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    COPING WITH STRESS

    1 The Concept of Coping

    A close perusal of literature reveals that coping has been viewed in diverse ways. Dewe,

    Guest and Williams (1979) consider coping as an attempt to remove the feeling of

    discomfort. White (1974) defined coping as the process which involves efforts towards

    solution of problems. It occurs when a person faces a threatening or dynamic change or

    problem that defies known or usual ways of behaviour and might give rise to anxiety, guilt,

    grief and shame, and again forms the necessity for adaptation.

    McGrath (1970) has viewed coping as the covert and overt behavior by which the organism

    actively prevents, removes or circumvents stress inducing circumstances. Schregardus (1976)

    proposed two major styles of coping namely repression and sensitization. He also found that

    patterns of defensive style were related to the perception and experiences of stress and to

    subsequent patterns of coping and adjustment.

    Pearlin and Schooler (1978) have suggested that coping responses are the behaviors,

    cognitions and perceptions in which people engage when actually contending with their life

    problems. Coping responses represent some of the things that people do, their concrete efforts

    to deal with the life strains they encounter in their different roles. Responses that are directed

    at modification of the stressful situations are the most direct ways to cope with strain because

    they tend to eliminate the source of stress itself. Pearlin and Schooler (1978) found that this is

    not a commonly used mode of coping. Before the onset of action which is directed at the

    modification of stressful environment the person must recognize the problem. The action

    intended to modify a situation may at times lead to other unwanted outcomes. Thus at times a

    person is rendered helpless in dealing with action oriented coping, According to them coping

    refers to behavior that protects people from being psychologically harmed by problematic

    experiences. They have identified three protective functions of coping behavior i.e. by

    eliminating or modifying the conditions that give rise to the problematic situation, by

    perceiving the meaning of experience in such a manner that it neutralizes its problematic

    character and by keeping the emotional consequences under control.

    Irving (1977) has presented a descriptive typology of distinctive patterns of coping that

    included vigilance, hypervigilance and defensive avoidance. On the other hand, Robbins

    (1978) has identified seven patterns of coping viz, seeking social support, dysfunctional

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    behavior, narcotizing anxiety, problem solving, reliance on professionals, bearing with

    discomfort, and escape. In recent years attention has been given to coping with stressful

    events of day to day life. Broadly, three major approaches to measurement of coping can be

    identified i.e. coping in terms of ego processes (Hann, 1977; Valliant, 1977), coping as traits

    and coping as situation specific response.

    According to Silver and Wortman (1980), coping refers to any and all responses made by an

    individual who encounters a potentially harmful situation.

    In addition to overt behavior psychologists have included cognitions, emotional reactions

    (e.g. anger, depression) and psychological responses (e.g. nausea, insomnia etc.) also as types

    of coping mechanisms. However, most theorists restrict the term coping to efforts made by an

    individual in problem solving, in order to master, or control or overcome threatening

    situations.

    The controversy regarding treatment of coping as a trait or situation specific effort is yet

    unresolved. The complexity of coping cannot be captured through unidimensional measure.

    Lazarus and Folkman (1984) assert that coping is a shifting process where a person must at

    certain stages and certain times rely more on one form of coping (e.g. defensive strategies)

    and at other times on another form of coping (e.g. problem solving) as and when the status ofthe situation changes. Trait measures assume that people are behaviourally and cognitively

    consistent in their coping behaviour across situations. Cohen and Lazarus (1973) assert that

    trait measures are poor predictors of coping. Situation oriented research focuses on how

    people endeavour to cope with specific stressful situations (Visotsky et al, 1961; Weitsman &

    Worden, 1976).

    A critical and important distinction between the trait oriented and the process oriented

    approaches lies in the importance attached to the psychological and the environmental

    context in which coping takes place. The trait approach assumes that coping is mainly a

    property of the person and variation in stressful situations is of not much significance. In

    contrast, process oriented approach assumes that coping is a response to the psychological

    and environmental demands of specific stressful encounters.

