Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relations Among Perceived Control and Distress in Sexual Assault Survivors.

Two studies assessed whether coping strategies mediate the relations among 2 forms of perceived control (past and present control) and postassault distress among female sexual assault survivors. In Study 1, longitudinal data were gathered from 2 weeks to 1 year postassault (N=171). Past control (behavioral self-blame) was associated with more distress partly because it was associated with greater social withdrawal. Present control (control over the recovery process) was associated with less distress partly because it was associated with less social withdrawal and more cognitive restructuring. In Study 2, cross-sectional data were gathered from a community sample of nonrecent survivors of sexual assault (N=131). Coping strategies again mediated the relations among the measures of past and present control and distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Frazier et al. (2011).

Reports an error in "Perceived past, present, and future control and adjustment to stressful life events" by Patricia Frazier, Nora Keenan, Samantha Anders, Sulani Perera, Sandra Shallcross and Samuel Hintz (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 100[4], 749-765). There is an error on page 758. In the sentence “Present control predicted later event-specific distress in Sample 1(β = .17, p 2011-02001-001.) Perceived control is a central construct in psychology and is key to understanding individual differences in poststress outcomes (Frazier, Berman, & Steward, 2001). The goals of the current studies (using 4 samples of undergraduate students, total N = 1,421) were to examine the relations between different aspects of perceived control and poststress outcomes and to differentiate perceived control over specific events from related constructs (i.e., general control beliefs, coping strategies). To accomplish these goals, we first developed a new measure of perceived past, present, and future control over stressful life events. The data supported the content validity, factor structure, internal consistency and test–retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the new measure. Consistent with the temporal model of control (Frazier et al., 2001), these 3 forms of control had very different relations with adjustment. Present control was consistently related to lower distress levels in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and prospective analyses. Present control also predicted outcomes beyond the effects of general control beliefs and coping strategies. Past and future control had nonsignificant or positive relations with distress, although future control was associated with better outcomes (i.e., course grades) when the stressor was controllable. Thus, our measure can be used to assess the relations between perceived past, present, and future control and outcomes across a range of stressors. Because the relations between these 3 forms of control and outcomes differ markedly, measures that combine these aspects of control hinder the understanding of the important role of perceived control in adjustment to stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting "stuck" in the past: temporal orientation and coping with trauma

The relations between temporal orientation and long-term psychological distress were studied cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 3 samples of traumatized individuals: adult victims of childhood incest, Vietnam War veterans, and residents of 2 southern California communities devastated by fire. Results indicated that a past temporal orientation--focusing attention on prior life experiences--was associated with elevated levels of distress long after the trauma had passed, even when controlling for the degree of rumination reported. Temporal disintegration at the time of the trauma--whereby the present moment becomes isolated from the continuity of past and future time--was associated with a high degree of past temporal orientation over time and subsequent distress. Temporal disintegration was highest among individuals who had experienced the most severe loss, had previously experienced chronic trauma, and had had their identities threatened by their traumatic experience.     

Cognitive–behavioral stress management increases free testosterone and decreases psychological distress in HIV-seropositive men.

The effects of a 10-week group-based cognitive–behavioral stress management (CBSM) intervention on psychological distress and plasma free testosterone in symptomatic, HIV-seropositive men were examined. Participants were randomized to either CBSM (n?=?42) or a wait-list control group (n?=?23). Men in the CBSM intervention showed significant increases in testosterone, whereas control participants showed significant decreases. Those participating in CBSM had significant distress reductions, whereas controls showed no such change. Alterations in free testosterone were inversely related to changes in distress states over time, independent of any changes in cortisol. These findings demonstrate that a short-term CBSM intervention increases free testosterone levels among symptomatic, HIV-seropositive men, and alterations in free testosterone are associated with changes in psychological distress observed during CBSM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of Levels and Patterns of Positive Life Changes Following Sexual Assault.

