Coping Strategies and Subjective Well-being: Context Matters

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that the functionality of coping strategies may in part depend on the context in which they are executed. Thus far, functionality has mostly been defined through the associations of coping strategies with psychopathology, particularly depression. Whether associations of coping strategies with proxies for happiness such as subjective well-being (SWB) are simply inverse remains to be shown. A total of n = 836 individuals from the U. S. general population participated in an online survey that included a revised version of the Maladaptive and Adaptive Coping Styles Questionnaire (MAX-R) that incorporates context-specific items, the Scale of Positive and Negative Affect (SPANE), the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Web Screening Questionnaire (WSQ). The MAX-R was submitted to an exploratory factor analysis. The factor analysis of the MAX-R yielded four subscales: adaptive, maladaptive, avoidance, and expressive suppression coping. Similar strategies in different contexts at times loaded on the same (e.g., maladaptive) or different (e.g., adaptive and avoidance) dimensions. Hierarchical multiple linear regression revealed significant associations of adaptive coping with SPANE (ß = 0.21), TSWLS (ß = 0.03), and PHQ-9 (ß = 0.07), all ps < .001, of maladaptive coping with SPANE (ß = − 0.19), TSWLS (ß = − 0.10), and PHQ-9 (ß = 0.02), all ps < .01, of avoidance with PHQ-9 (ß = 0.01, p < .001), and of expressive suppression with SPANE (ß = − 0.06) and TSWLS (ß = − 0.16), ps < .005. Final models explained 64.6% of variance in SPANE, 41.8% of variance in TSWLS, and 55% of variance in PHQ-9 score. In some instances, the functionality of coping strategies appears to be impacted by contextual factors. When investigating the overall benefit of use versus nonuse of coping strategies, their association with psychopathology measures and with subjective well-being should both be considered.

Are Coping Strategies, Emotional Abilities, and Resilience Predictors of Well-Being? Comparison of Linear and Non-Linear Methodologies

“…This construct comprises two dimensions: the cognitive dimension, which refers to life satisfaction; and the affective dimension, consisting of positive and negative affect [ 3 ]. Positive affect involves experiencing pleasant moods and emotions, whereas negative affect involves unpleasant emotions and moods [ 4 ]. On the other hand, life satisfaction refers to people’s overall evaluation of themselves, and the degree to which they experience a sense of well-being [ 5 ].…”

“…EI abilities are closely linked to coping, which is understood as those cognitive and behavioural efforts used to deal with stressful or conflict situations [ 12 ]. EI and successful coping have been mainly related to problem-focused coping strategies, such as planning, positive re-appraisal, and seeking social support [ 4 , 13 , 14 ]. Furthermore, both EI and adaptive coping strategies appear to be variables closely linked to psychological resilience and have been found to work together to predict different positive mental health outcomes [ 11 , 15 , 16 ].…”

Mediating Model of College Students’ Chinese Zhongyong Culture Thinking Mode and Depressive Symptoms

“…By contrast, negative and neutral coping styles had significant positive consequences. Other empirical studies 24,25 have shown that individuals who adopt negative coping styles have higher levels of depression.…”

Creativity, Readiness for Changes and Tolerance for Ambiguity

“…Today, there is a problem of negative impact of the global pandemic, economic uncertainty, socio-economic and socio-cultural factors, instability on the individual (Godinic et al, 2020;Sibley et al, 2020;Varina & Gworys, 2020), so the scientists look for the ways to overcome these negative manifestations (Fischer et al, 2021). In scientific works, the solution to the abovementioned problems is seen in the realization of a person's creative potential in his/her professional activity, as evidenced by the clear correlation between creativity and the level of a person's ambiguous perception (Robinson et al, 2019), in the formation of a person's competences, aimed at further creative activity, development of critical thinking, anticipation of opportunities, tolerance for ambiguity (Cropley, 2020).…”