Depressive symptomatology in new mothers: A stress and coping perspective.

The aim of the present research was to test the utility of a stress-coping model of postpartum depression. Data were collected during the last trimester of pregnancy (n?=?197) and twice after the birth (4 weeks, n?=?180, and approximately 5 months, n?=?163). Coping resources and depressive symptomatology were assessed at Time 1, stress and coping were assessed at Time 2, and depressive symptomatology and partner ratings of coping effectiveness were assessed at Times 2 and 3. After control of the effects of initial depression, there was evidence of significant effects of levels of stress and coping responses on the Time 2 and Time 3 outcome measures. There was also some evidence linking coping resources (particularly self-esteem and family support) to postpartum depressive symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

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

Cognitive appraisals and problem-directed coping: A prospective study of stress.

Information-seeking and problem-directed coping behaviors following a stressful event were observed as a function of cognitive appraisals of the coping resources of 138 undergraduates. Subjectively defined failure on a college exam served as an example of a mild stressor. Prior to the 1st midterm exam, Ss generated alternative strategies that could be used in the event of dissatisfaction with performance and rated the feasibility of using these strategies. Academic coping behaviors were measured by self-report and direct observation during the 3 wks prior to the next exam. Results show that coping cognitions predicted academic behaviors but not exam scores. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping in stressful episodes: The role of individual differences, environmental factors, and situational characteristics.

This article examines individual differences (extraversion and neuroticism), environmental factors (social support and work demand), and situational characteristics (type of stressful episode and its perceived importance) as predictors of three self-report measures of coping (general coping, direct coping, and suppression) derived from the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. The data analyzed were collected from 135 first-year female student nurses. Individual differences were assessed prior to exposure to the ward environment, and information about stressful episodes was obtained during the initial period of nursing practice. Multiple regression analyses showed that individual differences and environmental and situational factors were significant predictors of the coping scores and that patterns of main and interactive effects were different for each type of coping. For direct coping and suppression, predicted interactions across person, environmental, and situational variables contributed significantly to the explained variance. Curvilinear interactions between work demand and neuroticism were significant for both direct coping and suppression; interactions of social support and extraversion with perceived importance predicted direct coping; and interactions between neuroticism and extraversion and between work demand and importance predicted suppression. (70 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction model of anxiety and the threat of Quebec's separation from Canada.

The interaction model of anxiety was investigated by assessing trait and state anxiety in students at a Canadian university during the Quebec referendum. The results of Study 1 confirmed that the threat of separation by Quebec from Canada was perceived as an ambiguous, uncertain situation. In Study 2, reactions to this situation were assessed by having participants complete measures of anxiety and situation perception at Time 1 (i.e., 3 hr before the event) and Time 2 (i.e., 1 week after the vote). The results provide support for the interaction model; individuals who were high in trait anxiety in ambiguous situations and appraised the referendum situation as threatening were characterized by elevated state anxiety before the uncertain outcome of the vote. The results illustrate the need to examine trait anxiety and specific appraisals of situational threat in uncertain life situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immigration as a multiple-stressor situation: Stress and coping among immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel.

The present study investigated the adaptation process of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel as a multiple-stressor situation that involves cognitive appraisals and coping efforts. A sample of 301 new immigrants (residing in Israel three years or less), 67% women, 25 to 45 years old, completed inventories measuring cognitive appraisals of three major immigration stressors--employment, language, and housing difficulties--and the strategies used to cope with these demands. Level of distress (as indicated by depression and anxiety) was also assessed. The results show positive associations between cognitive appraisals of the various stressors, as well as between the coping strategies applied to them, indicating mutual influences between stressors in a multiple-stressor situation. In addition, an interaction between the appraisals of threat/loss of the three stressors predicted the respondents' distress level, supporting the potentiation model of coping with multiple stressors. Last, the findings support the notion of a stable coping style by showing especially high correlations between coping efforts with different stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A prospective test of an integrative interpersonal theory of depression: A naturalistic study of college roommates.