    The most comprehensive approach to coping has been developed by Lazarus and his

    associates over a number of years (1966, Delongis, 1983; Folkman, 1984; Kanner &

    Folkman, 1980). It utilizes the transactional framework in which person and environment are

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    seen in terms of a continuous ongoing relationship of actions which are reciprocal in nature.

    These psychologists have argued that appraisal and coping mediate this transactional

    relationship.

    Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have defined coping as constantly changing cognitive and

    behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as

    taxing or exceeding the resources of the person.

    2 Component Analysis of Coping

    The effects of stress is directly linked to coping. The study of coping has evolved to

    encompass large variety of disciplines beginning with all areas of psychology such as health

    psychology, environmental psychology, neuro psychology and developmental psychology to

    areas of medicine spreading into the area of anthropology and sociology. Dissecting coping

    strategies into three broad components, (biological/physiological, cognitive, and learned) will

    provide a better understanding of what the seemingly immense area is about.

    2.1 Biological/physiological component - The body has its own way of coping with stress.

    Any threat or challenge that an individual perceives in the environment triggers a chain of

    neuroendocrine events. These events can be conceptualized as two separate responses, thatbeing of sympathetic/adrenal response, with the secretion of catecholamines (epinephrine,

    norepinephrine) and the pituitary/adrenal response, with the secretion of corticosteroids

    (Frankanhauser, 1986). The sympathetic/adrenal response takes the message from the brain to

    the adrenal medulla via the sympathetic nervous system, which secretes epinephrine and

    norepinephrine. This is the basic "fight or flight" response (Cannon, 1929), where the heart

    rate quickens and the blood pressure rises. In the pituitary/adrenal response, the

    hypothalamus is stimulated and produces the corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) to the

    pituitary gland through the blood veins, then the adrenal corticotropic hormone (ACTH) is

    released from the pituitary gland to the adrenal cortex. The adrenal cortex in turn secretes

    cortisol, a hormone that will report back to the original brain centers together with other body

    organs to tell it to stop the whole cycle. But since cortisol is a potent hormone, the prolonged

    secretion of it will lead to health problems such as the break down of cardiovascular system,

    digestive system, musculoskeletal system, and the recently established immune system. Also

    when the organism does not have a chance for recovery, it will lead to both catecholamine

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    and corisol depletion and result in the third stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome of

    exhaustion (Seyle, 1956).

    Social support has also been established by studies to be linked to stress (Bolger &

    Eckenrole, 1991; House, et. al, 1988). This can be seen as a dimension of the biological

    component since it is closely linked to the biological environment of that individual. There

    are many aspects to social support, the major categories would be of emotional, tangible, and

    informational.

    Personality types as so called Type A Personality have been defined to have such

    characteristics as competitive, impatient and hostile. Hostility has been linked to coronary

    heart disease which is thought be caused by stress (Rosenman, 1978). Eysenck (1988) hascoined the term Type C Personality for those who are known to be repressors and are prone

    to cancer. Hardiness also is a personality that seems to have much to do with how an

    individual handles stress. Hardiness is defined as having a sense of control, commitment, and

    challenge towards life in general. Kobasa (1979) has studied subjects who were laid off in

    large numbers by AT&T when the federal deregulation took place, and found that the people

    who were categorized as having hardy personalities were mentally and emotionally better off

    than the others. Although it may be possible to modifying ones personality, research has

    shown it to be heritable (Rahe, Herrig, & Rosenman, 1978; Parker, & Barret, 1992).

    2.2 Cognitive component - The cognitive approach to coping is based on a mental process of

    how the individual appraises the situation. Where the level of appraisal determines the level

    of stress and the unique coping strategies that the individual partakes. (Lazarus & Folkman,

    1984). There are two types of appraisals, the primary and the secondary. A primary appraisal

    is made when the individual makes a conscious evaluation of the matter at hand of whether it

    is either a harm or a loss, a threat or a challenge. Then secondary appraisal takes place when

    the individual asks him/herself "What can I do?" by evaluating the coping resources around

    him/her. These resources include, physical resources, such as how healthy one is, or how

    much energy one has, social resources, such as the family or friends one has to depend on for

    support in his/her immediate surroundings, psychological resources, such as self-esteem and

    self-efficacy, and also material resources such as how much money you have or what kind of

    equipment you might be able to use.

