Appraisals of controllability and coping in caregivers and HIV+ men: Testing the goodness-of-fit hypothesis.

The authors examined goodness of fit between controllability appraisals and coping in 82 HIV+ and 162 HIV– gay men experiencing the chronic stress of caregiving and 61 HIV+ gay men who were not caregiving. Multiple assessments of each individual over a 2-year period allowed replication of prior cross-sectional research examining goodness of fit, as well as the creation of intraindividual goodness-of-fit scores that were then used to examine within-person fluctuations in goodness of fit over time and goodness of fit as an individual difference variable related to adjustment. Results indicate that the importance of goodness of fit varies for different kinds of coping: The concept was supported for problem-focused coping and, to a lesser extent, for emotion-focused coping but not for meaning-focused coping. Within-subject variation in goodness of fit was related to within-subject variation in depressed mood, but between-subjects variation (individual differences) in fit was not associated with depressed mood, suggesting that goodness of fit is better understood as a transactional variable than as a personality or "coping style" variable. (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)     

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)     

Sex differences in interpersonal problems: A circumplex analysis.

The structure and magnitude of sex differences in interpersonal problems across several data sets were examined, guided by the interpersonal circumplex model and the structural summary method. Data were self-reported interpersonal difficulties, assessed with the 64-item version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, S. E. Rosenberg, B. A. Baer, G. Ure?o, & V. S. Villase?or, 1988). In Study 1, the authors focused on sex differences at the level of specific interpersonal complaints (item level). In Study 2, the authors examined sex differences in octant scores of the IIP circumplex (scale level), in a reanalysis of archival data. The structural summary method was used to identify points of maximum difference between men and women in the interpersonal continuum and to estimate effect sizes. Results from the 2 studies converged in suggesting a dimension of difference involving problems in Hostile-Dominance vs. Friendly-Submission. The magnitude of effect size was consistent with previous reports in the personality literature. These sex differences appeared to be best explained by a one-dimensional model. Findings were generally consistent across 3 different types of samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Surviving poverty: stress and coping in the lives of housed and homeless mothers

Stress, coping, and depressed mood were examined in a sample of 64 homeless mothers and a comparison group of 59 housed low-income mothers. Homeless mothers reported significantly higher levels of stress and depression, as well as greater use of avoidant and active-cognitive coping strategies, than did the housed mothers. Within-group analyses revealed an association between greater use of avoidant strategies and higher levels of reported depression for both groups. Implications for research and program development are discussed.     

Cognitive aspects of chronic depression.

Previous research on chronic depression has focused on its link with other mood disorders and Axis II personality disorders. However, there are few data examining whether the cognitive perspective applies to this condition. In this cross-sectional study, 42 outpatients with chronic depression were compared with 27 outpatients with nonchronic major depressive disorder and 24 never psychiatrically ill controls on cognitive variables thought to be related to vulnerability to depression (e.g., dysfunctional attitudes, attributional style, a ruminative response style, and maladaptive core beliefs). Both depressed groups were more elevated than a never-ill comparison group. However, chronically depressed individuals were generally more elevated on measures of cognitive variables than those with major depressive disorders even after controlling for mood state and personality disorder symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of neuroticism in daily stress and coping.

The authors examined the influence of neuroticism (N) on the occurrence of different types of daily events, primary and secondary appraisals of those events, use of specific coping strategies, and end-of-day negative mood. College students completed questionnaires at the end of every day for 14 consecutive days. When reporting their most stressful event of each day, high-N individuals, compared with low-N individuals, reported more interpersonal stressors and had more negative primary and secondary appraisals and reacted with more distress in response to increasingly negative primary and secondary appraisals. Compared with low-N individuals, high-N individuals used less-adaptive coping strategies (e.g., hostile reaction) and reacted with more distress in response to some types of coping strategies. The appraisal findings, in particular, help to explain the chronic negative affectivity associated with neuroticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of child gender role and maternal feedback to child stress on the emergence of the gender difference in depressive rumination in adolescence.

