Adolescent sex-role orientation and ego identity

This study investigated the relationship between sex-role development and ego development in a sample of 9th-12th grade Anglo-American and Mexican-American students attending high school in a southwestern state. All students were administered: (a) the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Grotevant and Adams, 1984) as a measure of ego development (i.e., diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement), and (b) the Personal Attributes Questionnaire Short Form (Spence, Helmreich and Stapp, 1975) as a measure of masculinity and femininity. Results indicated no ethnic differences in the relationship between ego identity and masculinity/femininity. Adolescents who were identity achieved on ideological identity formation had significantly higher levels of masculinity than did moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused individuals. For interpersonal identity, identity achieved adolescents had higher levels of both masculinity and femininity than did individuals who were foreclosed, diffused, or in moratorium. Discussion centered on these results in light of the additional finding that there was little shared variance (eta2) between masculinity, femininity and ego identity.     

Brief report: Coping among Austrian children and adolescents

The study investigated age and gender effects on coping with common stressors among 494 Austrian children and adolescents (age 8-14 years). Participants were subdivided into subgroups of late children comprising third and fourth graders, early adolescents consisting of fifth and sixth graders, and middle adolescents including seventh graders. Middle adolescents showed a maladaptive coping pattern with decreased problem and emotion-focused coping strategies and increased passive avoidance and aggression. Females scored higher on social support and also on the maladaptive coping strategy rumination. Female middle adolescents reported higher resignation than their male contemporaries and female children. Results suggest the application of primary preventive stress management programs in late childhood and early adolescence.     

Sex, gender role orientation, gender role attitudes and suicidal thoughts in three generations

Background Suicide and other suicidal behaviours are markedly (though differently) patterned by gender. The increase in young male suicide rates in many countries has heightened interest in whether suicidal behaviours and ideation (thoughts) are related to masculinity. Relatively little research has explored the relationship between gender role attitudes and orientation and suicidal behaviours and ideation. Most research in this area has been conducted with young people. Objective We investigated whether gender role orientation (masculinity and femininity scores) and gender role attitudes were related to the reporting of serious suicidal thoughts in three generations (early adulthood, and early and late middle age) in a community sample. Methods Subjects (653 men and women aged around 23 years, 754 aged around 43 years, 722 aged around 63 years) completed home interviews with nurses as part of an ongoing longitudinal community-based study of social factors and health. These included measures of suicidal ideation (thoughts), attitudes to traditional gender roles, and a validated measure of gender role orientation (masculinity and femininity scores). Results The prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts was higher in early adulthood (10% men, 15% women) than in early (4% men, 8% women) and late (6% men, 5% women) middle age. In early adulthood only sex was significantly related to suicidal thoughts, with women at higher risk (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.01–3.00). In early middle age masculinity scores were negatively related to suicidal thoughts (adjusted OR for each unit increase in score 0.65: 95% CI 0.46–0.93), and more traditional views on gender roles were positively associated with suicidal thoughts (adjusted OR 1.48: 95% CI 1.07–2.04). In late middle age trends were in the same direction as in early middle age, but were not statistically significant. Femininity scores were unrelated to serious suicidal thoughts at any age. Conclusion The high rates of suicidal thoughts amongst men and women in early adulthood point to the importance of understanding mental health problems at this age. The results raise a number of questions and suggest that suicide researchers should pay more attention to gender roles and attitudes in older adults. Ethical approval was obtained from the Glasgow University ethics committee for non clinical research involving human subjects. Funding: the Twenty–07 study is funded by the Medical Research Council of Great Britain. KH, HS and MK are employed by the MRC.     

Families of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in Taiwan: The role of social support and coping in family adaptation and maternal well-being

In this study we examined differences in social support and coping between mothers of adolescents and adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Taiwan and the United States and to investigate the effects of social support and coping strategies on family adaptation and maternal well-being. Participants were 76 Taiwanese mothers who had at least one son or daughter with an ASD (10 years old and older), and a comparison group of 325 mothers in the United States matched on the age range of the child with an ASD. Mothers completed self-administered, written questionnaires and participated in an interview. Taiwanese mothers reported significantly greater use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies than did mothers in the United States. For Taiwanese families, greater use of problem-focused coping strategies was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Emotion-focused coping mediated the relationships between ethnicity/culture and several outcome measures: family adaptability, family cohesion, and maternal depressive symptoms. The higher levels of emotion-focused coping in Taiwanese mothers appeared to account for their lower levels of family adaptability and cohesion and higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms. The results from this cross-cultural study helped determine the role of social support and coping strategies in family adaptation and maternal well-being in families of individuals with an ASD in each culture. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

