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)     

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)     

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)     

Coping effectiveness and coping diversity under traumatic stress.

The effectiveness of different strategies of coping and the impact of coping diversity were tested under traumatic stress conditions. Participants were 632 U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq (mean age = 27.7, 98 male). Results indicate that four of nine functional coping strategies (including some emotion-focused coping) as defined by the COPE scale were inversely related to psychological symptom, whereas five of six dysfunctional strategies were positively related. Overall, in comparison to the norm group, soldiers showed a depressed level of functional coping strategies. Hierarchical regression, used to control for demographics and coping strategy intercorrelations, indicated that positive reinterpretation, emotional social support, and humor were most strongly related to lower psychological symptoms, whereas venting emotions, denial, mental disengagement, behavioral disengagement, and alcohol and drug use were related to higher levels of psychological symptoms. Two indices of coping diversity were tested. The index more strongly related to higher psychological adjustment was the sum of deviations from the mean of specific coping strategies combined with the alignment of functional and dysfunctional strategy clusters. Implications for research and application were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositional and situational influences on dominance behavior in small groups.

101 college students were observed in small-group discussions to determine the degree to which a previously administered personality measure (the Dominance scale of the California Personality Inventory) would predict overt verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Results indicate that within all-male and all-female groups, scores on the Dominance scale exhibited only modest power to predict the frequency of any single behavior but were highly correlated with the overall pattern of dominance-related behaviors displayed by the Ss. In addition, situational influence was indicated by the negligible personality–behavior correlations obtained for both males and females in the mixed-sex discussion groups. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping styles and affect.

Most stress research has focused on testing the effects of coping strategies on negative outcomes such as distress, anxiety, and pathology. The present study focused on the effects of coping styles on the affective components of subjective well-being. Its main aim was to test differential associations between coping styles and positive and negative affect, using secondary analysis. The data were derived from 3 studies (n = 480) in which various samples—adolescents, university students, and a general population participants—completed trait version questionnaires of coping and affect. The main results, based on correlation and multiple regression analyses, showed that problem-focused coping was positively related to positive affect and negatively related to negative affect, whereas avoidance coping showed the opposite pattern of associations with positive and negative affect. Most important, problem-focused coping was found to be a moderator of avoidance coping effects on both positive and negative affective responses. The conclusions are that coping is an important factor in well-being during normal everyday life, and moreover, the interactive effects of coping styles merit further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of perfectionism, depression, and therapeutic alliance during treatment for depression: Latent difference score analysis.

The authors examined the longitudinal relationship of patient-rated perfectionism, clinician-rated depression, and observer-rated therapeutic alliance using the latent difference score (LDS) analytic framework. Outpatients involved in the Treatment for Depression Collaborative Research Program completed measures of perfectionism and depression at 5 occasions throughout treatment, with therapeutic alliance measured early in therapy. First, LDS analyses of perfectionism and depression established longitudinal change models. Further LDS analyses revealed significant longitudinal interrelationships, in which perfectionism predicted the subsequent rate of depression change, consistent with a personality vulnerability model of depression. In the final LDS model, the strength of the therapeutic alliance significantly predicted longitudinal perfectionism change, and perfectionism significantly predicted the rate of depression change throughout therapy. These results clarify the patterns of growth and change for these indicators throughout depression treatment, demonstrating an alternative method for evaluating longitudinal dynamics in therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositional affect and work-related stress.

Trait negative affectivity (NA) has been asserted to be a factor that spuriously inflates relationships between self-reported stressors and self-reported strain outcomes. This hypothesis was tested with conventional work stress instrument responses and physiological assessments obtained from 311 fire and police department employees. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that NA did not measure a factor in common with measures of subjective strain. Latent-variable structural equations analyses, however, found that estimating the effects of NA on strain significantly attenuated the effects of work stressors. NA had no correlation with physiological stress outcomes. Trait positive affectivity did not attenuate relationships between work stressors and either subjective or objective stress outcomes. Implications for work stress research methodology and recommendations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perfectionism model of binge eating: Tests of an integrative model.