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    How much personal control one perceives to have is another factor to consider when looking

    at coping from the cognitive perspective. Usually an individual will find themselves feeling

    more stressful in uncontrollable situations. Also, since personal control is a cognitive process,

    the more one has a sense of personal control, better sense of coping ability one will have. The

    categories of the attribution theory gives a good picture of the extreme ends of the "in

    control/lack of control" continuum. An individual will perceive to have the most control

    where the situations fit the categories of internal, transient, and specific. At the opposite end

    of the scale is the categories of external, stable, and global where the person will perceive

    lack of control.

    There are other ways of to approach coping from a cognitive perspective such as that of

    constructive and destructive thinking as conceptualized by Epstien and Meier (1989) a similar

    concept to that of optimistic versus pessimistic (Taylor, 1991), the perceived level of self-

    efficacy and self-esteem and so on.

    2.3 Learned component - The learned component of coping includes everything from

    various social learning theories, which assume that much of human motivation and behavior

    is the result of what is learned through experiential reinforcement, learned helplessness

    phenomena which is believed to have a relationship to depression, and even implications of

    the particular culture or society that the stress at hand is affected by can also be included in

    this component. Some of the examples for the social learning theories would be the wide

    range of stress management techniques that have been found to help ease stress. Changing

    how you cognitively process a particular situation, so called cognitive restructuring, changing

    how you behave in a particular situation, so called behavior modification, biofeedback which

    uses operant conditioning to alter involuntary responses mediated by the autonomic nervous

    system, and the numerous relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathing, and exercise

    are all part of what is learned through experiential reinforcement. The learned helplessness

    phenomena has been linked to depression by such researchers as Coyne, Aldwin, and Lazarus

    (1981) when they studied subjects who tried to exert control when it was not possible to do

    so.

    Cultures and societies have their own set of rule of what they perceive to be stressful or not

    (Colby, 1987). For example, educational systems differ greatly from culture to culture. In

    Asian cultures such as Japan and Korea, there is a great deal of importance attributed to how

    they do in schools. Access to higher education, leading to better jobs is determined solely

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    through academic performance. The amount of stress that the students experience due to this

    is very high. High enough to report a number of suicides each year for not passing an

    important exam. People will have different responses in a monogamous culture to that of a

    polygamous culture. In Africa, where polygamy is the norm, when they find out that the

    significant other has another partner, it means more workforce to take care of the children and

    the household chores. If the husband does not take on many wives, it can become a strain on

    the rest of the wives. An interesting study was done by using Holmes and Rahe's (1967)

    stressful life event measure in South Africa, and found that it correlated very little with

    standard distress measures (Swartz, Elk, & Teggin, 1983). This suggests the existence of such

    cultural/societal differences.

    3 COPING MEASUREMENT / COPING STRATEGIES

    Stress and coping research has yet to produce a consistent or universal conceptualization of

    the dimensions of coping (Brough, ODriscoll, and Kalliath, 2005). A central outstanding

    issue in this relates to being able to properly describe all of the fundamental dimensions or

    strategies of coping. Although this inconsistency in conceptualization implies a diversity of

    theoretical frameworks and approaches, it also carries with it a number of difficulties when it

    comes to comparing coping results across studies that make use of different measuring

    instruments (Cook and Heppner, 1997).

    The conceptualization of coping presented by Folkman and Lazarus (1980) has subsequently

    been crystallized into two broad approaches: Problem focused coping and Emotion focused

    coping. Avoidance has also been suggested as a third basic coping strategy (Endler and

    Parker, 1990), and refers to choosing not to do anything about the experienced challenge. A

    review of literature using a specific coping inventory (The Coping Orientations to Problems

    Experienced [COPE] Inventory; Carver, Scheier and Weintraub, 1989) further supports these

    three dimensions, and have suggested reappraisal as a fourth. Support for the latter dimension

    also comes from Phelps and Jarvis (1994), who termed it acceptance

    3.1 Lazarus and Folkman 1984

    The term coping is used to refer to the process by which a person attempts to manage

    stressful demands & it takes 2 major forms. A person can focus on the specific problem or

    situation that has arisen, trying to find some way of changing it or avoiding it in the future.

