Sex roles and social support as moderators of life stress adjustment.

In this study we used a longitudinal design to test the stress-buffering effects of sex role orientation in combination with perceived social support on measure of trait anxiety and depression. College undergraduates served as subjects. The cross-sectional analysis provided strong support for the hypothesis that masculinity would function as a life stress buffer. The hypothesis that social support would serve as a stress buffer when coupled with high masculinity was supported by one of the cross-sectional analyses as well as the longitudinal analysis. This pattern was found primarily for perceptions of tangible social support. The longitudinal analysis also revealed a significant interaction involving negative life events and masculinity and femininity. This interaction effect provided unexpected support for a balance model of androgyny, in that non-sex-typed subjects showed greater resilience to recent life stress than did sex-typed subjects. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of life stress adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hardiness and social support as moderators of the effects of life stress.

Examined the relation of social support and the hardy personality, which have been identified in previous studies as variables that reduce the effects of life stress on physical or psychological disturbance, and the relative importance of each in reducing the effects of life stress. 83 female undergraduates completed the Life Experiences Survey, the Levenson Locus of Control Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and self-report measures of social support and hardiness. The commitment and challenge dimensions of hardiness were found to be significantly correlated with social support, whereas the control dimension was not. When the interactions among life stress, social support, and hardiness were considered, only alienation from self moderated the effects of life stress. The possibility is proposed that studies that found social support to be a moderator of life stress may have indirectly measured hardiness. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness: Review and meta-analysis.

Presents a meta-analytic literature review of the concepts of intrinsic (I) and extrinsic (E) religiousness in the empirical psychology of religion, focusing on I–E relationships. This review suggests that respondents with conservative theological orientations are more likely than others to display a negative correlation between intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness. In general, extrinsic religiousness is positively correlated with negatively evaluated characteristics and uncorrelated with measures of religious belief and commitment. Intrinsic religiousness is uncorrelated with negatively evaluated characteristics and positively correlated with measures of religiousness. A four-fold typology based on median splits of the 2 scales is of little use when the dependent variable is religious in nature, but with various nonreligious variables, it produces results that may correspond to findings of curvilinearity observed with other measures of religiousness. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood deterioration, religious coping, and changes in health during late life

Research indicates that older adults who reside in deteriorated neighborhoods experience more physical health problems than elderly people who dwell in more favorable living environments. The purpose of this study is to see whether the deleterious effects of run-down neighborhoods are reduced for older people who use religious coping responses. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of elderly people suggest that the noxious impact of living in a dilapidated neighborhood on changes in self-rated health over time is offset completely for older adults who rely heavily on religious coping strategies. In contrast, significant stress-buffering effects failed to emerge when functional disability served as the outcome measure.     

The use of religious coping during stressful life events: Main effects, moderation, and mediation.

The effects of religious coping, the potential moderation of such effects by religious affiliation (i.e., Catholic, Protestant), and the potential mediation of such effects by various factors (i.e., cognitive restructuring, social support, perceived control) were investigated in patients and significant others coping with the stress of kidney transplant surgery. At 3 and 12 months after transplantation, results showed that the use of religious coping was generally associated with better adjustment both concurrently and over time in both patients and significant others. These effects were moderated by religious affiliation, such that religious coping was more effective in promoting adjustment for Protestants than for Catholics. Religious coping was related to adjustment beyond the effects of the proposed mediators. Implications of these results for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic motivation and psychological stress.

"Three issues were explored experimentally in this study… . the proposition that the arousal of a state of stress depends upon intrinsic motive states in the individual as well as the nature of the stressor conditions… . The proposal… that stress would tend to improve sensory-motor output and impair conceptual performance on the basis of different amounts of interference… .the importance of the S's past history of success or failure in a particular motivational direction in determining whether a stress state would be aroused." 15 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental and physical stress as moderators of the postural response in insulin-dependent diabetic patients.

In 14 insulin-dependent diabetic patients (mean age 31.3 yrs) and in 15 normal controls (mean age 30.9 yrs), continuous measures were taken of heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and skin conductance (SC) during postural change under baseline and stressor conditions. Diabetic Ss without symptoms of neuropathy and healthy controls showed generally similar responses to postural change and to stressor conditions (mental arithmetic and isometric handgrip). SBP and DBP were more responsive to mental and physical stressors than were HR or SC, especially after standing. Two diabetics with postural hypotension showed significant increases in overall BP levels and less of a fall in BP during postural change under the stressor conditions, despite minimal HR or SC responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between perfectionism and distress: Hassles, coping, and perceived social support as mediators and moderators.

