stress and coping Flashcards
What is stress?
physiological response to environmental events that are subjectively appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s ability to adapt
Subjective appraisal:
assessment of environmental events as benign vs challenging, harmful, or threatening (ie: primary appraisal); perceived “match” between demands and abilities vs vulnerabilities (secondary appraisal)
Example: the subjective appraisal
the subjective appraisal of employment loss for a 14-year old student who lives at home vs. a 50-year old single parents
14 year old may not care as much
Primary appraisal for 50 year old would perceive as a very severe threat and secondary appraisal would consider if it would be easy to find another job
Elders Life Stress Inventory
assesses stressful life events among middle aged and older adults
The distinction between 2 types of stressors:
1)egocentric stressor: personal, about oneself
Ie:deterioration of memory
2)nonegocentric stressor: linked to social networks
Ie: health of a family member
From middle aged to older adulthood, the impact of stressors decline
Frequency of events excluding items specific to health, as we move from middle aged to older adulthood, the experience of stressors (egocentric and non egocentric) decline
Egocentric stressors and egocentric stress have stronger association with poor physical health than non egocentric stressors
coping processes:
conscious strategies that are used intentionally; often situationally determined, non-hierarchical, and not associated with pathology:
Coping processes are conceptualized as:
The product of biological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, and sociocultural factors (ie normative experiences across life span as we age; cohort specific factors (factors specific to a particular generation))
Dynamic(constantly changing)
adaptive(we learn from them)
Selective optimization with compensation (SOC) model
Focuses on individual adaptation
Maintains that, throughout development, individuals experience gains and losses; with age, the balance of gains to losses becomes less positive (ie: losses increase)
SOC model
Selection:directing attention to domains in which effective functioning is likely to remain relatively high
No driving while its raining
Optimization: investing resources into the acquisition and refinement of knowledge and skills that are relevant to selected domains
Taking classes to improve driving skills
Compensation: identifying and adopting new strategies to counteract losses in selected domains
Getting glasses that support enhanced seeing while driving
Cronkite and Moos (1995)
cognitive approach coping(positive reappraisal), cognitive avoidance coping(acceptance/resignation), behavioral approach coping(problem solving), behavioral avoidance coping (seeking alternative rewards)
Aldwin (2007)
problem-focused coping (problem solving), emotion-focused coping (ie avoidance), social-focused coping (seeking instrumental support: older adult asking daughter to pick up their groceries), meaning focused coping (cognitive reframing:reframing a negative experience to positive), religious coping (prayer)
Examples of measures:
1)self report questionnaires (ie coping responses inventory, ways of coping questionnaire, coping inventory for stressful situations)
2).Daily diaries
3).Experience sampling methods/ecological momentary assessments
Nevertheless, the following findings are common across studies:
1)irrespective of age, approach coping (ie active coping) tends to be associated with greater benefits than avoidance coping
2)irrespective of age, the benefits of approach coping are determined by the malleability of the stressor, if the stressor is not malleable, avoidance coping may be associated with better outcomes
3)irrespective of aging, coping flexibility and goodness of fit are stronger predictors of well-being than the use of a particular “type” of coping
Researchers have developed interventions to facilitate approach coping among older adults
Example: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)
CBT
CBT enhances well-being among older adults with anxiety, chronic pain, complicated grief, depression, health problems, and insomnia
Given the greater occurrence of stressors that are not malleable in older adulthood, researchers have developed acceptance-based interventions to facilitate avoidance coping among older adults:
Example: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
ACT is designed NOT TO reduce the frequency or severity of aversive internal experiences but rather reduces the struggle to control or eliminate aversive internal experience and increase engagement in meaningful life activities
ACT is the opposite of CBT, ACT values accepting the aversive internal experience
Losada et al contrasted CBT and ACT among older adults caring for family member with dementia
ACT was at least as effective and sometimes more effective than CBT
According to socioemotional selectivity theory, emphasis on emotionally meaningful goals among older adults lead to a culling of social networks in old age:
Close and emotionally meaningful social relationships are maintained, novel, Emotionally superficial, and toxic social relationships are abandoned
Instead we focus our efforts on relationships that are rewarding
Age does not determine socioemotional selectivity theory and preferences, it is how much time left we perceive
If you encounter a young adult with a terminal illness, that younger adults will engage in behaviors consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory
that older adults engage in
They will limit social relationships to people that provide emotions gratification
Attachment styles reflect model of self vs model of other (unconscious associations with our internal working model)