Extensive research has linked a greater female tendency to ruminate about depressed feelings or mood to the gender difference in depression. However, the developmental origins of the gender difference in depressive rumination are not well understood. We hypothesized that girls and women may be more likely to ruminate because rumination represents a gender-stereotyped coping style that is associated with a more feminine gender role identity, maternal encouragement of emotion expression, and passive coping responses to stress. This study examined whether child self-reported gender role identity and observed maternal responses to child stress mediated the emergent gender difference in depressive rumination in adolescence. Maternal gender role attitudes were further hypothesized to moderate the relationship between child sex and mediating variables. Rumination and gender role identity were assessed in 316 youths and their mothers in a longitudinal study from age 11 to age 15; in addition, 153 mother–child dyads participated in an observational task at age 11 from which maternal responses to a child stressor were coded. Results indicated that greater feminine gender role identity among children and encouragement of emotion expression by mothers at age 11 significantly mediated the association between child sex and the development of depressive rumination at age 15, even after controlling for rumination at age 11. Maternal gender role attitudes significantly moderated the relationship between child sex and maternal encouragement of emotion expression, such that mothers who endorsed more traditional gender role attitudes themselves were particularly likely to encourage emotion expression in their daughters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in strategies of coping and defense across the life span.

Age and sex differences in the use of coping and defense strategies were examined in a life-span sample of 381 individuals. Participants responded to 2 self-report measures assessing mechanisms of coping and defense and measures assessing their level of cognitive complexity. Older adults used a combination of coping and defense strategies indicative of greater impulse control and the tendency to positively appraise conflict situations. Adolescents and younger adults used strategies that were outwardly aggressive and psychologically undifferentiated, indicating lower levels of impulse control and self-awareness. Women used more internalizing defenses than men and used coping strategies that flexibly integrated intra- and interpersonal aspects of conflict situations. Taken together, findings provide evidence for the age- and sex-specific use of strategies of coping and defense, suggesting that men and women may face different developmental tasks in the process toward maturity in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronically depressed mood and cancer risk in older persons

BACKGROUND: Depression has been proposed as a predisposing factor for cancer, but prospective studies have been inconclusive. We examined whether a high level of depressive symptoms, present for a long time, is associated with increased risk of cancer in the elderly. METHODS: Data were obtained and analyzed from persons who lived in three communities (Massachusetts, Iowa, and Connecticut) of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, a prospective cohort study with a mean follow-up of 3.8 years that included 4825 persons (1708 men and 3117 women) aged 71 years and older. Chronically depressed mood was defined as present when the number of depressive symptoms exceeded specific cut points on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale at baseline (1988) and 3 and 6 years before baseline. New cases of cancer were identified from Medicare hospitalization records and death certificates. RESULTS: Of the 4825 persons studied, 146 (3.0%) were chronically depressed. The incidence rate of cancer was 30.5 per 1000 person-years for the 146 persons with chronic depression and 21.9 per 1000 person-years for the 4679 nonchronically depressed persons. After adjustment for age, sex, race, disability, hospital admissions, alcohol intake, and smoking, the hazard ratio for cancer associated with chronically depressed mood was 1.88 (95% confidence interval = 1.13-3.14). The excess risk of cancer associated with chronic depression was consistent for most types of cancer and was not specific to cigarette smokers. CONCLUSION: When present for at least 6 years, depression was associated with a generally increased risk of cancer.     

The effect of disability claimants' coping styles on judgments of pain, disability, and compensation: A vignette study.

Because insurance adjusters' decisions about whether to grant compensation to disability claimants are often based on subjective criteria, such decisions may be susceptible to the influence of factors irrelevant to the claimant's disabling condition. This study examined whether judgments about compensation claimants are affected by the claimants' way of coping with pain and by claimant sex. Ss were 200 undergraduates. Ss made judgments about vignettes describing fictitious compensation claimants with differing strategies of coping with pain. The main analytic approach involved a multivariate ANOVA with 5 within-subject factors (i.e., coping style described in each of 5 vignettes) and 2 between-subject factors (i.e., sex of claimant described in the vignettes). Coping style was significantly related to perceptions of pain severity and disability and to beliefs about whether compensation should be awarded. Claimants who were described as engaging in catastrophizing or in praying and hoping were more likely than other claimants to be perceived as disabled and as deserving compensation for their injuries. Decisions about disability compensation could be influenced by claimant coping styles… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revisiting sex differences in the expression of depression.

