Ways of coping

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and their environment. Likewise, coping is also seen as a similar interaction between the
person and the stressor. Further, in the same way that Lazarus and colleagues described
responses to stress as involving primary appraisal of the external stressor and secondary
appraisal of the person’s internal resources coping is seen to involve regulation of the
external stressor and regulation of the internal emotional response. Cohen and Lazarus
(1979) defined the goals of coping as the following:
1. To reduce stressful environmental conditions and maximize the chance of recovery;
2. To adjust or tolerate negative events;
3. To maintain a positive self-image;
4. To maintain emotional equilibrium; and
5. To continue satisfying relationship with others.
Styles, processes and strategies
When discussing coping, some research focuses on ‘styles’, some on ‘processes’ and some
on ‘strategies’. At times this may just reflect a different use of terminology. However, it
also reflects an ongoing debate within the coping literature concerning whether coping
should be considered a ‘trait’ similar to personality, or whether it should be considered a
‘state’ which is responsive to time and situation. The notion of a ‘style’ tends to reflect the
‘trait’ perspective and suggests that people are quite consistent in the way that they cope.
The notions of ‘process’ or ‘strategy’ tends to reflect a ‘state’ perspective suggesting that
people cope in different ways depending upon the time of their life and the demands of
the situation.
Ways of coping
Researchers have described different types of coping. Some differentiate between
approach and avoidance coping, whilst others describe emotion focused and problem
focused coping.
Approach versus avoidance
Roth and Cohen (1986) defined two basic modes of coping, approach and avoidance.
Approach coping involves confronting the problem, gathering information and taking
direct action. In contrast avoidant coping involves minimizing the importance of the
event. People tend to show one form of coping or the other although it is possible for
someone to manage one type of problem by denying it and other by making specific
plans. Some researchers have argued that approach coping is consistently more adaptive
than avoidant coping. However, research indicates that the effectiveness of the coping
style depends upon the nature of the stressor. For example, avoidant coping might be
more effective for short-term stressors (Wong and Kaloupek 1986), but less effective for
longer-term stressors (Holahan and Moos 1986). Therefore, it might be best to avoid
thinking about a one-off stressor such as going to the dentist but make plans and attend
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270 HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
to a longer-term stressor such as marital conflict. Some researchers have also explored
repressive coping (Myers 2000) and emotional (non) expression (Solano et al. 2001)
which are similar to avoidance coping.
Problem focused versus emotion focused (also known as
instrumentality – emotionality)
In contrast to the dichotomy between approach and avoidant coping, the problem and
emotion focused dimensions reflect types of coping strategies rather than opposing
styles. People can show both problem focused coping and emotional focused coping
when facing a stressful event. For example, Tennen et al. (2000) examined daily coping
in people with rheumatoid arthritis and showed that problem focused and emotion
focused coping usually occurred together and that emotion focused coping was 4.4 times
more likely to occur on a day when problem focused coping had occurred than when it
had not.
Problem focused coping:
This involves attempts to take action to either reduce the
demands of the stressor or to increase the resources available to manage it. Examples of
problem focused coping include devising a revision plan and sticking to it, setting an
agenda for a busy day, studying for extra qualifications to enable a career change and
organizing counselling for a failing relationship.
Emotion focused coping:
This involves attempts to manage the emotions evoked by
the stressful event. People use both behavioural and cognitive strategies to regulate their
emotions. Examples of behavioural strategies include talking to friends about a problem,
turning to drink or smoking more or getting distracted by shopping or watching a film.
Examples of cognitive strategies include denying the importance of the problem and
trying to think about the problem in a positive way.
Several factors have been shown to influence which coping strategy is used:
Type of problem:
Work problems seem to evoke more problem focused coping
whereas health and relationship problems tend to evoke emotion focused coping
(Vitaliano et al. 1990).
Age: Children tend to use more problem focused coping strategies whereas emotion
focused strategies seems to develop in adolescence (Compas et al. 1991, 1996). Folkman
et al. (1987) reported that middle aged men and women tended to use problem focused
coping whereas the elderly used emotion focused coping.
Gender: It is generally believed that women use more emotion focused coping and
that men are more problem focused. Some research supports this belief. For example,
Stone and Neale (1984) considered coping with daily events and reported that men were
more likely to direct action than women. However, Folkman and Lazarus (1980) and
Hamilton and Fagot (1988) found no gender differences.
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