Gender and developmental effects on perceived stress, coping, somatic symptoms and psychological disorders among children and adolescents

The aim of this one-year longitudinal study was to investigate gender and developmental effects on perceived stress related to interpersonal stressors, coping strategies, somatic symptoms and psychological disorders. Additionally, associations of perceived stress and coping styles at the first assessment with psychological problems at the second measurement were examined. In total, N = 169 Austrian children and adolescents (ages 10 to 13 years) participated in this self-report study. Compared to male children and adolescents, female counterparts scored higher on perceived stress related to interpersonal stressors and on social support but evaluated a lower amount of distraction. Moreover, girls reported higher levels of somatic symptoms and anxiety/depression. Boys showed a developmental increase in anger control problems and both genders showed developmental increases in antisocial behavior. Low levels of the emotion-focused coping strategies distraction and minimization were related longitudinally to emotional and behavioral disorders. The results support gender-adjusted stress management programs applied in the primary and secondary prevention.     

Pakistani adolescents' coping with stress: effect of loss of a parent and gender of adolescents

The present study examined the effect of parental loss and gender of adolescents on their coping with stress. Sample included those adolescents who had either of their parents died (N = 40) and those having both living parents (N = 40). It was hypothesized that adolescents with one parent alive would differ in their ways of coping with stress compared to those who have both living parents. It was also hypothesized that there would be gender differences in adolescents' coping. Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ, Kausar, 1996) was used to assess adolescents' coping. Data was analysed using t-test and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Analyses showed that avoidance-focused coping was the most frequently used and active distractive coping was the least frequently used strategy by the adolescents. Adolescents with both living parents employed more active distractive and religious-focused coping compared to those with one parent alive. Girls employed significantly more strategies to cope with stress compared to boys. Results also revealed interactive effect of parental loss and gender on coping strategies used by adolescents. The findings suggest that death of either of the parents and gender of the adolescent is important determinants of the ways adolescents deal with stress.     

Coping strategies,caregiving burden,and depressive symptoms of Taiwanese mothers of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Little research focuses on the caregiving experiences of Taiwanese mothers of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The effects of the caregiving burden and coping strategies on the depressive symptoms of 60 of these mothers were examined. The adolescents they cared for ranged from 10 to 19 years old (mean age: 14.7 years). Mothers completed self-report written questionnaires. Findings indicated that greater use of problem-focused rather than emotion-focused coping was generally associated with lower levels of caregiver burden and fewer depressive symptoms. Problem-focused coping acted as a buffer when caregiving burdens were high. Specifically, actively confronting, planning, and suppressing competing activities as coping strategies moderated the effect of the caregiving burden on the depressive symptoms of these mothers. This significant buffering effect reflected adaptation to the caregiving burden. Awareness of the effects of coping strategies on maternal well-being could serve as a valuable guide for practitioners.     

Development of the feminine gender role stress scale. A cognitive-behavioral measure of stress, appraisal, and coping for women.

The cognitive appraisal of threats and challenges to sterotypical feminine gender role coping behavior was defined as feminine gender role stress (FGRS). This article describes the development of a self-report measure of FGRS. Situations perceived as more stressful for women than for men wer categorized by factor analysis, yielding the following constellation of maladaptive stress responses particularly salient for women: (a) fear of unemotional relationships, (b) fear of being unattractive, (c) fear of victimization, (d) fear of behaving assertively, and (e) fear of not being nurturant. Women demonstrated significantly higher FGRS appraisal scores than men, and scores among women showed good 2-week test-retest reliability. The tendency to appraise situations on the FGRS scale as stressful was associated with the tendency to consider daily hassles stressful but was not related to self-perceived femininity in women. It was predicted that women who tend to exhibit the FGRS appraisal style would have more difficulty in coping with stressors related to depression. Supporting this hypothesis, women with higher FGRS scores reported greater depression than those with lower scores. The assessment of FGRS appraisal and coping style in women provides useful information for devising treatment strategies to improve women's health through promotion of adaptive coping.     

Dissociation, hypnotizability, coping styles and health locus of control: characteristics of pseudoseizure patients.