251 male and 390 female college students indicated the degree to which they would engage in a number of behaviors or cognitions if depressed and completed the Beck Depression Inventory. The rated items were gathered using procedures suggested by the behavioral-analytic model. Factor analyses were employed to categorize items into interpretable variables. Stepwise discriminant function analyses were performed to determine maximum separation of male and female groups. Men and women showed distinct differences in the nature of their interpersonal behaviors as well as in cognitive styles for coping with depression. Findings suggest that there are sex differences in the expression of depression even in predominantly normal populations and reinforce the value of investigating theories of depression in the context of a continuity between normal mood states and depressive phenomena. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A randomized clinical trial of a brief, mailed intervention for symptoms of depression.

This research evaluated the efficacy of a brief, mailed personalized feedback intervention designed to alleviate depressed mood and antecedents (ineffective coping and hopelessness). College students (N = 177) were randomly assigned to intervention or control group following a baseline assessment. A week after completing the baseline assessment, participants in the intervention condition were mailed feedback and information detailing their mood, coping strategies, as well as suggestions for enhancing mood. Results indicated that feedback was effective in reducing depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and among men, increasing willingness to use coping strategies at the 1-month follow-up. Hopelessness mediated reductions in depressive symptoms. Results support the use of personalized feedback as a low-cost, initial intervention for college students suffering from symptoms of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic financial strain, social support, and depressive symptoms among older adults.

The purpose of this study is twofold: one, to determine whether chronic financial strain is related to depressive symptoms among a random community sample of older adults, and two, to assess whether social support counterbalances or buffers the deleterious effects of financial strain. The findings suggest that elderly people suffering from financial strain are more likely to be depressed than are older adults with fewer financial problems. In addition, the data support the stress-buffering hypothesis, that is, that older people who have more informational support and who provide support to others, more often report fewer symptoms of depression as a result of financial strain than do elderly respondents who have less informational support and who do not provide support to others. Tangible and emotional support are found to be less effective coping resources when financial strain is present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constraints on the effects of mood on memory.

In Study 1, pleasant and unpleasant personality trait words and abstract nouns were encoded in neutral mood and recalled in either induced depressed or induced happy mood, using 32 female and 32 male undergraduates assigned in equal numbers to 1 of the 4 conditions. Females recalled more pleasant than unpleasant words when in a happy mood and more unpleasant than pleasant words when in a depressed mood. Males failed to show this effect. Both sexes responded equally well to the induction procedures. There were no sex differences in pleasantness ratings of the words to be recalled. A prediction that differential effects of mood on recall would be greater for trait words than abstract nouns was not confirmed. In Study 2, everyday usage ratings by 36 Ss from Study 1 were obtained for the trait words from Study 1. Females gave higher usage ratings than males and, within the females, usage predicted the extent to which a word was preferentially recalled in a congruent mood state. Findings are discussed in relation to the associative network model of mood and memory, sex differences in depression, and cognitive vulnerability to depression. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style, depression, and perceptions of consensus for events.

This study examined the differences between depressed and nondepressed individuals' implicit perceptions of consensus, which may contribute to differences in their attributional styles. Subjects rated the extent to which positive, negative, and neutral events happen to themselves and to the average college student and completed measures of depth of depression and attributional style. Perceptions of consensus were highly correlated with all components of attributional style for negative and positive events. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that ratings of others explained variance in attributional style beyond that explained by ratings of the self for positive but not for negative events. Path analyses, however, indicated that the indirect path from perceptions of consensus to depression mediated through attributional style was nonsignificant for positive events, although it was significant for negative events. These findings are discussed in terms of the role of perceptions of others as precursors of attributional style and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filipino Americans and racism: A multiple mediation model of coping.