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    This is called Problem focused coping. A person can also focus on alleviating the emotions

    associated with the stressful situation, even if the situation itself cannot be changed. This is

    called emotion focused coping (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). When dealing with a stressful

    situation, most people use both problem focused and emotion focused coping.

    3.1.1 Problem Focused Coping

    There are many strategies for solving problems. First, you must define the problem. Then you

    can generate alternative solutions and weigh the costs and benefits of the alternatives.

    Eventually you must choose between alternative solutions and then act upon your choice.

    Problem focused strategies can also be directed inward. You can change something about

    yourself instead of changing the environment. You can change your goals, find alternatives

    sources of gratification or learn new skills in inward directed strategies. How skilfully people

    employ these strategies depends on their range of experiences and capacity for self control.

    People who tend to use problem focused coping in stressful situations show lower levels of

    depression both during and after the stressful situation (Billings and Moos, 1984)

    Of course, people who are less depressed may find it easier to use problem focused coping.

    But longitudinal studies show that problem focused coping leads to shorter periods of

    depression, even taking into account peoples initial levels of depression. In addition,

    therapies that teach depressed people to use problem focused coping can be effective in

    helping them overcome their depression and react more adaptively to stressors (Nezy, Nezy

    & Perri, 1989)

    3.1.2 Emotion Focused Coping

    People engage in emotion focused coping to prevent their negative emotions from

    overwhelming them and making them unable to take action to solve their problems. They

    also use emotion focused coping when a problem is uncontrollable. We try to cope with our

    negative emotions in many ways. Some researchers have divided these into behavioural

    strategies and cognitive strategies (Moos, 1988).

    Behavioural strategies include engaging in physical exercise, using alcohol or other drugs,

    venting anger & seeking emotional support from friends. Cognitive strategies include

    temporarily setting the problem aside & reducing the threat before changing the meaning of

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    the situation. Cognitive strategies involve reappraising the situation. Obviously some

    behaviour and cognitive strategies tend to be adaptive and others to cause merely more stress.

    3.1.3 Avoidance Coping

    Individuals who choose to follow an avoidant coping strategy effectively choose to remove

    themselves from the situation, while a problem or emotion focused strategy implies that they

    remain in the situation (Kowalski and Crocker, 2001). This removal may be conceptualized

    as physical or psychological. Since avoidance coping may remove the individual from the

    stressful experience, it may be adaptive, and help individuals to manage feelings of distress

    (Rotondo et al 2003). Individuals removal of themselves from the stressful situation may be

    characterized as temporary or permanent, and when avoidance coping is used in combinationwith active coping strategies, it may also carry adaptive potential (Koeske, Kirk, and Koeske,

    1993).

    It seems that the more stress individuals experience, the more likely they are to opt for

    avoidant coping strategies (Ingledew, Hardy, and Cooper, 1997; Koeske et al 1993). Research

    results, however, suggest that ingeneral avoidance coping is associated with poorer outcomes,

    especially over time, as demonstrated in longitudinal studies (Ingledew et al., 1997; Koeske

    et al 1993; Snow et al. 2003). The situation or context in whichavoidance coping is the

    preferred strategy is again of relevance (Anshel and Wells, 2000). If the situation does not

    immediately permit individuals to address the problem, it would be to their detriment to

    continue investing effort in solving it. As such, temporary avoidance may be conceptualized

    as an adaptive strategy, where the individual waits for a more appropriate time to deal with

    and possibly resolve the problem, if it does not require immediate attention.

    3.1.4 Reappraisal

    As the name suggests, reappraisal is merely another appraisal. This further appraisal may be

    based on information taken from the situation or context, or on individuals own perception of

    their coping effort and interaction with the situation or context. A reappraisal is simply an

    appraisal that follows an earlier appraisal in the same encounter, and modifies it. In essence,

    appraisal and reappraisal do not differ (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984).

