use of strategies for coping with stress

Question 1

coping

Answer 1

a process involving cognitive/behavioural efforts to manage specific internal/external stressors

an attempt to manage the deamnds of a stressor in an effective way

Question 2

coping strategy

Answer 2

a specific method (behav. or psych.) that is used to manage/reduce stress produced from a stressor

an action/series of actions/thought process

Question 3

effectiveness of a coping strategy

Answer 3

• depends on context specific effectiveness
• if uneffective, has adverse effects on physical/mental health

ie alcohol/drugs provide immediate, temporary relief, but interfere with a good outcome and has harmful consequences.

Question 4

approach coping

Answer 4

an attempt to deal directly with a stressor

proactive, dealing with it head on

problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping

Question 5

avoidant coping

Answer 5

an attempt to evade the stressor and deal with it indirectly

activity focused away from the stressor

evading, stops trying, pretends, self-medicates

Question 6

what are the advantages of each coping strategy?

effectiveness of approach vs avoidant

Answer 6

approach: more effective and adaptive
avoidant: can be useful in the short term

a combination of the both may occur at the same time or after another

ie eating a whole tub of ice cream the night after being broken up with vs doing it every night for the month following the breakup

Question 7

Do the strategies used deal with the problem?

coping flexibility

Answer 7

the ability to effectively modify one’s coping strategies according to the demands of different stressful situations

they may have different strategies for different situatiosn

Question 8

high vs low coping flexibility

Answer 8

high: individuals readily adjust their coping strategies if the one they are using proves ineffective.

low: consistently using the same type of coping strategies across different stressful situations, even in the face of ineffectiveness.

Question 9

context specific effectiveness

Answer 9

considers the unique characteristics of a situation or environment that the person is required to adapt to.

how effectively a person uses coping strategies is seen by experience

ie exercise is effective coping strategy bc of phys. and psych. benefits

Question 10

evaluation coping

Answer 10

refers to the tendency to abandon ineffective strategies

Question 11

adaptive coping

Answer 11

refers to the tendency to consider and create alternative coping strategies