This study of university students (136 men and 307 women) examined the roles of hassles, avoidant and active coping, and perceived available social support in the relation between evaluative concerns and personal standards perfectionism and distress symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the measurement model used in this study. Structural equation modeling results indicated that hassles, avoidant coping, and perceived social support are each unique mediators that can fully explain the strong relation between evaluative concerns perfectionism and distress. Personal standards perfectionism had a unique association with active coping only. Hassles and social support also moderated the relation between both dimensions of perfectionism and distress. Clinical implications of distinguishing between evaluative concerns and personal standards perfectionism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic versus extrinsic cues as determinants of perceived product quality.

Tested a portion of J. C. Olson's cue model which hypothesizes that, other things equal, intrinsic cues (e.g., physical product differences) will be stronger determinants of perceived-quality judgments than will extrinsic cues (e.g., price or store image). 90 female undergraduates were randomly assigned to the conditions of a 2 * 3 * 3 (Price * Store Image * Hosiery Product Samples) analysis of variance with repeated measures on the intrinsic factor. Results support the hypothesis; omega-square values revealed that 73% of the total variance was due to intrinsic product sample differences. Additionally, the hypothesis that perceived worth would be more strongly related to stated purchase intentions than would perceived quality was supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic differentials of stress and coping.

Dynamic properties aligned with temporal interactions of stress, coping, and related variables are presented. Observations surrounding simple unidimensional systems are used to introduce more comprehensive systems of multidimensional interactions. Dimensions include collective levels of environmental stressors, levels of organismic stress arousal, coping-related cognitive efficiency, and engagement in selected coping activity. Changes in the relative impact of one dimension on another with the progression of time also are accommodated. Important prototypical features of dynamic systems pertinent to the present substantive domain are noted. Relations of dynamic-systems models to other formal treatments of stress-coping variables then are discussed. Finally, avenues and issues of empirical testing are presented. It is concluded that hurdles to crafting valid multidimensional dynamic systems are justified by the obtained explicitness of intervariable structures and specificity of variable trajectories over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological stress and coping in aging.

Examines how the dynamics of stress and coping change with circumstances of living and processes of aging. The answer has remained obscure for 3 main reasons. (1) The state of the art in the measurement of stress and coping is still primitive. (2) Personal beliefs, values, and commitments, which develop from a person's unique history, shape appraisal of stress and manner in which stress is coped with and therefore have profound consequences for morale, social and work functioning, and somatic health. (3) Most of the observations relevant to the central question have been obtained cross-sectionally; however, because the significance of any given event is embedded in the individual's personal, lifelong drama, it is important to examine stress and coping longitudinally as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept and self-esteem as moderators of client transference.

Operationalized transference as (a) the similarity of clients' perceptions of their therapist and their perceptions of their parents and (b) therapists' ratings on a transference scale, Therapy Session Check Sheet (TSCS; H. Graff and L. Luborsky, 1977), and examined the moderating role of self-esteem and ego development on client transference. Ss were 62 clients (aged 19–63 yrs) who were already involved in therapy, and 29 therapists (aged 25–61 yrs). The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (G. T. Barrett Lennard, 1962, 1973) measured the facilitative conditions (regard, empathy, and unconditionality) and therapist–parent similarity and the TSCS measured the therapists' perceptions of transference. Additional measures were the Ego Identity Scale (A. L. Tan, et al, 1977) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1979). Results support the idea that self-esteem and ego development impact a client's view of the therapist and parental figures and are associated with therapists' views of transference. Persons with low ego identity and low self-esteem tended to see their therapists and parental figures more dissimilarly; and the more transference that a therapist perceived, the greater the tendency for the client to have low ego identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postmastectomy coping strategies and quality of life.

Examined characteristics that might relate to quality of life in postmastectomy patients with operable breast cancer. 113 women who had been treated for breast cancer during 3.5 yrs preceding the study were surveyed. 53 Ss had received mastectomies alone. The remaining 60 Ss, who had shown some spread of disease to the lymph nodes only, received long-term, prophylactic chemotherapy as an adjunct to mastectomy. Analyses indicated that level of cancer-specific denial was the variable most strongly associated with postmastectomy distress. This coping strategy was more important in explaining distress than were availability of social support, treatment group, time since operation, or age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control and social support: Interactive moderators of stress.

Results of 3 experiments with 211 undergraduates corroborated I. N. Sandler and B. Lakey's (see record 1982-30415-001) findings that persons with an internal locus of control derive greater benefits from social support than do those who have a more external orientation. It was also found that the moderating effect of social supports largely occurred among Ss who were less affiliative and more autonomous. It is concluded that social supports are most beneficial to those who are more instrumental and sparing in their approach to social interactions. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial development and stressful life events among religious professionals.