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    What seems especially helpful is when individuals can reappraise the challenges they face as

    something positive. Individuals who report more positive reappraisals report greater levels of

    mental health (Oxladet al2004; and general well being (Garnefski, Bann,and Kraaij, 2005).

    3.1.5 Social Support as a Coping Technique

    One strategy that appears to help people adjust emotionally and physically to a stressor is

    seeking emotional support from others. Pennebahu (1990) has found that people who reveal

    personal traumas tend to show more positive physical health both shortly after the trauma and

    in the long run.

    Sometimes, social support is not conceptualized as a separate coping strategy at all, but rather

    as a facilitative resource that enables other coping behaviours (Endler and Parker, 1990). In

    other instances, social support is seen as a coping strategy that represents a mixture of

    problem and emotion focused strategies (Ben Zur, 1999). In other words, individuals may

    make use of social support to alleviate the source of stress (asking someone to help you or

    give you needed information resource), or utilize social support to get rid of the source of

    stress (asking someone to take care of the matter, or solve the problem for you strategy).

    Coping may also be directed as serving an interpersonal function (Coyne and Smith, 1991;

    Delongis and OBrien, 1990). This function refers to coping aimed at the maintenance and

    protection of such relationships may be an important consideration during stressful periods,

    especially when this stress originates from interpersonal issues (OBrien and DeLongis,

    1996).

    Regarding social support, it is both the perceived availability (Snow et al, 2003), and perhaps

    more importantly, the mobilization of available support that should be considered (Rotondo

    et al 2003) and perhaps more importantly, the mobilization of available support that should

    be considered (Rotondo et al 2003). If social support is available, it may facilitate an

    individuals use of more active coping strategies (Heaney, House, Israel and Mero, 1997;

    Snow et al 2003). Thus, if individuals are under the impression that there is someone to ask

    for help, they may feel more comfortable and inclined to ask for help. Billings and Moos

    (1980) also suggest a negative spiral for those who do not perceive themselves as enjoying

    social support. They prefer avoidance as coping strategy and thereby isolate themselves

    further socially.

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    3.2 Maddi and Kobasa (1984) talked about two forms of coping: a) transformational and b)

    regressive. Transformational coping involves altering the events so they are less stressful. To

    do this, one has to interact with the events, and by thinking about them optimistically and

    acting towards them decisively, change them in a less stressful direction. Regressive

    approach, on the other hand, includes a strategy wherein one thinks about the events

    pessimistically and acts evasively to avoid contact with them.

    There are certain resistance resources that increase the likelihood of meeting stressful events

    with transformational rather than regressive coping. The most important of these is

    personality hardiness (Kobasa 1979). Kobasa noted that personality hardiness combines these

    tendencies, namely toward committment rather than alienation, toward control rather than

    powerlessness, and towards challenge rather than threat. When stressful events occur, hardy

    people do experience them as stressful, but also as somewhat interesting and important

    (commitment), at least somewhat influence able (control), and of potential value for personal

    development (challenge).

    3.3 Lazarus (1975) has suggested a classification of coping processes which emphasizes two

    major categories, namely, direct actions and palliative modes. Direct action includes

    behaviours or actions which when performed by the organism in face of a stressful situation

    is expected to bring about a change in stress causing environment. The palliative mode of

    coping refers to those thoughts or actions whose purpose is to relieve the organism of any

    emotional impact of stress. There is, however no clear consensus as to which coping

    strategies or modes of coping are most effective.

    3.4 (Pareek, 1983): Coping may either take the form of avoiding the situation (reactive

    strategy), i.e. dysfunctional style, or confronting and approaching the problem (proactive

    strategy), i.e. functional style. One category consists of persons who decide to suffer from,

    accept or deny the experienced stress, or put the blame on somebody (self or others) or

    something for being in that stressful situation. These are passive or avoidance strategies and

    are termed as dysfunctional styles of coping with stress situations. The other category

    consists of persons facing the realities of stress consciously, and taking some action to solve

    the problems themselves or with the help of other people. These are active approaches and

    are termed as functional styles of dealing with stressful situations and are more approved by

    social scientists as these are supposed to be more effective and healthy when compared to the

    dysfunctional styles.

