THE MANY FORMS OF AGEISM: AGE DIFFERENCES IN EXPERIENCE TYPE, EMOTIONAL IMPACT, AND COPING STRATEGIES

This paper looks at the ways in which the mobile phone has become a means through which phatic communication is being expressed. More specifically, the paper shows how, in an impoverished community such as the Wesbank township in South Africa, phatic communication and ‘maintaining a connected presence’ are vital strategies of social networking. In a context of severe and desperate impoverishment, loneliness, chronic unemployment and boredom, the exchange of phatic communicational gestures such as a text message or a short phone call forms one of the many coping strategies that the residents in Wesbank employ to face up to the harsh conditions of poverty and insecurity.

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Age Differences in Stress and Coping: Problem-Focused Strategies Mediate the Relationship Between Age and Positive Affect

The International Journal of Aging and Human Development ◽

10.1177/0091415017720890 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 86 (4) ◽

pp. 347-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yiwei Chen ◽

Yisheng Peng ◽

Huanzhen Xu ◽

William H. O’Brien

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Age Differences ◽

The Past ◽

Different Types ◽

Mediation Hypothesis ◽

And Coping ◽

The Relationship

The present study examined the different types of stressors experienced by adults of different ages, their coping strategies, and positive/negative affect. A mediation hypothesis of coping strategies was tested on the relationships between age and positive/negative affect. One-hundred and ninety-six community-dwelling adults (age range 18–89 years) reported the most stressful situation they experienced in the past month and coping strategies. Levels of positive and negative affect in the past month were also measured. Content analysis revealed age differences in different types of stressors adults reported. Three types of coping strategies were found: problem-focused, positive emotion-focused, and negative emotion-focused coping. Older adults were less likely than younger adults to use problem-focused coping and reported lower levels of positive affect. Path analysis supported the mediation hypothesis, showing that problem-focused coping mediated the relationship between age and positive affect. Implications are discussed on the importance of promoting problem-focused coping among older adults.

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The emotional impact on and coping strategies employed by police teams investigating internet child exploitation.

Traumatology An International Journal ◽

10.1177/1534765608319082 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 20-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Carolyn M. Burns ◽

Jeff Morley ◽

Richard Bradshaw ◽

José Domene

Keyword(s):

Coping Strategies ◽

Emotional Impact ◽

Child Exploitation ◽

And Coping

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Reactive, Agentic, Apathetic, or Challenged? Aging, Emotion, and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Gerontologist ◽

10.1093/geront/gnaa196 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nathaniel A Young ◽

Christian E Waugh ◽

Alyssa R Minton ◽

Susan T Charles ◽

Claudia M Haase ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Older Adult ◽

Age Differences ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Younger Adults ◽

And Coping ◽

Design And Methods

Abstract Background and Objectives Advanced age is generally associated with improved emotional well-being, but the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a global stressor that gravely threatened the physical well-being and ostensibly challenged the emotional well-being of older adults disproportionately. The current study investigated differences in emotional experiences and coping strategies between younger and older adults during the pandemic, and whether these differences were accounted for by age differences in appraisal of the pandemic. Research Design and Methods We asked younger (n = 181) and older adult (n = 176) participants to report their stress, appraisals the pandemic, emotions, and the ways in which they were coping with the pandemic. Results Results indicated that older adults experienced less stress and less negative affect and used greater problem-focused coping and less avoidant coping in response to the pandemic than younger adults. Further, age differences in affect and coping were partially accounted for by age differences in appraisals of the pandemic. Discussion and Implications Despite their objectively higher risk of illness and death due to the pandemic, older adults experienced less negative affect and used more agentic coping strategies than younger adults.