Model of self(attachment anxiety): we see ourselves as lovable or unlovable
Model of other(attachment avoidance): we see others as trustworthy or untrustworthy
4 adult attachment styles:
1)secure: positive model of self and positive model of others
Others are trustworthy and i am lovable
2)preoccupied: negative model of self, positive model of others
They are not lovable but others are trustworthy
3)dismissing: positive model of self, negative model of others
they view themselves as lovable but others as untrustworthy
4)fearful: negative model of self and others
they don’t find themselves loveable and others are untrustworthy
The most stable pairing is
secure and secure
Another stable pairing is a person who is preoccupied and a person that is dismissing
We tend to cling onto attachment styles that are stable
Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance are associated with:
Self esteem
Anxiety and depression
Social support:
Conflict resolution
low in anxiety and attachment avoidance are higher in Trust, interdependence, commitment, and relationship satisfaction
Low in anxiety and avoidance are higher in altruism
Low in anxiety and avoidance have better attitudes toward outgroups
Mean-level change in attachment anxiety as a function of age:
General decline in attachment anxiety with age, less fear of rejection and abandonment
Attachment Anxiety is relatively steady through young-adult through middle age
Decline in attachment anxiety after middle age
Males were higher in attachment anxiety than females, but the decline was more rapid for males than females across lifespan
Mean-level change in attachment avoidance as a function of age
Decline in attachment avoidance, less fear of emotional and physical intimacy with age
At all points in time, males were higher than females in attachment avoidance
The Increased social responsibility that we acquire, we inherently experience declines in avoidance and anxiety because these roles require us to be more mature
In contrast to younger adults, older adults have smaller social networks comprised of more emotionally close social partners
In contrast to younger adults, older adults have
fewer interactions with acquaintances
In contrast to middle age couples, older couples report
fewer disagreements;when disagreements occur, older couples show less negative affect and intensity, more interest in interpersonal harmony
Older adults report a ________in marital satisfaction, particularly after children are launched from home
u shaped curve
Intergenerational stake hypothesis:
older adults report less ambivalence about their children than their children report about their parents
Older adults report hourglass effect in sibling relationships,
characterized by increased closeness among siblings in older adulthood
Closeness in adolescence, in middle age you drift, after middle age you come back together again
What is the relationship between age and job performance?
1)age is unrelated to indices of core task performance: tasks that are essential to the job itself
2)age is unrelated or modestly related to indices of “non core task performance”: tasks that are not vital to role itself but enhance efficiency and productivity
~~In cases in which modest correlations exist between age and noncore task performance, these relations suggest older workers exhibit better non core task performance than younger workers
3)age is inversely related to indices of counterproductive work behavior: tardiness, absent
~~The older you are the less likely you are to engage in counterproductive behavior
Select Correlations between Age and indices of core and noncore task performance
Change oriented behaviors: older adults were less resistant to change than younger people
General absenteeism (objective measures): as we get older we are less likely to engage in counterproductive behavior (ie being late)
OCB’s (organizational citizenship behaviors that contribute to the productivity of the workplace) directed as tasks: as we get older we’re more likely to engage in good citizenship in workplace
~~OCB examples:compliance with organizational norms, helping and mentoring coworkers
Tardiness: less likely to be late as we get older
What is the relationship between age and job satisfaction?
Job satisfaction declines in middle age, but increase after
~~We hold more senior roles in older age and prestige
what effects job satisfaction
Age, sex, and job tenure(# of years working) did not affect job satisfaction, but positive vs. negative emotional disposition affect job satisfaction
Older adults reporting greater dissatisfaction with promotion opportunities than younger people
Negative correlation may be due to failed aspirations
Relationship between retirement and well being
1)role theory
2)continuity theory
3)life course perspective
4)resource model
Role theory
Loss of the worker role and associated results in reduced well being in retirement
Continuity theory
Identity is determined by multiple sources; continuity in self-perception, family, and non-work related activities and interests allow for ongoing well-being in retirement
Life course perspective
Accumulated experience over the life span and individual context influence well-being in retirement
Resource model
Cognitive, emotional, financial, motivational, physical, and social resources influence well-being in retirement
Key findings of qualitative review on transition to retirement
When pre/post test designs are used, overall levels of well being tend to remain stable through the transition to retirement
When more complex designs are used, personal and situational characteristics influence the relationship between retirement on well being:
~~example:country,SES, sex