This study proposes, tests, and supports the perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE), a model aimed at explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. According to this model, socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) confers risk for binge eating by generating exposure to 4 triggers of binge episodes: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. In testing the PMOBE, a daily diary was completed by 566 women for 7 days. Predictions derived from the PMOBE were supported, with tests of mediation suggesting that the indirect effect of SPP on binge eating through triggers of binge episodes was significant. Reciprocal relations were also observed, with certain triggers of binge episodes predicting binge eating (and vice versa). Results supported the incremental validity of the PMOBE over and above self-oriented perfectionism and neuroticism and the generalizability of this model across Asian and European Canadian participants. The PMOBE offers a novel view of individuals with high levels of SPP as active agents who raise their risk of binge eating by generating conditions in their daily lives that are conducive to binge episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neural and behavioral measures of error-related cognitive control predict daily coping with stress.

This study tested the hypothesis that individual differences in cognitive control can predict individual differences in emotion regulation. Participants completed color–word and emotional Stroop tasks while an electroencephalogram was recorded, and then they reported daily stressful events, affect, and coping for 14 days. Greater posterror slowing in the emotional Stroop task predicted greater negative affect in response to stressors and less use of task-focused coping as daily stressors increased. Participants whose neural activity best distinguished errors from correct responses tended to show less stress reactivity in daily self-reports. Finally, depression levels predicted daily affect and coping independent of cognitive control variables. The results offer qualified support for an integrated conception of cognitive and emotional self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reformulating and testing the perfectionism model of binge eating among undergraduate women: A short-term, three-wave longitudinal study.

The perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE) is an integrative model explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. This study reformulates and tests the PMOBE, with a focus on addressing limitations observed in the perfectionism and binge-eating literature. In the reformulated PMOBE, concern over mistakes is seen as a destructive aspect of perfectionism contributing to a cycle of binge eating via 4 binge-eating maintenance variables: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. This test of the reformulated PMOBE involved 200 undergraduate women studied using a 3-wave longitudinal design. As hypothesized, concern over mistakes appears to represent a vulnerability factor for binge eating. Bootstrapped tests of mediation suggested concern over mistakes contributes to binge eating through binge-eating maintenance variables, and results supported the incremental validity of the reformulated PMOBE beyond perfectionistic strivings and neuroticism. The reformulated PMOBE also predicted binge eating, but not binge drinking, supporting the specificity of this model. The reformulated PMOBE offers a framework for understanding how key contributors to binge eating work together to generate and to maintain binge eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The association between daily stress and sexual activity.

Research has shown that stressors and experienced stress are negatively correlated with sexual activity (i.e., behavior and satisfaction) within couples. Thus far, most studies have been cross-sectional and report correlations only. This study is one of the first to examine the covariation between self-perceived stress and daily sexual activity within a time period of 3 months by collecting data on stress, sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, and sexual fulfillment as well as individual and dyadic coping. The association among these variables was tested in a multilevel model that included cyclical terms to capture the regular variation of sexual behavior over the days of the week. One hundred and three female students completed questionnaires and diaries 12 times during a 3-month period just prior to a major exam. Findings suggest that higher self-reported stress in daily life was associated with lower levels of sexual activity and satisfaction and a decrease in relationship satisfaction. In addition, dyadic coping was positively associated with sexual outcomes but did not moderate the association of experienced stress and sexuality. Implications for sexuality research in close relationships and methods for studying cyclical processes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perfectionism, perceived stress, drinking to cope, and alcohol-related problems among college students.

This study investigated the association between perfectionism (categorized by adaptive perfectionistic, maladaptive perfectionistic, or nonperfectionistic groups), perceived stress, drinking alcohol to cope, and alcohol-related problems in a large sample of college students (N = 354). Maladaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher levels of stress and drinking to cope than adaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists. Adaptive perfectionists reported the fewest alcohol-related problems, suggesting that healthy levels of high standards may protect against drinking to cope with stress. Across all participants, a significant indirect effect for drinking to cope supported its role as a mediator between stress and alcohol-related problems. Structural equation modeling analyses supported the moderating role of perfectionism in this mediation model, such that maladaptive perfectionists were more likely to drink to cope under stress and report alcohol-related problems, whereas higher stress was associated with fewer alcohol-related problems among nonperfectionists. Additional analyses revealed higher stress levels for women and a stronger link between stress and drinking to cope for women compared to men. Future research directions as well as clinical implications regarding perfectionism, stress, drinking to cope, and alcohol-related problems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of organizational change: A stress and coping perspective.