This study tested an integrated interpersonal theory of depression, which combines J. C. Coyne's (1976) interpersonal theory of depression with work on the interplay between self-enhancement and self-consistency theory. Students' (targets') and their same-gender roommates' appraisals of each other, depression and anxiety levels, reassurance seeking, and negative feedback seeking were assessed at Time 1 (T1), and again at Time 2 (T2), 3 wks later. Consistent with the theoretical integration (1) depressed targets reported engaging in more negative feedback seeking than nondepressed targets, and tended to report seeking more reassurance than nondepressed targets at T1; (2) for male (but not female) targets, the combination of negative feedback seeking, high reassurance seeking, and depression at T1 predicted T1 to T2 increases in rejection by roommates; and (3) rejection effects applied to depressive symptoms, but not anxious symptoms or anhedonic mood. (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)     

Coping strategies and posttraumatic stress disorder in female victims of sexual and nonsexual assault.

The coping behaviors and (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) symptoms of 215 female assault victims (103 rape victims and 112 nonsexual assault victims) were assessed within 2 weeks following the assault (Time I), and 133 of them (62%) were followed up 3 mo later (Time 2). Posttrauma symptom severity significantly decreased during the 3-mo study period, but PTSD severity levels at Times I and 2 were highly correlated. Three coping scales were constructed on the basis of exploratory factor analyses: Mobilizing Support, Positive Distancing, and Wishful Thinking. Three mo postassault, rape victims showed higher levels of wishful thinking and PTSD than nonsexual assault victims. Wishful thinking showed a positive association and positive distancing a negative association with PTSD severity, controlling for assault type, initial levels of PTSD severity, and other coping strategies. The clinical relevance of these findings is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adjustment to a low-control situation: Reexamining the role of coping responses.

The aim of the study was to test a revised conceptualization of the role of coping in adjustment to a low-control stressor—women's adjustment to a failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempt. Data were collected prior to the IVF treatment (Time 1) and twice after the failed IVF attempt (1 to 2 weeks after finding out the results, n?=?171, and 6 weeks later, n??139). Initial adjustment was assessed at Time 1, whereas measures of coping and both self-report and partner ratings of adjustment were obtained at Times 2 and 3. As predicted, escapist strategies and problem-management strategies (mainly at Time 2) were associated with poor adjustment, whereas problem-appraisal coping was associated with better adjustment. There was also support for the proposed positive relationship between adjustment and emotional approach coping (on self-report adjustment). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maladaptive cognitive appraisals mediate the evolution of posttraumatic stress reactions: A 6-month follow-up of child and adolescent assault and motor vehicle accident survivors.

A prospective longitudinal follow-up study (n = 59) of child and adolescent survivors of physical assaults and motor vehicle accidents assessed whether cognitive processes predicted posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) at 6 months posttrauma in this age group. In particular, the study assessed whether maladaptive posttraumatic appraisals mediated the relationship between initial and later posttraumatic stress. Self-report measures of PTSS, maladaptive appraisals, and other cognitive processes, as well as structured interviews assessing for acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were completed at 2–4 weeks and 6 months posttrauma. PTSS and PTSD at 6 months were associated with maladaptive appraisals and other cognitive processes but not demographic or objective trauma severity variables. Only maladaptive appraisals were found to associate with PTSS/PTSD after partialing out initial symptoms/diagnosis and to mediate between initial and later PTSS. It was argued that, on this basis, maladaptive appraisals are involved in the development and maintenance of PTSS over time, whereas other cognitive processes (e.g., subjective threat, memory processes) may have an effect only in the acute phase. The implications of this study for the treatment of PTSS in youths are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Situational coping and coping dispositions in a stressful transaction.

After reporting dispositional coping styles, 125 undergraduates reported situational coping and 4 classes of affect (from threat, challenge, harm, and benefit appraisals) 2 days before an exam, after the exam but before grades were posted, and after posting of grades. Coping did not predict lower levels of future distress; indeed, some coping seemed to induce feelings of threat. Feelings of harm before the exam induced several kinds of coping after the exam, mostly dysfunctional. Confidence about one's grade was a better predictor of emotions throughout than was coping. Dispositional coping predicted comparable situational coping at low-moderate levels in most cases. Coping dispositions did not reliably predict emotions, however, with these exceptions: Dispositional denial was related to threat, as was dispositional use of social support; dispositional use of alcohol was related to both threat and harm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Longitudinal Study of Employee Adaptation to Organizational Change: The Role of Change-Related Information and Change-Related Self-Efficacy.

This study examined the role of information, efficacy, and 3 stressors in predicting adjustment to organizational change. Participants were 589 government employees undergoing an 18-month process of regionalization. To examine if the predictor variables had long-term effects on adjustment, the authors assessed psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction again at a 2-year follow-up. At Time 1, there was evidence to suggest that information was indirectly related to psychological well-being, client engagement, and job satisfaction, via its positive relationship to efficacy. There also was evidence to suggest that efficacy was related to reduced stress appraisals, thereby heightening client engagement. Last, there was consistent support for the stress-buffering role of Time 1 self-efficacy in the prediction of Time 2 job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When depression breeds contempt: Reassurance seeking, self-esteem, and rejection of depressed college students by their roommates.