Although literature in this area is relatively sparse, the occurrence of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) has been linked to stress, anxiety and possible dissociative tendencies. An association between dissociation and hypnotic susceptibility has also been proposed and dissociative tendencies have themselves been found to relate to the use of emotion-focused coping strategies. In order to investigate the hypothesis that pseudoseizure patients may exhibit higher levels of dissociation, a more emotion-focused coping style, and greater hypnotic susceptibility than the general population, the questionnaire responses of 20 patients with pseudoseizures were compared with those obtained from a non-clinical control group. As predicted, pseudoseizure patients demonstrated some evidence of higher levels of dissociation and escape-avoidance coping strategies. They also expressed a greater belief in external control over health and higher depression scores, compared to the control group, but the previously reported elevation in hypnotizability scores in the pseudoseizure patients was not found. Possible explanations for this pattern of results are discussed.     

Differences in coping effectiveness and well-being among aging mothers and fathers of adults with mental retardation

In this longitudinal study, we examined stress and coping processes among 133 married mothers (age 59 to 83) and fathers (age 56 to 84) of adults with mental retardation (age 19 to 53). There were no differences between mothers and fathers with respect to their frequency of use of emotion-focused coping, but mothers used significantly more problem-focused coping strategies than did their husbands. For mothers, greater use of problem-focused coping strategies and lower use of emotion-focused coping buffered the impacts of caregiving stress on their psychological well-being. However, for fathers, no buffering effects of coping were detected. The implications of gender differences in coping effects were examined in the context of the impact of lifelong caregiving.     

Is terror gender-blind? Gender differences in reaction to terror events

Objective This study examines gender differences in posttraumatic vulnerability in the face of the terror attacks that occurred during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. In addition, the contribution of level of exposure, sense of safety, self-efficacy, and coping strategies is assessed. Method Participants were 250 men and 262 women, who constitute a representative sample of Israel's adult population. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire consisting of 51 items that were drawn from several questionnaires widely used in the study of trauma. Results The findings indicate that women endorsed posttraumatic and depressive symptoms more than men and that, generally, their odds of developing posttraumatic stress symptoms are six times higher than those of men. Results also revealed that women's sense of safety and self-efficacy are lower than men's and that there are gender differences in coping strategies in the face of terror. Conclusions Gender differences in vulnerability to terror may be attributable to a number of factors, among these are women's higher sense of threat and lower self-efficacy, as well as their tendency to use less effective coping strategies than men. Level of exposure to terror was ruled out as a possible explanation for the gender differences in vulnerability.     

Emotional distress, coping and adjustment in family members of neuroscience intensive care unit patients

Objective

We evaluated emotional distress, coping strategy use, caregiver adjustment, and the relationship among these variables in family members (FMs) of patients hospitalized in a neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU).

Methods

Fifty-one primary relatives of NSICU patients were administered the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and an abbreviated version of the COPE within 2 days of admission to the NSICU, just prior to patient discharge from the unit, and approximately 30 days after patient discharge (follow-up). FMs' adjustment to the role of caregiver was also evaluated at follow-up with the Caregiver Appraisal Scale (CAS).

Results

BSI emotional distress levels were higher than those of the nonpatient normative sample at patient admission, but, except for anxiety, were within a standard deviation of the mean of the said group; with the exception of anxiety they declined to below nonpatient normative levels at follow-up. Females' distress levels were higher than those of males'. FMs' use of both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies increased from admission through follow-up. Emotional distress was unrelated to problem-focused coping but was associated with emotion-focused coping at admission and discharge, with use of denial as a coping strategy primarily accounting for this relationship. Extent of use of both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping at admission was associated with better caregiver adjustment at follow-up, but over time only increases in problem-focused coping were associated with better subsequent caregiver adjustment.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that interventions fostering increased use of problem-focused coping and sense of control will be effective in lowering FM distress level and enhancing subsequent adjustment in the role of caregiver.     

