Primary and secondary control among children undergoing medical procedures: Adjustment as a function of coping style.

Abstract

The literature suggests that optimal adjustment to relatively uncontrollable stressors may require adjusting oneself to the stressors rather than trying to alter them. This possibility was explored, for low-controllability stressors (e.g., painful medical procedures) associated with leukemia. Children's reports of coping strategies and goals were classified as primary control coping (attempts to alter objective conditions), secondary control coping (attempts to adjust oneself to objective conditions), or relinquished control (no attempt to cope). Secondary control coping was positively associated with (a) general behavioral adjustment assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist and (b) illness-specific adjustment assessed by children's own distress ratings and by behavioral observations during painful procedures. All significant group differences showed better adjustment among secondary control children than among the primary or relinquished groups.

Predictors of Functional Impairment in Children and Adolescents

“…Coping styles have been related to a higher or lower number of symptoms (avoidant vs. approach coping) (Herman-Stahl, Stemmler, & Petersen, 1995), a good general behavioral adjustment (in the case of a style characterized by adjusting oneself to objective conditions) (Weisz, McCabe, & Dennig, 1994), and decreasing behavioral disturbance (flexibility in coping) (Radovanovic, 1993). In our sample, those children who reported that in case of problems they would develop selfreliance (tried to see good things, to figure out how to deal with the problem) and investing in close friends (seek closeness and understanding from a peer), that is, those who used coping actions through the appraisal of the situation or focusing on the problem, were more impaired.…”

Developing coping typologies of minority adolescents: A latent profile analysis

“…These forms of coping are generally considered positive strategies that lead to more adaptive outcomes (Carver et al 1993;Compass, Malcarne, & Fondacaro, 1988;Emmons, Colby, & Kaiser, 1998). Their increased use of acceptance indicates that active adolescent copers are likely more capable of conceptualizing stressors beyond their control, an adaptive function to cope with uncontrollable stressors (Altshuler & Ruble, 1989;Compas, Malcarne, & Fondacaro, 1988;Weisz, McCabe, & Denning, 1994). Greater use of religious coping has also been shown to enhance stress-related growth and improve adjustment in individuals for which religiosity is particularly salient (Emmons, Colby, & Kaiser, 1998;Pargament, Koenig, & Perez, 2000;Park, Cohen, & Murch, 1996).…”

Intervenção psicológica lúdica para o enfrentamento da hospitalização em crianças com câncer

“…Em se tratando da investigação sobre enfrentamento em contextos de saúde, verificam-se, na literatura sobre o câncer infantil, metodologias de avaliação que incluem entrevistas semiestruturadas (McCaffrey, 2006) e estruturadas (Weisz, McCabe & Dennig, 1994), além de escalas de observação (Blount & cols., 1990;Costa Jr., 1999;Manne, Bakeman, Jacobsen & Redd, 1993;Tucker, Slifer & Dahlquist, 2001) e de autorrelato (Motta & Enumo, 2004), especialmente elaboradas para a identificação das estratégias de enfrentamento. O estudo exploratório de McCaffrey (2006), por exemplo, identificou a distração, caracterizada por comportamentos de assistir TV e ouvir música, como sendo a estratégia mais frequentemente relatada por crianças submetidas à quimioterapia.…”