This study builds on previous work suggesting that many survivors report positive life changes soon after a sexual assault and that those who retain those changes over time report the least distress 1 year post-assault (P. Frazier, A. Conlon, & T. Glaser, 2001). The purposes of this study were to assess correlates of early reports of positive life changes and individual trajectories of self-reported positive changes over time among female sexual assault survivors (n = 171) using hierarchical linear modeling. The factors most related to reporting positive life change soon after the assault were social support, approach and religious coping, and perceived control over the recovery process. Increases in these factors also were associated with increases in self-reported positive life changes over time. The relations between social support and positive change also were mediated by coping strategies and control appraisals, particularly perceived control over the recovery process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Control cognitions and psychological disturbance in people with contrasting physically disabling conditions

PURPOSE: This study examines the role of control cognitions, i.e. locus of control (LOC), in predicting adaptation to two contrasting physically disabling conditions. METHOD: Locus of control beliefs were investigated in terms of their relationship with psychological distress (anxiety and depression) experienced by people facing either spinal cord injury (SCI) or multiple sclerosis (MS). The role of pain experience was also considered in terms of its impact on psychological distress in both groups. RESULTS: Results indicated that although SCI subjects were more internally oriented than MS subjects, internality was not linked to lower levels of depression or anxiety in either group, although within the SCI group an external LOC was associated with increased depression and physical disability. CONCLUSIONS: For people facing a future with the challenge of physical disability, the pattern of progression of disability over time may be of significance in the development of psychological distress.     

Stability and change in personality disorder symptomatology: findings from a longitudinal study of HIV+ and HIV- men

A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the stability of personality disorders (PDs) over a 2-year interval, as well as the association between change in PD symptomatology and change in psychological distress. Structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PDs and psychological distress were administered to a community sample of 118 gay men (80 HIV seropositive men and 38 HIV seronegative men) at a baseline session and readministered 2 years later. Results indicated that PD symptom levels tended to be moderately stable, that PD diagnoses had low stability and that changes in PD symptom levels were associated with changing levels of psychological distress but not with progression of HIV infection.     

Stability and change in personality disorder symptomatology: Findings from a longitudinal study of HIV+ and HIV– men.

A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the stability of personality disorders (PDs) over a 2-year interval, as well as the association between change in PD symptomatology and change in psychological distress. Structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PDs and psychological distress were administered to a community sample of 118 gay men (80 HIV seropositive men and 38 HIV seronegative men) at a baseline session and readministered 2 years later. Results indicated that PD symptom levels tended to be moderately stable, that PD diagnoses had low stability and that changes in PD symptom levels were associated with changing levels of psychological distress but not with progression of HIV infection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breaking up is hard to do: The impact of unmarried relationship dissolution on mental health and life satisfaction.

This study examined the impact of unmarried relationship break-up on psychological distress and life satisfaction using a within-subjects design. Among unmarried 18- to 35-year olds (N = 1295), 36.5% had one or more break-ups over a 20-month period. Experiencing a break-up was associated with an increase in psychological distress and a decline in life satisfaction (from pre- to postdissolution). In addition, several characteristics of the relationship or of the break-up were associated with the magnitude of the changes in life satisfaction following a break-up. Specifically, having been cohabiting and having had plans for marriage were associated with larger declines in life satisfaction while having begun to date someone new was associated with smaller declines. An interesting finding, having higher relationship quality at the previous wave was associated with smaller declines in life satisfaction following a break-up. No relationship or break-up characteristics were significantly associated with the magnitude of changes in psychological distress after a break-up. Existing theories are used to explain the results. Implications for clinical work and future research on unmarried relationships are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The premarital communication roots of marital distress and divorce: The first five years of marriage.

Using data from 210 couples who provided data across the first 5 years of marriage, we examined how premarital communication quality was related to divorce and later distress. The results showed that premarital observed negative and positive communication nearly reached significance as predictors of divorce, while self-reported negative communication was significantly associated with divorce. In terms of marital adjustment, we found that both premarital observed and self-reported negative premarital communication (but not observed positive communication) were associated with lower adjustment during the first 5 years of marriage. The most important questions addressed in this study pertain to how positive and negative dimensions of communication change over time and how these changes are related to being distressed or nondistressed after 5 years of marriage. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine the changes in communication over time that are so central to theories of the development of marital distress and for research-based interventions. We found that all couples showed decreases in negative communication over time, but the nondistressed group declined significantly more than the distressed group in negative communication, suggesting they are handling negative emotions better. Implications for future research on the development of relationship distress and for enhancing research-based couples' intervention programs are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in job and marital experiences and change in psychological distress: A longitudinal study of dual-earner couples.