Perceptions of Illness, coping, and well-being in persons with mild cognitive impairment and their care partners

Despite greater attention to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), little is known about reactions to this potentially threatening diagnosis among persons with MCI (PWMCI) and their care partners. Psychologic reactions, perceptions of illness, and coping responses of 46 individuals recently diagnosed with MCI and 29 care partners were assessed with questionnaires assessing psychologic well-being, illness perceptions, coping, and perceived needs for services. Care partners and PWMCI report normal levels of psychologic well-being, showing less distress than is commonly found in Alzheimer disease (AD) caregivers. Problem-focused (eg, active coping) and emotion-focused coping strategies (eg, acceptance) were used more often than dysfunctional coping strategies (eg, self-distraction) by PWMCI and care partners. Both groups tended to minimize the likelihood of conversion to AD, and endorsed mental and physical exercise, optimism, dietary changes, and stress reduction as strategies to prevent conversion. Although PWMCI minimized their impairment, care partners reported providing an average of 24 hours per week of caregiving and reported that the PWMCI did need significant help with complex activities. Respondents reported using few formal services but they anticipate substantial future need for services. Results suggest that PWMCI and care partners are likely to minimize the threat of AD and to perceive that conversion is controllable and preventable with health promotion activities. Study implications for the development of intervention programs for PWMCI and their care partners are discussed.     

Specific coping behaviors in relation to adolescent depression and suicidal ideation

The coping strategies used by adolescents to deal with stress may have implications for the development of depression and suicidal ideation. This study examined coping categories and specific coping behaviors used by adolescents to assess the relation of coping to depression and suicidal ideation. In hierarchical regression models, the specific coping behaviors of behavioral disengagement and self-blame were predictive of higher levels of depression; depression and using emotional support were predictive of suicidal ideation. Results suggest that specific behaviors within the broad coping categories of emotion-focused coping (e.g., self-blame) and avoidant coping (e.g., behavioral disengagement) account for these categories’ associations with depression and suicidal ideation. Specific problem-focused coping strategies did not independently predict lower levels of depression or suicidal ideation. It may be beneficial for interventions to focus on eliminating maladaptive coping behaviors in addition to introducing or enhancing positive coping behaviors.     

A Comparative Analysis of Well-Being and Coping among Mothers of Toddlers and Mothers of Adolescents with ASD

The present study examined the impact of autism symptoms and coping strategies on the well-being of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample consisted of 153 mothers of toddlers and 201 mothers of adolescents drawn from two ongoing, longitudinal studies of families of individuals with ASD. For mothers of toddlers, lower levels of emotion-focused coping and higher levels of problem-focused coping were generally associated with better maternal well-being, regardless of the level of child symptomatology. For mothers of adolescents, coping often acted as a buffer when autism symptoms were high. Although there was evidence of maternal distress in both groups, the presence of significant buffering effects reflects adaptation in the face of stress, particularly for mothers of adolescents.     

The adolescent emotional coping after an earthquake: A risk factor for suicidal ideation

The study aims to investigate the relationship of suicidal ideation with coping and resilience in a sample of adolescents who survived an earthquake. Three hundred forty-three adolescents who had experienced the L'Aquila earthquake were investigated for a screening distinguishing Suicidal Screen-Negative (SSN) from the Positive (SSP) subjects. Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ) and Brief Cope were administered. Emotion-focused coping score was significantly higher in SSP subjects. In the SSN but not in the SSP sample the READ total score correlated with problem-focused total score. A positive correlation was seen between emotion-focused and problem-focused scores in both samples, with a higher coefficient in SSP sample. Externalising problems and maladaptive behaviours can arise in adolescents exposed to traumatic events. Attention should be paid in reducing risk factors and in the development of psychological abilities, improving the coping strategies that can protect from emotional despair and suicidal ideation.     

Stress coping strategies in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures and how they relate to trauma symptoms,alexithymia, anger and mood