Within the framework of the theory of adult male psychosocial development outlined by D. J. Levinson et al (1978), the present study explored the relationship between ego identity, commitment age, and recent life change stress among 272 27–34 yr old Roman Catholic religious professional men. Instruments included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. A religious life experience survey was developed to measure recent life-change stress. As predicted, Ss with higher levels of ego identity characterized recent life change less negatively; those with lower levels judged it to be more noxious. Commitment age was not related to the percentage of recent life changes characterized as negative or to ego identity level. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that ego identity contributed modestly but significantly to the percentage of recent life change characterized as negative. Findings indicate that a well-developed identity structure is both a stable frame of reference and a mediator of stressful life events, and that a poorly developed sense of identity is more closely related to Ss rating recent life change events as having a negative impact on their lives. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in stress and coping processes.

The dramatic increase in the numbers of people who are living into old age has been accompanied by a growing interest among psychologists and health care professionals in their sources of stress and how they cope with them. Despite this interest, little is known about normative stress and coping patterns and the ways in which these patterns differ in older and younger people. This study, which draws on stress and coping theory, compares younger and older community-dwelling adults in daily hassles and eight kinds of coping. Two interpretations of age differences are evaluated: a developmental interpretation, which says that there are inherent, stage-related changes in the ways people cope as they age, and a contextual interpretation, which says that age differences in coping result from changes in what people must cope with. The findings indicate that there are clear age differences in hassles and coping. Overall, the findings tend to support the developmental interpretation, although the contextual interpretation also applies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward better research on stress and coping.

In commenting in considerable detail on the four main articles in the special section on stress and coping, the author comes to two main conclusions: First, there is an increasing amount of high quality research on stress and coping that suggests the field is finally maturing, and this research may help reduce the long-standing gap between research and clinical practice. Second, this research is increasingly using badly needed research designs that have not hitherto been sufficiently emphasized, such as longitudinal or prospective designs, focused on observations that are day-to-day, microanalytic, and in-depth, and that are compatible with a holistic outlook. The author also addresses the role of positive emotion in coping, the concept of defense as it is dealt with nowadays, and the task of evaluating coping efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interest as a moderator of life stress.

Tested 3 hypotheses: (1) Social interest (SI) is of value in ameliorating or eliminating many of the unnecessary problems that occur in human relationships; (2) SI moderates the effect of later life stresses on psychological symptoms; and (3) the negative relation between SI and anxiety, depression, and hostility will be stronger in people who recently have experienced greater stress than in those who have encountered little stress. 74 undergraduates were administered the Social Interest Scale (SIS) and the Social Interest Index (SII), and then the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List 1 yr later. It was found that scores on the SII and the SIS were negatively related to the number of stressful experiences encountered during the following year. Stress was correlated with anxiety, depression, and hostility more strongly among low- than among high-SI Ss, and SI was more negatively correlated with these symptoms among high-stress Ss compared with moderate- or low-stress groups. The SII and the SIS showed somewhat different patterns of results, and possible reasons for these differences are discussed. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor structure of coping: Two studies of mothers with high levels of life stress.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factor structure of coping in mothers with high levels of life stress. In Study 1, EFA of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989) in a sample of mothers of full-term or very low birth weight 2-year-old children yielded 7 reliable coping factors. Each factor accounted for significant variance in at least 1 of 6 outcomes measuring maternal-child well-being. In Study 2, CFA was used to cross-validate the EFA model on the basis of the responses of mothers of 2-year-old children with prenatal polysubstance exposure. CFA results revealed a moderately good fit, confirming the factor structure in a 2nd, independent sample of mothers with high levels of life stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social network and marital support as mediators and moderators of the impact of stress and depression on parental behavior.

Structural equation modeling was used with a sample of 451 2-parent families to test an elaboration of J. Belsky's (1984) model of the determinants of parental behavior. Results largely support the model. Economic pressure disrupted parenting by increasing depression and undermining access to spouse support. Spouse support had both a direct effect on parenting and an indirect influence through depression. For mothers, spouse support moderated the impact of economic strain on parenting by reducing the disruptive impact of depression on parental behavior. Social network support only influenced parenting indirectly through depression. There was no support for the idea that social network support serves to buffer parental behavior against the adverse consequences of economic strain, nor was there evidence that it can compensate for low spouse support. The findings indicated, however, that spouse support is a more powerful determinant of quality of parenting when social network support is low. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)