Are changes in job quality more closely linked to changes in distress for men than for women? Conversely, are changes in marital quality more closely linked to changes in distress for women than for men? These questions were addressed in a longitudinal analysis of a random sample of 210 full-time employed dual-earner couples. Change over time in job role quality was significantly associated with change over time in distress, and the magnitude of the relationship differed little, if at all, by gender. In contrast, change over time in marital role quality was also associated with change in distress, but the magnitude of the association depended on gender. Among full-time employed married women, change in marital experience was more closely linked to change in distress than among their husbands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spousal support and changes in distress over time in couples coping with cancer: The role of personal control.

This longitudinal study has examined the associations between perceived supportive and unsupportive spousal behavior and changes in distress in couples coping with cancer. We tested whether people relatively low in their sense of personal control were more responsive to spousal supportive and unsupportive behavior than were people relatively high in personal control. Patients with colorectal cancer and their partners (n = 70) completed questionnaires at two assessment points: 3 (at baseline) and 9 months (at follow-up) after the diagnosis. We assessed perceived spousal supportive (SSL) and unsupportive (SSL-N) behavior, sense of personal control (Pearlin & Schooler's Mastery), and depressive symptoms (CES-D) in both patients and partners. Multilevel analysis (MLwiN) was used to examine changes in distress over time in a dyadic context. Patients and partners who perceived more spousal support reported less distress over time, but this only applied to those relatively low in personal control. Moreover, partners who perceived more unsupportive spousal behavior reported more distress, again only if they were relatively low in personal control. Patients and partners relatively high in personal control reported relatively low levels of distress, regardless of spousal behavior. In conclusion, people relatively low in personal control may be more adversely affected by unsupportive behavior and benefit more from supportive behavior than people relatively high in personal control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The association of distress and sleeping problems with physicians’ intentions to change profession: The moderating effect of job control.

The present study examined whether job control moderated the association between stress indicators (distress and sleeping problems) and intentions to change profession among 2,650 Finnish physicians. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was applied. The authors found that high levels of distress and sleeping problems were associated with higher levels of intentions to change profession, whereas high job control was associated with lower levels of intentions to change profession even after adjusting for the effects of gender, age, and employment sector. In addition, high job control was able to mitigate the positive association that distress and sleeping problems had with intentions to change profession. Our findings highlight the importance of offering more job control to physicians to prevent unnecessary physician turnover. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk, resistance, and psychological distress: A longitudinal analysis with adults and children.

The link between risk and resistance factors and psychological and physical distress was examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally over a 1-year period. Risk factors are negative life events and avoidance coping strategies and, for children, parental emotional and physical distress. Resistance factors include self-confidence, an easygoing disposition, and family support. We studied a community sample of over 400 adults and their children. Each of the predictor variables was significantly associated with concurrent and future psychological and physical distress among adults. Moreover, the sets of risk and resistance variables predicted both current and subsequent distress among adults even when the stable component in distress was controlled. Parental risk and resistance—especially family support and maternal dysfunction—also predicted concurrent psychological and, less strongly, physical distress among the children. The associations involving family support and maternal distress and avoidance coping held in cross-sectional analyses even when the stable component in children's distress was controlled. Although family support was associated with children's future psychological and physical distress in zero-order correlations, the relation did not hold when children's initial distress was controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of past and anticipated future downsizing on survivor well-being: An Equity perspective.

