Appraised control, coping, and stress in a community sample: A test of the goodness-of-fit hypothesis

Abstract

Lazarus and Folkman proposed one of the most comprehensive theories of stress and coping in the psychology literature, but many of their postulates have received little empirical attention, and some of the existing research hasyielded contradictory findings. This longitudinal study sought to clarify the associations among control appraisal, coping, and stress within this theoreticalframework. The theory postulates that coping strategies used tend to match the level of appraised controllability of the stressor (matching hypothesis). It further states that the effects of problem-focused versus emotion-focused coping are moderated by the appraised controllability of the stressor (goodness-of-fit hypothesis). An alternative to the latter is the main-effects hypothesis, which states that problem-focused coping is generally more effective in reducing distress regardless of appraisal. These hypotheses were tested on 72 adults who completed questionnaires on coping and control appraisal. Stress was assessed using self-report (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised) and a behavioral measure (proofreading task) at two times approximately 2 months apart. Appraised control significantly predicted type of coping such that greater control was associated with more problem-focused and less emotion-focused coping. Although the main-effects hypothesis was not supported, the goodness-of-fit hypothesis was partly confirmed by a significant control by emotion-focused coping interaction predicting both self-report and behavioral measures of stress.

Changes in cognition over a 16.1 km cycling time trial using Think Aloud protocol: Preliminary evidence

“…Being able to pace an event correctly is generally at the forefront of a performer's thought process, especially during the start of an event (Zakowski et al, 2001). In addition, other factors unaccounted for may have contributed to this higher number of verbalisations earlier in the race.…”

Uncertainty and perceived personal control among parents of children with rare chromosome conditions: The role of genetic counseling

“…The Likert scale measuring perceived personal control, previously used by Zakowski et al [2001], was modified to assess the parents' perceived personal control of their child's condition. Participants were asked, ''On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 ¼ no control to 10 ¼ a lot of control), how much control do you feel you have over your child's condition?''…”

“…Rather, counseling strategies should focus on ways to cope with the serious nature of the child's condition. In situations that are less amenable to personal control, emotion-focused coping strategies are more often considered adaptive [Zakowski et al, 2001]. …”

“…In situations where there are high levels of uncertainty, genetic counselors must address the lack of available information and then help the parent to identify effective coping strategies. In the case of a generally uncontrollable event, a more emotionfocused approach to coping may work best to reduce stress because one's internal state may be more amenable to change than the situation itself [Zakowski et al, 2001]. This is referred to as the goodness-of-fit concept in the stress and coping literature.…”

Testing a Model of Stress and Health Using Meta-Analytic Path Analysis

“…Research (Park, Armeli, & Tennen, 2004;Zakowski, Hall, Klein, & Baum, 2001) has revealed that the greater the sense of personal control (i.e., internal controllers) people have when facing stress, the greater they will make use of problem-focused coping strategies. Bandura's concept of self-efficacy (1986) explained that internal controllers believe in their ability to solve problems and will plan ahead to prevent stress from getting out of control.…”