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    The above classification is not intended to suggest that people use one kind of coping process

    or another exclusively. Rather, it is common knowledge that different persons employ

    compiles and varied combinations of different strategies to deal with the same kind of stress.

    An issue that can be raised while discussing the effectiveness of various coping styles is

    whether some ways of coping with stress are more effective than others. Any answer to this

    problem would depend upon the particular situation, the points of time (short or long run) in

    which stress is being felt, i.e. what may be considered an optimal or a beneficial response in

    one situation at a particular point of time may be damaging or ineffective in some other

    situation or at a different point of time.

    4 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COPING STRATEGIES

    Clearly, there are numerous strategies that people could use for coping with stress. The

    question is do men and women use the same ones? Research findings on this point are quite

    mixed. Moreover, the means of classifying coping strategies can be quite different across

    studies. For example, some researchers make a distinction between problem focused and

    emotion focused strategies and have shown that men tend to use the more adaptive problem

    focused coping mechanisms whereas women tend to use less adaptive emotion focused

    methods (Trocki & Orilio, 1994; Vingerhoets & Van Heck, 1990). Men may be socialized to

    deal with stress instrumentally, whereas women may be socialized to deal with stress

    instrumentally, whereas women may be socialized to express emotion (Burke, Weir &

    DuWors, 1980; Maniero, 1986). Given the same stressor, it is thought that men are more

    likely to be problem focused whereas women are more likely to be emotion focused (Burke

    & Belcourt, 1974; Smith & Zanas, 1992). In a recent study (Narayanan et al 1999), men

    reported using problem solving coping (taking direct action or taking the problem up with

    their supervisor or head) more than did women, but this gender difference disappeared when

    the researchers examined how higher level professionals (professors) coped with stress. For

    this group of workers, both men and women preferred problem focused strategies (Narayanan

    et al 1999).

    Other researchers differentiate between control and escape coping mechanisms and have

    shown that men may use more control coping strategies (e.g. thinking about solutions,

    gathering information or taking actions) than do women (Billings and Moos, 1980). Women,

    on the other hand, tend to use more escape coping strategies (e.g. venting or expressing

    emotions, feeling more depressed, or avoiding stressful situations; Ptacek et al 1994). One

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    exception to this pattern is that men are more likely to engage in particular types of escape

    coping strategies, like alcohol and drug abuse (Davidson & Cooper, 1984; Carver, Scheier 7

    Weintraub, 1986, 1986). Gianakos (2000) found a similar pattern whereby men are more

    likely to use strategies that may not be adaptive in the long run, such as coping with

    workplace stress using alcohol more often than do women, whereas women were more likely

    than men to cope by working longer and harder. In her conclusions, Ginakos (2002) argues

    that coping style may indeed be better predicted by gender role than by sex.

    In her recent review, Greenglass (2002) goes even further. She argues that when demographic

    factors such as education, occupation, and position are controlled in statistical analyses, few

    gender differences emerge in coping strategies. In her view, coping strategies may, therefore

    have less to do with gender than with other forms of resources usually associated with

    gender, such as status and power. This may help explain the mixed results in htis area of

    research. For instance, a recent study by Christie and Schultz (1998) found only minimal

    support for the claim that men and women use different coping mechanisms. Contrary to their

    hypotheses, the authors found that women use control coping slightly more than do men but

    that they used escape coping to the same extent. Men also reported higher levels of exercise

    than did women, suggesting that men are more likely to use exercise to cope with stress than

    are women, whereas women reported receiving higher levels of emotional social support than

    did men (Christie and Schultz, 1998).

    5 EFFECTIVE & INEFFECTIVE COPING

    5.1 Effective Coping

    Effective methods of coping either remove the source of stress or control our reactions to it.

    5.1.1 Removing Stress: One effective way of dealing with stress is to remove the source of

    stress from our lives. Coping with stress can take the form of locating its source and

    eliminating it. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

    5.1.2 Cognitive Coping: Our cognitions are intimately linked to our reactions to stressful

    events. One effective method of coping, then, might be to change how we think about or

    interpret the events that push and shove our lives. Finding an interpretation that is realistic

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    and minimizes the stress of the events of our lives is the key part of coping with stress

    (Taylor, 1999).