PurposeThe purpose of the present study was to assess stress coping strategies employed by patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and determine whether these approaches were associated with other psychopathological features. Ineffective stress coping strategies can have a variety of unhealthy consequences fueling psychopathology just as psychopathology can also have an impact on stress coping. Because of this, the study of stress coping has the potential to inform our understanding of the PNES condition and underscore a potential target for psychological treatment.MethodsEighty-two consecutive patients with PNES were studied using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). The CISS is a self-rating coping strategies scale that has three main subscales (Task-Oriented, Emotion-Focused, and Avoidance-Oriented). Other psychological variables that were thought to potentially influence the chosen coping mechanisms including alexithymia, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anger expression and select scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2-RF (MMPI 2-RF) were also evaluated.ResultsFifty patients (60.9%) endorsed using at least one coping strategy that was 1.5 standard deviations or more away from the normal adult mean. Over 30% of the participants endorsed using elevated Emotion-Focused coping strategies (T score ≥ 65), and just over 25% endorsed underusing Task-Oriented coping strategies (T score ≤ 35). Elevations in avoidance strategies were endorsed by only 15.9% of the respondents. ANOVA comparing T scores between the coping strategies was significant (F = 13.4, p = .0001) with a significantly lower Task-Oriented strategy than Emotion-Focused (p = .001) and Avoidance (p = .005) strategies.Patients with high scores of Emotion-Focused coping strategies also had significantly high scores on diverse psychopathology factors including elevations on depressive mood, intrusive experiences, anger state, and general anger scores. In contrast, those who used Task-Oriented strategies and who used Avoidance-Focused strategies had less psychopathology including low positive emotion scores (RC2).ConclusionNearly one-third of patients with PNES tended to use the less effective Emotion-Oriented coping strategies and one fourth reported underusing the more effective Task-focused strategies. Substantial differences were noted between coping strategies with a significantly lower Task-Oriented strategy than Emotion-Focused and Avoidance strategies. In addition, high Emotion-Focused coping was seen in patients with underlying psychological symptoms that were not observed in other coping strategies. This information supports the relevance of assessing stress coping in patients with PNES because it allows the identification of useful behavioral targets for the psychotherapist.     

A two-year longitudinal study of gender differences in responses to positive affect and depressive symptoms during middle adolescence

This study aimed to analyze the prospective associations during adolescence between depressive symptoms and response styles to positive affect and to examine gender differences. A longitudinal study was conducted with three waves separated by 1 year each to assess a non-clinical sample of 622 Spanish adolescents who were 13 and 14 years old (50.2% boys, 49.8% girls). The participants completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms and responses to positive affect (emotion-focused positive rumination, self-focused positive rumination and dampening of positive emotion). The results showed that the increase in depressive symptoms was associated with an increase in dampening and decreases in emotion-focused and self-focused positive rumination. Furthermore, girls presented more depressive symptoms, as well as higher dampening and lower self-focused positive rumination, than boys. The conclusions highlight the need to consider responses to positive affect in explaining gender differences in depressive symptoms during mid-adolescence, as well as in designing prevention programs.     

Stress‐coping strategies of patients with gender identity disorder

Aims: Previous research has not addressed gender differences in coping strategies among patients with gender identity disorder (GID). Nor has the relationship of coping strategies to other demographic characteristics ever been clarified in GID. In this study, we tried to clarify the relationship between stress‐coping strategies and demographic characteristics among patients with GID. Methods: The coping strategies of 344 patients with GID [227 female‐to‐male (FTM) and 117 male‐to‐female (MTF)] were assessed using the Japanese version of the Ways of Coping Questionnaires, Lazarus Stress‐coping Inventory. Results: Comparison of the stress‐coping inventory between MTF and FTM GID patients revealed that FTM GID patients were significantly more reliant on positive reappraisal strategies in stressful situations than MTF GID patients (P = 0.007). Conclusions: The difference in the usage of positive reappraisal strategies between MTF and FTM type GID patients was not explained by other demographic characteristics, and we suppose that the gender difference in GID patients might influence the usage of positive reappraisal strategies. The ratio of FTM GID patients might be higher at our center because MTF GID patients can obtain vaginoplasty easily, whereas phalloplasty surgery for FTM GID patients is performed at only a few centers, including our clinic, in Japan. As a result, more FTM GID patients come to our clinic with a clear intention to undergo sexual rearrangement surgery, which might influence the gender difference in using positive reappraisal.     

Cognitive coping in anxiety-disordered adolescents

The present study investigated differences in cognitive coping strategies between anxiety-disordered and non-anxious adolescents. In addition, the interaction effect with gender as well as differences between specific anxiety diagnoses was examined. A clinical sample of 159 anxiety-disordered adolescents and a general community sample of 370 non-anxious adolescents were recruited. Nine cognitive coping strategies were assessed in all adolescents (aged 12-16 years). Results showed that anxiety-disordered adolescents had significantly higher scores on most of the cognitive coping strategies than non-anxious adolescents. The cognitive coping strategies rumination, self-blame and catastrophizing accounted for most of the variance. Gender did not modify the results. Further analyses within the anxiety-disordered sample indicated that adolescents with a generalized anxiety disorder scored significantly higher on rumination, but not on other cognitive coping strategies, than social phobic adolescents. The results suggest that cognitive coping is a valuable target for psychological assessment and treatment in adolescents.