Although the literature on Asian Americans and racism has been emerging, few studies have examined how coping influences one’s encounters with racism. To advance the literature, the present study focused on the psychological impact of Filipino Americans’ experiences with racism and the role of coping as a mediator using a community-based sample of adults (N = 199). Two multiple mediation models were used to examine the mediating effects of active, avoidance, support-seeking, and forbearance coping on the relationship between perceived racism and psychological distress and self-esteem, respectively. Separate analyses were also conducted for men and women given differences in coping utilization. For men, a bootstrap procedure indicated that active, support-seeking, and avoidance coping were mediators of the relationship between perceived racism and psychological distress. Active coping was negatively associated with psychological distress, whereas both support seeking and avoidance were positively associated with psychological distress. A second bootstrap procedure for men indicated that active and avoidance coping mediated the relationship between perceived racism and self-esteem such that active coping was positively associated with self-esteem, and avoidance was negatively associated with self-esteem. For women, only avoidance coping had a significant mediating effect that was associated with elevations in psychological distress and decreases in self-esteem. The results highlight the importance of examining the efficacy of specific coping responses to racism and the need to differentiate between the experiences of men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men and things, women and people: A meta-analysis of sex differences in interests.

The magnitude and variability of sex differences in vocational interests were examined in the present meta-analysis for Holland’s (1959, 1997) categories (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional), Prediger’s (1982) Things–People and Data–Ideas dimensions, and the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) interest areas. Technical manuals for 47 interest inventories were used, yielding 503,188 respondents. Results showed that men prefer working with things and women prefer working with people, producing a large effect size (d = 0.93) on the Things–People dimension. Men showed stronger Realistic (d = 0.84) and Investigative (d = 0.26) interests, and women showed stronger Artistic (d = ?0.35), Social (d = ?0.68), and Conventional (d = ?0.33) interests. Sex differences favoring men were also found for more specific measures of engineering (d = 1.11), science (d = 0.36), and mathematics (d = 0.34) interests. Average effect sizes varied across interest inventories, ranging from 0.08 to 0.79. The quality of interest inventories, based on professional reputation, was not differentially related to the magnitude of sex differences. Moderators of the effect sizes included interest inventory item development strategy, scoring method, theoretical framework, and sample variables of age and cohort. Application of some item development strategies can substantially reduce sex differences. The present study suggests that interests may play a critical role in gendered occupational choices and gender disparity in the STEM fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood regulation expectancies, coping responses, depression, and sense of burden in female caregivers of Alzheimer's patients

This study focused on the role of generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation in coping among caregivers to Alzheimer's disease patients. Self-report measures were used to obtain information on expectancies, hassles, coping strategies, depressive symptoms, and sense of burden from 73 female primary caregivers in support groups. Stronger expectancies for negative mood regulation were associated with less severe depressive symptoms, even with stress levels and coping responses controlled. These expectancies were also associated with less avoidant coping, but were unrelated to active coping. Burden and depressive symptoms were strongly related, but correlated differently with other variables.     

Self-blame, self-efficacy, and adjustment to abortion.

The causal impact of attributions and coping self-efficacy on adjustment to abortion was examined. 283 women were randomly assigned prior to their abortion to 1 of 3 counseling interventions: 1 designed to alter attributions for unwanted pregnancy (ATT-INT), 1 designed to raise coping expectations (EXP-INT), or a control (standard counseling) group. Depression, mood, anticipated consequences, and physical complaints were assessed postabortion. Ss in the ATT-INT or EXP-INT group were better adjusted immediately postabortion than women in the control group. The EXP-INT group was also less depressed than the ATT-INT group. Three individual difference factors were also related to better adjustment: high coping self-efficacy, low self-character blame, and low other-blame. Self-efficacy also predicted adjustment 3 wks postabortion. Implications for theories of adjustment to major life events, therapeutic interventions to assist coping with such events, and public policy on abortion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)