To test J. C. Coyne's (1976) theory of depression, students' levels of depressive symptoms, reassurance seeking, and self-esteem were assessed at Time 1, and their same-gender roommates' apprasials of them were assessed 5 wks later. Mildly depressed students engaged in the type of reassurance seeking described by Coyne. Among men, but not women, mildly depressed Ss were rejected if they strongly sought reassurance and had low self-esteem but not if they did not seek reassurance or had high self-esteem. Although induction of depressed symptoms in roommates did occur, this contagion effect did not account for the depression-rejection relationship. The prediction that unsupportive, intolerant, or unempathic others would be particularly likely to respond with rejection to reassurance-seeking depressed Ss with low self-esteem received partial support. Implications for future work on the interpersonal aspects of depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What Is Interesting? Exploring the Appraisal Structure of Interest.

Relative to other emotions, interest is poorly understood. On the basis of theories of appraisal process and structure, it was predicted that interest consists of appraisals of novelty (factors related to unfamiliarity and complexity) and appraisals of coping potential (the ability to understand the new, complex thing). Four experiments, using in vivo rather than retrospective methods, supported this appraisal structure. The findings were general across measured and manipulated appraisals, interesting stimuli (random polygons, visual art, poetry), and measures of interest (self-reports, forced-choice, behavioral measures). Furthermore, the appraisal structure was specific to interest (it did not predict enjoyment, a related positive emotion), and appraisals predicted interest beyond relevant traits (curiosity, openness). The appraisal perspective offers a powerful way of construing the causes of interest. (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)     

Momentary Mood and Coping Processes in TMD Pain.

Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) pain, like many chronic pain problems, appears to be multiply determined. Patients with TMD pain of at least 6 months duration (N = 30) were administered questionnaires measuring dispositional coping styles and appraisals to explore the dynamic interactions of the pain and coping process. Patients were then issued handheld computers that prompted them to record their momentary pain and coping processes 4 times per day for 7 days. Hierarchical linear regression models using both the dispositional and momentary predictors indicated that momentary pain was a function both of dispositional tendency to catastrophize and of momentary measures of catastrophization, self-efficacy, and mood states. Results were seen as supporting a situational model of intervention for chronic TMD pain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological and Physical Well-Being During Unemployment: A Meta-Analytic Study.

The authors used theoretical models to organize the diverse unemployment literature, and meta-analytic techniques were used to examine the impact of unemployment on worker well-being across 104 empirical studies with 437 effect sizes. Unemployed individuals had lower psychological and physical well-being than did their employed counterparts. Unemployment duration and sample type (school leaver vs. mature unemployed) moderated the relationship between mental health and unemployment, but the current unemployment rate and the amount of unemployment benefits did not. Within unemployed samples, work-role centrality, coping resources (personal, social, financial, and time structure), cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies displayed stronger relationships with mental health than did human capital or demographic variables. The authors identify gaps in the literature and propose directions for future unemployment research. (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)     

Trauma reactivity, avoidant coping, and PTSD symptoms: A moderating relationship?

In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, many individuals experience physiological reactivity in response to reminders of the traumatic event that typically lessens over time. However, an overreliance on avoidant coping strategies may interfere with the natural recovery process, particularly for those who are highly reactive to trauma reminders. In the current investigation, we examined avoidant coping as a moderator of the association between heart rate reactivity to a trauma monologue measured shortly after a traumatic event and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms measured several months later. Fifty-five female survivors of assault completed PTSD diagnostic interviews and a self-report coping measure and participated in a trauma monologue procedure that included continuous heart rate measurement. These procedures were completed within 1 month of the assault and again 3 months postassault. After we controlled for the effect of initial symptom levels, the interaction of heart rate reactivity to the trauma monologue and avoidant coping measured at Time 1 was associated with PTSD symptom severity at Time 2. Individuals who are relatively highly reliant on avoidant coping strategies and relatively highly reactive to trauma reminders may be at greatest risk of maintaining or potentially increasing their PTSD symptoms within the first few months following the trauma. These findings may help inform early intervention efforts for survivors of traumatic events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)