Worker well-being was examined as a function of past downsizing and expectations concerning future downsizing. Data from 1,297 Finnish workers were analyzed using analysis of variance and structural modeling analysis. Having experienced downsizing in the past or anticipating downsizing in the future was associated with elevated levels of inequity, which in turn were associated with elevated levels of psychological strain, cynicism, and absence. There were also direct effects of past/anticipated future downsizing on strain, cynicism. and absence, meaning that inequity only partly mediated the relationship between downsizing and well-being. Moreover, well-being varied as a function of type of downsizing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traumatic events among undergraduate students: Prevalence and associated symptoms.

This multisite study assessed the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and associated symptoms among undergraduate students (N = 1,528) using online surveys. Most students (85%) reported having experienced a traumatic event in their lifetime (Time 1) and 21% reported experiencing an event over a 2-month period during college (Time 2). The most common event reported at both time points was the unexpected death of a loved one. Lifetime exposures to family violence, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual assault were associated with higher current distress levels. When nominated as a worst event, sexual assault was associated with the most posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Events that caused intense fear, helplessness, or horror and those that were intentionally caused were associated with higher distress levels. Total number of lifetime traumas consistently had the highest associations with distress levels. Implications for counseling psychology practice, training, and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Urban teens: Trauma, posttraumatic growth, and emotional distress among female adolescents.

Urban teens face many traumas, with implications for potential growth and distress. This study examined traumatic events, posttraumatic growth, and emotional distress over 18 months among urban adolescent girls (N = 328). Objectives were to (a) describe types of traumatic events, (b) determine how type and timing of events relate to profiles of posttraumatic growth, and (c) prospectively examine effects of event type and posttraumatic growth on short- and long-term emotional distress with controls for pre-event distress. Results indicate that type of event was related to profiles of posttraumatic growth, but not with subsequent emotional distress. When baseline emotional distress was controlled, posttraumatic growth was associated with subsequent reductions in short- and long-term emotional distress. Implications for future research and clinical practice with adolescents are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The temporal relationship between emotional distress and cigarette smoking during adolescence and young adulthood.

Empirical evidence regarding the causal nature of the relationship between emotional distress and tobacco use in male and female adolescents provides support for both the distress-to-use and the use-to-distress hypotheses. Using a cross-lagged model with 3 waves of data from 2,961 adolescents followed into young adulthood, the authors tested the hypothesis that this relationship changes over time. As hypothesized, emotional distress in Grade 10 was associated with increased smoking in Grade 12 for both boys and girls. Smoking in Grade 12 was in turn associated with increased emotional distress in young adulthood. The addition of 3 third factors (rebelliousness, deviance, and family problems) to the model did not alter the results. Results suggest that the relationship between tobacco use and emotional distress is a dynamic one in which distress initially leads to use but then becomes exacerbated by it over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job experiences over time, multiple roles, and women's mental health: A longitudinal study.

Are changes over time in the quality of a woman's job associated with changes in her psychological distress? Do family roles moderate these relationships? The authors addressed these questions using longitudinal data from a 2-yr 3-wave study of a stratified random sample of 403 employed women who varied in occupation, race, partnership, and parental status. After estimating individual rates of change for each woman on each of the predictors and the outcome, the authors modeled the relationships between family role occupancy and change in job-role quality on the one hand, and change in psychological distress on the other. Among single women and women without children, as job-role quality declined, levels of psychological distress increased. Among partnered women and women with children, change in job-role quality was unrelated to change in psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of Children's Empathy-Related Responding From Their Effortful Control and Parents' Expressivity.

In this study, the linear and interactive relations of children's effortful control and parents' emotional expressivity to children's empathy-related responses were examined. Participants were 214 children, 4.5 to 8 years old. Children's effortful control was negatively related to their personal distress and was positively related to their sympathy. Parents' positive expressivity was marginally negatively related to children's personal distress and was marginally positively related to children's dispositional sympathy. Parents' negative expressivity was positively related to children's personal distress, but primarily at high levels of children's effortful control. Moreover, parents' negative expressivity was negatively related to children's situational sympathy at low levels of effortful control but was positively related to children's dispositional sympathy at high levels of effortful control. There were also quadratic relations between the measures of parents' expressivity and children's empathy-related responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)