Coping Strategies
Coping Strategies- Problem-focused Versus Emotion-focused
Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce or minimize stressful events. There are two general coping strategies which have been distinguished. Problem-focused strategies are efforts to do something active to alleviate stressful circumstances, where as emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to regulate the emotional consequences of stressful or potentially stressful events. Typically, people use both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping in their stressful episodes, which suggests that both types of coping are useful for most stressful events (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). The predominance of one type of strategy over another is determined, in part, by personal style and the type of stressful event. The empirical studies found below focus on the usage of both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles. They look at in which context each coping style is used and also how effective each style is in dealing with different stressful events. In a study conducted by Hasida Ben-Zur in 2005 (Ben-Zur 2005), research was conducted to evaluate whether people used problem-focused or emotion-focused strategies more often for stressful situations. The main purpose of the study was to find out which type of coping style worked best in lowering distress. The research was conducted by a public-opinion survey institute in Israel. 510 people completed the survey questionnaires which was based on a 30 item coping scale (the original 60 item scale was found to be too lengthy). The coping data was analyzed and separated into two different coping scales: problem-focused and emotion-focused. The Problem-Focused Coping Scale included active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, instrumental support, emotional support, and positive reinterpretation. The Emotion-Focused Coping Scale
Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce or minimize stressful events. There are two general coping strategies which have been distinguished. Problem-focused strategies are efforts to do something active to alleviate stressful circumstances, where as emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to regulate the emotional consequences of stressful or potentially stressful events. Typically, people use both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping in their stressful episodes, which suggests that both types of coping are useful for most stressful events (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). The predominance of one type of strategy over another is determined, in part, by personal style and the type of stressful event. The empirical studies found below focus on the usage of both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles. They look at in which context each coping style is used and also how effective each style is in dealing with different stressful events. In a study conducted by Hasida Ben-Zur in 2005 (Ben-Zur 2005), research was conducted to evaluate whether people used problem-focused or emotion-focused strategies more often for stressful situations. The main purpose of the study was to find out which type of coping style worked best in lowering distress. The research was conducted by a public-opinion survey institute in Israel. 510 people completed the survey questionnaires which was based on a 30 item coping scale (the original 60 item scale was found to be too lengthy). The coping data was analyzed and separated into two different coping scales: problem-focused and emotion-focused. The Problem-Focused Coping Scale included active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, instrumental support, emotional support, and positive reinterpretation. The Emotion-Focused Coping Scale
References: Ben-Hur, Hasida. (2001). Your coping strategy and my distress: Inter-spouse perceptions of coping and adjustment among breast cancer patients and their spouses Ben-Hur Hasida. (2005). Coping, Distress, and Life Events in a Community Sample. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 188-196 Epping-Jordan, JoAnne et al. (1999). Psychological adjustment in breast cancer: Processes of emotional distress Folkman, Susan and Judith Moskowitz. (2000). Stress, Postive Emotion, and Coping. American Psychological Society, 9, 115-118 Lazarus, Richard. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination Park, Crystal. (2003). Coping Style as a Predictor of Health and Well-Being Across the first year of Medical School