    5.1.3 Managing stress reactions: When the source of stress cannot realistically be removed

    or changed, another effective option is to manage our psychological and physiological

    reactions to the stress. One strategy might be to schedule as much time as possible for

    relaxing activities, such as aerobic exercise, hobbies or time with friends. Another would be

    to seek special training from a psychologist in controlling body reactions to stress by learning

    to deeply relax the large body muscles.

    5.2 Ineffective Coping

    Unfortunately, many of our efforts to cope with stress are ineffective . they may provide

    temporary relief from the discomfort produced by stress but do little to provide a long term

    solution and may even make matters worse. The common but ineffective coping strategies are

    as follows:

    5.2.1 Withdrawal: Sometimes we deal with stress by withdrawing from it.it is important to

    note that, it is not what you do, but how and why you do it, that makes a coping strategy

    effective or ineffective. There is also a big difference between actually removing a source of

    stress and withdrawing from it.

    Aggression: A common reaction to frustration and other stressful situations is aggression.

    5.2.2 Defense Mechanisms: According to Freud, one of the key functions of the ego is to

    defend the person from a buildup of uncomfortable tension. When something stressful

    occurs (such as frustration or embarrassment)or when conflict arises because the superego

    blocks an id desire, tension is created that must be discharged somehow. Freud believed that

    ego possesses a small arsenal of defense mechanisms that are unconsciously used to

    discharge tension. When they are not overused, defense mechanisms can be a relatively

    harmless crutch to a healthy personality all of us use them to some extent. Unfortunately,

    many individuals rely too heavily on defense mechanisms. The major defense mechanisms

    are as follows:

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    5.2.2.1 Displacement: When its unsafe or inappropriate to express aggressive or sexual

    feelings toward the person who is creating stress, that feeling can be directed toward someone

    safe.

    5.2.2.2 Sublimation: Stressful events or dangerous feelings or motives are reduced by

    converting the impulses into socially approved activities.

    5.2.2.3 Projection: Ones own dangerous or unacceptable desires or emotions are seen not as

    ones own but as the desires or feelings of others.

    5.2.2.4 Reaction Formation: Conflicts over dangerous motives or feelings are avoided by

    unconsciously transforming them into the opposite desire.

    5.2.2.5 Regression: Stress may be reduced by returning to an earlier pattern of behaviour.

    5.2.2.6 Rationalization: Stress is reduced by explaining it away in ways that sound logical

    and socially acceptable.

    5.2.2.7 Repression: Potentially stressful, unacceptable desires are kept out of consciousness

    without person being consciously aware that the repression is occurring.

    5.2.2.8 Denial: Upsetting or threatening thoughts and emotions related to stressful events are

    not allowed into conscious awareness.

    5.2.2.9 Intellectualization: the emotional nature of stressful events is lessened at times by

    reducing it to cold, intellectual logic.

    Defense mechanisms can be effective in the short run in helping us feel better, but they

    inhibit long term solutions to stress if they distort reality to a greater extent.

    6 COPING PROFILE OF SOME GROPUPS

    6.1 Using Projective instrument for Coping Styles (PICS)

    Profiles of coping styles adopted by professional women were drawn

    Finding:

    Most often adopted defensive style

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    Dysfunctional & Avoidance styles twice as often

    Women entrepreneurs used approach oriented style more than professional

    women

    6.2 Gupta and Murthy (1984)

    Role conflict & Coping strategies: Indian Women

    Most Popular: Personal Role Re definition

    Strategy associated with low role conflict & low Satisfaction with coping

    Reactive role behavior: Associated with high role conflict & low satisfaction withcoping.

    Adjustment & Compromise: Commonly used & successful methods of coping

    6.3 S. Ahmad et al. (1990)

    Stress & coping strategies: Technocrats

    Difference in coping styles of male & female technocrats on Role PICS.

