental health and mood, cancer survivors show resilience in other important domains of psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

After every darkness is light: Resilient Afghan women coping with violence and immigration.

This qualitative research study examines the experiences and strategies that eight Afghan women engaged in to support the mental health of themselves and others, while facing significant war-related trauma in Afghanistan and the process of immigration and resettlement in the United States. The coping processes identified represent diverse and often culturally grounded methods of facing hardship. The participants endorsed relatively low levels of current mental health difficulties, suggesting that the coping mechanisms the women engaged in may be effective. The study also illustrates the culturally grounded nature and equifinality of resilience, as no two women engaged in all the same coping processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of caregiver coping to family outcomes during the initial year following pediatric traumatic injury.

This study identified coping strategies associated with caregiver outcomes following pediatric injury and examined injury type as a moderator of coping efficacy. Families of 103 children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 71 children with orthopedic injuries were followed prospectively during the initial year postinjury. The groups had comparable preinjury characteristics and hospitalization experiences but differed on neurological insult. In hierarchical regression analyses, acceptance was associated with lower burden and denial was associated with greater distress in both groups. Active coping resulted in higher distress following TBI but not orthopedic injuries. Conversely, the use of humor was related to diminishing distress following TBI but unrelated to distress following orthopedic injuries. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for intervention following TBI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in coping and locus of control: A study of managerial stress in Hong Kong.

The present study involved data collection from 3 samples of Hong Kong managers to examine mechanisms by which age would relate to work well-being. A total of 634 managers was drawn by random sampling and purposive sampling methods. The results showed that age was positively related to well-being (job satisfaction and mental well-being). Furthermore, older managers reported fewer sources of stress, better coping, and a more internal locus of control. Multiple regression analyses suggested that the relations of age with 2 well-being indicators can be attributed to various combinations of coping, work locus of control, sources of stress, managerial level, and organizational tenure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religiously integrated psychotherapy with Muslim clients: From research to practice.

In this paper, we attempt to translate empirical findings from a program of research that developed a Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) into practical clinical applications. The findings from this program of research are complemented and illuminated by findings from other empirical research and clinical work with Muslims. Our recommendations can be summarized as follows. First, clinicians should inquire directly about the place of religion in the lives of their Muslim clients. Second, mental health professionals should ask about what Islam means to their clients and educate themselves about basic Islamic beliefs and practices. Third, clinicians should help their Muslim clients draw on Islamic positive religious coping methods to deal with stressors. Fourth, we recommend that clinicians assess for religious struggles, normalize them, help clients find satisfying solutions to these struggles and, if appropriate, refer clients who struggle to a Muslim pastoral counselor or religious leader. Finally, in order to overcome stigma associated with mental health issues, mental health professionals should educate the Islamic public about psychology, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frank J. Sullivan: Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service.

Announces Frank J. Sullivan as the recipient of the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service for 2002. A biographical statement is included, along with major works and contributions for the field. Sullivan received this award for a variety of contributions to public service, including responding to the needs of people with severe mental illness, AIDS, and dual diagnoses; bridging chasms between agencies; increasing the number of minority researchers; pulling people and policies together in polarized areas of animal welfare and mental health vs substance abuse; rationalizing mental health research and service systems; funding national services; creating services for neglected populations of children, depressed women on Medicaid, and the homeless; and contributing to the implementation of the Surgeon General's report on mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)