Few organizational change studies identify the aspects of change that are salient to individuals and that influence well-being. The authors identified three distinct change characteristics: the frequency, impact and planning of change. R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman's (1984) cognitive phenomenological model of stress and coping was used to propose ways that these change characteristics influence individuals' appraisal of the uncertainty associated with change, and, ultimately, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Results of a repeated cross-sectional study that collected individuals' perceptions of change one month prior to employee attitudes in consecutive years indicated that while the three change perceptions were moderately to strongly intercorrelated, the change perceptions displayed differential relationships with outcomes. Discussion focuses on the importance of systematically considering individuals' subjective experience of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fit between stress appraisal and dyadic coping in understanding perceived coping effectiveness for adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

This study examined whether perceived coping effectiveness (PCE) was associated with better diabetes management and was higher when adolescents’ dyadic coping was matched to shared stress appraisals. There were 252 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes who completed stress and coping interviews where they appraised mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in stress ownership (mine, indirectly shared, directly shared with parent), in coping (uninvolved, supportive, collaborative, or controlling), and rated their effectiveness in coping. Adolescents completed assessments of depressive symptoms (Children’s Depression Inventory), self-care behaviors (Self-Care Inventory), and efficacy of disease management (Diabetes Self-Efficacy). Glycosylated hemoglobin levels were obtained from medical records. Higher PCE was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, self-care behaviors, and efficacy across age and, more strongly for older adolescents’ metabolic control. Appraisals of support or collaboration from parents were more frequent when stressors were appraised as shared. PCE was enhanced when dyadic coping with mothers (but not fathers) was consistent with stress appraisals (e.g., shared stressors together with collaborative coping). Stress and coping is embedded within a relational context and this context is useful in understanding the coping effectiveness of adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acculturative stress, perfectionism, years in the United States, and depression among Chinese international students.

The present study examined whether maladaptive perfectionism (i.e., discrepancy between expectations and performance) and length of time in the United States moderated the association between acculturative stress and depression. Data were collected through online surveys from 189 Chinese international students from China and Taiwan attending a midwestern university. Results from a hierarchical regression showed that there were significant main effects of acculturative stress and maladaptive perfectionism on depression, no significant two-way interactions, and a significant three-way interaction, indicating that acculturative stress, maladaptive perfectionism, and length of time in the United States interacted to predict depression. Low maladaptive perfectionism buffered the effect of acculturative stress on depression only for those who had been in the United States for a relatively longer period of time. Implications for counseling and future research directions are discussed. (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)     

Maternal influences on youth responses to peer stress.

Understanding how youths develop particular styles of responding to stress is critical for promoting effective coping. This research examined the prospective, interactive contribution of maternal socialization of coping and peer stress to youth responses to peer stress. A sample of 144 early adolescents (mean age = 12.44 years, SD = 1.22) and their maternal caregivers completed questionnaires and semistructured interviews in 2 waves over a 1-year period. Results revealed that mothers' disengagement coping suggestions predicted maladaptive responses to stress, particularly for youths who received low levels of engagement suggestions, and engagement coping suggestions protected youths against maladaptive responses to stress. Importantly, these effects emerged only in the context of heightened peer stress. This research suggests that maternal socialization of coping has the potential to support or undermine youths' development of an effective repertoire of responses to stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal stress and affect influence fetal neurobehavioral development.

The authors investigated the association between maternal psychological and fetal neurobehavioral functioning. Data were provided by 52 maternal-fetal pairs at 24, 30, and 36 weeks gestation. The relations between maternal measures and fetal heart rate, variability, and motor activity were statistically modeled. Fetuses of women who were more affectively intense, appraised their lives as more stressful, and reported more frequent pregnancy-specific hassles were more active across gestation. Fetuses of women who perceived their pregnancy to be more intensely and frequently uplifting and had positive emotional valence toward pregnancy were less active. Associations with fetal heart-rate measures were detected at 36 weeks gestation. These data provide evidence for proximal effects of maternal psychological functioning on fetal neurobehavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minority status stress and coping processes among African American college students.

The current study tested coping efforts as moderators of the effects of minority status stress on general levels of perceived stress and academic performance for African American students at a predominantly White college and university (PWCU) and a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Multivariate analyses revealed that African American students at the PWCU experienced significantly higher levels of minority status stress than their counterparts at the HBCU. Students did not differ in overall levels of perceived stress and in most coping efforts assessed. HBCU students reported higher mean use of problem-oriented strategies and spiritual efforts than students at the PWCU. Moderated regression analyses revealed an increase in the effects of minority status stress on perceived stress at high levels of problem-oriented efforts. The effects of minority status stress on perceived stress decreased at higher levels of disengagement. In predicting academic performance, type of institution was the strongest predictor. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)