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Coping by metaphors: the versatile function of metaphors in blogs about living with advanced cancer

Medical Humanities ◽

10.1136/medhum-2019-011656 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 267-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anna W Gustafsson ◽

Charlotte Hommerberg ◽

Anna Sandgren

Keyword(s):

Coping Strategies ◽

Advanced Cancer ◽

Metaphor Analysis ◽

Making Sense ◽

Coping Processes ◽

Complex Functions ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Metaphor Use ◽

The Many ◽

And Coping

Living with a life-limiting cancer illness can entail a turmoil of feelings such as constant fear of loss, suffering and dying. Because patients live longer with life-limiting illness, there is a need for enhanced understanding of how people make sense of and cope with the complicated aspects that this life situation brings on. In this article, we explore how bloggers with advanced cancer use metaphors as ways of making sense of their experiences. Our study is theoretically grounded in Conceptual Metaphor Theory, where metaphors are seen as a powerful phenomenon that both reflects and affects our thinking. The data consist of a corpus of blogs written in Swedish by individuals with advanced cancer, and the findings from our linguistic metaphor analysis are consistently interpreted against the backdrop of literature on coping. Our study thus highlights the intersection of linguistic metaphor analysis and psychological theories of coping by illustrating the many and complex functions metaphors can have as part of sense-making processes. Our hermeneutic approach enables us to show some differences among the three most pervasive metaphor domains in our material, battle, journey and imprisonment: the journey and imprisonment domains are more flexible than the battle domain in terms of the different kinds of coping strategies that are actualised by the bloggers’ use of metaphors. One particular finding from our analysis is the way in which the bloggers make use of metaphors to compartmentalise experiences and emotions. Our contention is that careful attention to the metaphors used by patients can improve communication in healthcare and enhance understanding of the complex role language use plays in coping processes more generally. By highlighting the relation between metaphor use and coping, our analysis also provides a way to discuss coping strategies based on the patient’s own use of language.

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Autism: impact of the diagnosis in the parents

Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/0047-2085000000276 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (3) ◽

pp. 149-155

Author(s):

Márcia Cristina Maciel de Aguiar ◽

Milena Pereira Pondé

Keyword(s):

Coping Strategies ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Technical Information ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Emotional Impact ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

The Moment ◽

And Coping ◽

Communication Methods

ABSTRACT Objective To understand how parents react to the diagnosis of autism in their child, and the manner in which the diagnosis was revealed, as well as the method through which the researcher perceived this communication. Methods A qualitative, narrative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were held with 21 mothers and 9 fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in a special needs school in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. In another setting, a specialist university service for the diagnosis of autism located in the same city, data were collected from 11 mothers and 5 fathers receiving diagnosis using ethnographic participant observation. Analysis categories were established, and the data interpreted. Results The categories selected were: “ in search of a diagnosis ”, “ impact of receiving the diagnosis ”, “ patterns of diagnosis communication ”, and “ coping strategies ”. Conclusion The diagnosis of autism is often delayed due to doctors’ unpreparedness. Awareness of their child’s diagnosis exerts a negative emotional impact on parents, which can be softened using coping strategies and diagnosis communication that offers technical information, offers emotional support and provides hope regarding the child’s development. Parents need to be cared for in order to provide for the needs of their children at the moment of diagnosis and throughout the entire process of caring for individuals with ASD.

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The Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS) Scale

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000350 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 352-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Silvia Bonino ◽

Federica Graziano ◽

Martina Borghi ◽

Davide Marengo ◽

Giorgia Molinengo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Measurement Invariance ◽

Sense Of Coherence ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Concurrent Validity ◽

Rasch Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

And Coping

Abstract. This research developed a new scale to evaluate Self-Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (SEMS). The aim of this study was to investigate dimensionality, item functioning, measurement invariance, and concurrent validity of the SEMS scale. Data were collected from 203 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients (mean age, 39.5 years; 66% women; 95% having a relapsing remitting form of MS). Fifteen items of the SEMS scale were submitted to patients along with measures of psychological well-being, sense of coherence, depression, and coping strategies. Data underwent Rasch analysis and correlation analysis. Rasch analysis indicates the SEMS as a multidimensional construct characterized by two correlated dimensions: goal setting and symptom management, with satisfactory reliability coefficients. Overall, the 15 items reported acceptable fit statistics; the scale demonstrated measurement invariance (with respect to gender and disease duration) and good concurrent validity (positive correlations with psychological well-being, sense of coherence, and coping strategies and negative correlations with depression). Preliminary evidence suggests that SEMS is a psychometrically sound measure to evaluate perceived self-efficacy of MS patients with moderate disability, and it would be a valuable instrument for both research and clinical applications.

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