Coping Styles
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When we react in various ways to threatening events, coping styles exist (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert 2007). We all react differently to depression, stress, phobias, and so on. Coping styles is associated with negative and positive affect (emotions), the way you feel to threaten events (Ben-Zur 2009). Positive emotions means you feel good, and negative emotions means you feel bad. Depending on how you want to deal with hardships (cope with threatening events); you are going to feel either good or bad. Depending on how you cope with things in the present, predicts how you are going to feel and cope with things in the future (Fredrickson & Joiner 2002). Some examples of coping styles are broad-minded coping, avoidance coping, and problem-focused coping (Ben-Zur 2009; Fredrickson & Joiner 2002; Oflaz, Hatipoglu, Aydin 2008; Trivedict ET at. 2009). These three coping styles have their own way of dealing with threatening events and have their own positive or negative affect.
One coping style is called broad-minded coping style. Positive emotions predicts high broad-minded coping over time (Fredrickson & Joiner 2002). This means that positive emotions are about feeling good in the present and this will increase the likelihood of feeling good in the future. Having positive emotions are associated with being optimistic and being successful in life. It is also associated with being satisfied with your life (Fredrickson & Joiner 2002). An example of broad-minded coping style is Joy. Joy can create urges to play, explore, and so on (Fredrickson & Joiner 2002). By feeling Joy, you feel that you are satisfied and you continue to do good things that will make you feel joy.
Another coping style is called avoidance coping (maladaptive coping) style. Avoidance coping style is associated with negative emotions. Having negative emotions means that you just give up and don’t try to solve problems, you just avoid the problems. According to Ben-Zur (2009), avoidance coping style is the least effective coping style because it prevents someone from trying to solve their problems and blocks people’s awareness that the situation may change for the better. Two examples that are related to the avoidance coping style are the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. People who may have depression and that engage in avoidant copying style tend to ignore medical recommendations (Trivedi et al. 2009); they avoid taking their medications and so on. Also, people with PTSD or depression symptoms prevent getting social support and help (Oflaz, Hatipoglu, Aydin 2008). These people avoid getting help and they avoid things that may be able to help them feel better.
The next coping style is called problem-focused coping (adaptive coping). Problem-focused coping style is associated with solving a problem or changing a situation (Ben-Zur 2009). This coping style can help to change a meaning to a situation and can help focus more on a specific goal which can allow someone to feel in control of a situation. Problem-focused coping style is helpful for uncontrollable situations such as chronic illness (Ben-Zur 2009). According to Ben- Zur (2009), it was stated that problem-focused coping style is associated with uncontrollable cases such as stressor. Detachment plan such as denial can be helpful to entertain a person from stressful situations allowing the person to have time to rest and/or to think about other things such as to do any task (Ben-Zur 2009). This coping style can help someone feel better and focus more on positive situation. It also makes them forget negative situations which may make them feel bad or bring on stress.
Example - Research
As a concrete example of one of the coping styles research, Trivedi et al., (2009) investigated the different coping styles that can be linked to depressive symptoms in heart failure (HF) patients. The hypothesis was that patients with more depressive symptoms engage in more avoidance coping style than other coping styles. This means that heart failure patients (people with heart disease) that have more depressive symptoms avoid getting help from people and they tend to be isolated. The method of the research study involved two hundred and twenty-two patients with heart failure that were stable. The participants of the study were recruited from heart failure clinics at Duke University Medical Center and from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care System. The operationalization of “coping styles” within the method was that patients who had a left ventricular ejection fraction had to answer some questions that had to deal with depressive symptoms and different coping styles. The dependent measure was asking patients questions that examined 15 different copying styles and questions that measured the severity of depression symptoms. The questions were used to evaluate depressive symptoms and coping styles.
The results of the research study confirmed the hypothesis that heart failure patients with more depressive symptoms engage in more avoidance coping style was supported. Avoidant coping style as denial can make a patient ignore recommendations made by their medical doctor. The implication of the research was that the study was a cross-sectional design and because of this, the researchers couldn’t determine what caused what. They didn’t know if depression caused avoidance or if avoidant copying style caused depression, they just knew that they were correlated to each other. Patient didn’t engage in problem-focused coping because they couldn’t change their problem or change their situation they had with their heart. Also, patient didn’t engage in broad-minded coping style because they didn’t have positive emotions because they were not feeling good.
Example - Real-life
In an article called “A preliminary investigation of family coping styles and psychological well-being among adolescent survivors of Hurricane Katrina” (Vigil and Geary 2008), it was stated that natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina resulted in psychological impairment such as major depression disorder (MDD) among the victims. In the article, it was said that families who lost their homes as a result of Hurricane Katrina engaged in different coping styles. One of the coping styles in which some victims of the Hurricane Katrina engaged in was avoidant coping style; the researchers stated that Katrina victims reported having higher depression and distress symptoms along with lower self-esteem (Vigil and Geary 2008). Some people just gave up and were not trying enough to do something to solve their.
Another coping style in which victims of Hurricane Katrina engaged in was problem-focused coping (adaptive coping). Victims who engaged in problem-focused coping tried to change the situation in which they were going thru by relying in (unfamiliar) community-based support (Vigil and Geary 2008). Perhaps, victims of who engaged in problem-focused coping (adaptive coping) style were able to focus more on getting help so they could continue on with their lives (Vigil and Geary 2008). Some victims who probably engaged in problem-focused coping were able to think better about what they would do to continue on with their lives instead of thinking of what happened with their homes and so on.
Coping styles are ways of dealing with various threatening events. These different coping styles can help people to deal with threatening events in different ways. Some of the ways can be good and some other ways can be bad. Some people have their own coping style of dealing with threatening events.
References
Aronson, Wilson, & Akert (2007). Social Psychology (6th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall, NJ.Ben-Zur, H. (2009). Coping styles and affect. International Journal of Stress Management, 16(2), 87-101.
Fredrickson, B., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being. Psychological Science, 13(2), 172-175.
Oflaz, F., Hatipoglu, S., & Aydin, H. (2008). Effectiveness of psychoeducation intervention on post-traumatic stress disorder and coping styles of earthquake survivors. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17, 677-687.
Trivedi, R., Blumenthal, J., O’Connor, C., Adams, K., Hinderliter, A., Dupree, C., Johnson, Kristy., Sherwood, A. (2009). Coping styles in heart failure patients with depressive symptoms. Journal of psychosomatic research, 67(4), 339-346.
Vigil, J., Geary, D. (2008). A preliminary investigation of family coping styles and psychological well-being among adolescent survivors of hurricane Katrina. Journal of Family psychology, 22(1), 176-180.
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