    Sample: 100 executive technocrats (60 males & 40 females)

    Executive technocrats:

    Introspective style

    Defensive

    Extrapersistive

    Men: Defensive style

    Female: Approach style

    Demographic Variables (age, no. of dependents, income, drinking/smoking

    habits, health of the individual): Effect on coping strategies

    6.4 Kaur & Murthy (1986)

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    Coping strategies: Managerial Personnel Different levels Public sector

    Findings:

    Level wise differences

    Junior level: Avoidance strategies

    Senior level: Approach strategies

    Defensive style: Junior management

    Impunitive: Middle management

    Intropersistive: Senior/Top management

    Positive correlation

    Role stress & Avoidance strategies

    Role stress & Externality

    Externality & Avoidance strategies

    Negative Correlation

    Organizational role stress & Approach strategies

    6.5 S. Singh (1988)

    Examined modifying effects of coping strategies(Approach & Avoidance) on relation

    between perceived role stress & mental health.

    Efficacy of 2 modes in modifying effect of perceived role stress was tested.

    Sample: 300 employees supervisory cadre LIC

    Findings:

    Employees experienced stress had effect on mental health

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    Employees high role stress more symptoms: Free floating anxiety, obsessive

    neurosis, neurotic depression, hysterical neurosis, phobic anxiety, & somatic

    Concomitants of anxiety.

    6.6 Sharma & Acharya (1991)

    Dominant coping strategies (engineers: 150 Males 30 to 44 yrs Working in state

    electrical board to deal with job hierarchy & anxiety.

    Scales:

    Role PICS(Pareek, 1983) and Job Anxiety (A.K. Srivastava, 1974)

    Findings:

    Causal relation between coping & Job anxiety is bidirectional.

    6.7 A. K. Srivastava (1991)

    Examined effects of avoidance & approach modes of coping in relation to

    organizational stress & mental health.

    Sample:

    300 supervisory personnel(38- 51 yrs)

    Scales:

    ORS Scale (Pareek, 1983)

    Mental Health Questionnaire (O.N. Srivastava & V. K. Bhatt, 1974)

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    Role PICS (Pareek, 1983)

    Findings:

    Role Stress positively correlated to mental illness. Stress from role ambiguity & role

    stagnation correlated intensively with mental illness

    Total role stress correlated with somatic concomitants of anxiety

    Approach group experienced more role stress, but scored lower on mental health

    questionnaire

    6.8 Srivastava & Krishna (1997)

    Examined relation between approach, avoidance mode & mental health of supervisors

    Sample: 300 LIC employees (32 54 yrs)

    Scales:

    Role PICS (Pareek, 1983)

    Mental Health Questionnaire (O. N. Srivastava & V. K. Bhatt, 1974)

    Avoidance mode of coping manifested Severe symptoms of neuroticism

    Avoidance coping: more symptoms of somatic concomitant followed by neurotic

    depression

    Avoidance coping: positive correlation with 6 dimensions of mental ill health

    Approach coping: Negative correlation with symptoms of mental ill health

    Two locus of stress in combination with avoidance mode did not differ in their effect

    on mental health of supervisors.

    Perceived internality & externality of stress had different effects on mental health of

    supervisors when combined with approach mode

    Supervisors using approach externality coping strategies manifested more severe

    symptoms of mental ill health than approach internality

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    Major issues to be addressed in understanding link between individual coping efforts

    & mental health

    Causal directionality

    Additive versus interaction mechanism

    Effect of perceived coping efficacy on relation between coping strategies &

    psychological symptoms

    6.9 Verma et al. (1995)

    Examined coping strategies college students

    Sample: 2 groups - 120 male & 85 female students (19 20 yrs).

    Scale: Reaction to Hassles/ Coping Strategies Questionnaire

    Results were discussed under 4 coping styles: Seeking help, cognitive appraisal,

    emotional defusing, withdrawal.

    Findings:

    Difficult situations: coped in mature manner

    Daily problems: Withdrawal

    Gender differences:

    Males: Refuge in alcohol/drugs

    Confronted the problem

    Females: Resorted to prayer & hoped for better

    Became emotionally upset

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