Development of the Coping Flexibility Scale: Evidence for the coping flexibility hypothesis.

Abstract

Coping flexibility was defined as the ability to discontinue an ineffective coping strategy (i.e., evaluation coping) and produce and implement an alternative coping strategy (i.e., adaptive coping). The Coping Flexibility Scale (CFS) was developed on the basis of this definition. Five studies involving approximately 4,400 Japanese college students and employees were conducted to test the hypothesis that flexible coping produces more adaptive outcomes. Studies 1, 2, and 3 provided evidence of the reliability of the CFS scores as well as of its convergent and discriminant validity for Japanese samples. Study 4 further demonstrated that flexible coping was positively associated with improved psychological health, including reduced depression, anxiety, and distress. In Study 5, coping flexibility as measured by the CFS was associated with reduced future depression, even after controlling for the effects of other coping flexibility measures and popular coping strategies. Overall, these results suggest that a valid approach for assessing coping flexibility has been developed and that flexible coping can contribute to psychological health. The implications of these findings for clinical practice are discussed.

Self-Compassion, Stress, and Coping in the Context of Chronic Illness

“…Although cross-sectional, our analyses suggest that self-compassionate individuals with chronic illness may have a repertoire of adaptive coping styles that they call upon to deal with different stressors associated with their illness. This view of self-compassionate individuals is consistent with theory and research on coping flexibility which highlights the benefits of being able to shift among different coping strategies to find the most effective response for psychological health and well-being (Kato, 2012). Examining how self-compassion relates to flexible coping may, therefore, be a fruitful area for future research.…”

Resiliency against stress among athletes

“…It would be worthwhile for further research to examine the importance of flexibility in applying strategies based on the nature of a stressful situation (coping flexibility). Only a few studies in this area have been conducted so far (Kato, 2012). In regard to a sport situation, researchers seek the confirmation of the goodness-of-fit hypothesis, which supposes that the effectiveness of preventive methods depends on the appropriate adjustment between the cognitive appraisal of a stressful situation and coping (Anshel, Raviv, & Jamieson, 2001;Gan & Anshel, 2006;Poliseo & McDonough, 2012).…”

Personal resources and selected aspects of psychological functioning of ill oncological youths

“…O skuteczności podejmowanych działań zaradczych decyduje wrażliwość jednostki na stres oraz zdolność oceny i elastycznej regulacji własnego działania w celu zmniejszenia skutków stresu [40,41]. Zdolność do elastyczności w radzeniu sobie jest z kolei u młodzieży związana m.in.…”

“…Stosowanie wielu strategii pociąga za sobą lepsze skutki dla adaptacji w sytuacji stresowej [26,36,41,51]. W ocenie skuteczności stosowanych strategii radzenia sobie ze stresem trzeba uwzględnić kontekst, w tym wydarzenia życiowe i doświad-czenia życiowe.…”

“…W większości przypadków chorzy nie ograniczają się tylko do jednej formy. Stosowanie zaś wielu strategii radzenia sobie ze stresem zwiększa skuteczność oraz pozwala na lepsze psychologiczne przystosowanie się [39,41]. Także trening w zakresie aktywnych technik radzenia sobie może przynieść trwałą poprawę stanu emocjonalnego, co zaobserwowano w grupie osób zmagających się z chorobą nowotworową [36,52].…”