Stress, coping, and development : an integrative perspective

How do people cope with stressful experiences? What makes a coping strategy effective for a particular individual? This volume comprehensively examines the nature of psychosocial stress and the implications of different coping strategies for adaptation and health across the lifespan. Carolyn M. Aldwin synthesizes a vast body of knowledge within a conceptual framework that emphasizes the transactions between mind and body and between persons and environments. She analyzes different kinds of stressors and their psychological and physiological effects, both negative and positive. Ways in which coping is influenced by personality, relationships, situational factors, and culture are explored. The book also provides a methodological primer for stress and coping research, critically reviewing available measures and data analysis techniques.

Author Notes

Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University.

Chapter 1 Introduction and Purpose of the Book	p. 1
Mind-Body Transactions	p. 2
Person-Environment Transactions	p. 7
Organization of the Book	p. 9
Chapter 2 Why Is Stress Important?	p. 13
Intrinsic Interest	p. 13
Relevance of Stress to Psychosocial Models of Adaptation	p. 15
Relevance of Stress to Biomedical Models of Adaptation	p. 17
Summary	p. 22
Chapter 3 Definition of Stress	p. 23
Components of the Stress Process	p. 25
Stress as a State of the Organism	p. 27
Stress as an External Event	p. 28
Stress as a Transaction between the person and the Environment	p. 31
The Role of Emotions and Cognition in Reactions to Stress	p. 34
Summary	p. 36
Chaptper 4 The Physiology of Stress	p. 37
Neuroendocrine Responses to Stress	p. 37
Immune Responses to Stress	p. 46
Cellular Resistance to Stress	p. 52
Summary	p. 53
Chapter 5 Design and Measurement Issues in Stress Research	p. 55
General Observations	p. 55
Design Issues in Stress Research	p. 57
Problems in Causal Directionality	p. 59
Different Approaches to Stress Measurement	p. 62
Which Measure to Use?	p. 79
Clinical Interviews	p. 80
Laboratory Stressors	p. 81
Summary	p. 82
Chapter 6 Why Is Coping Important?	p. 84
Intrinsic Interest	p. 86
Mythopoetic Roots	p. 86
Changes in Social Roles	p. 88
Relevance of Coping to Psychosocial Models of Adaptation	p. 91
Relevance to Biomedical Models of Adaptation	p. 93
Differentiating between Adaptation, Coping, and Emotional Responds	p. 95
Summary	p. 97
Chapter 7 Theoretical Approaches to Coping	p. 98
Person-Based Definitions of Coping	p. 100
Situational Determinants of Coping	p. 113
Cognitive Approaches	p. 115
More Recent Approaches to Coping and Adaptation	p. 117
Summary	p. 125
Chapter 8 Measurement of Coping Strategies	p. 127
Coping Styles versus Coping Processes	p. 129
Retrospective versos Experience-Sampling Approaches	p. 134
Factor Structure Instability	p. 136
General versus Specific Coping Strategies	p. 139
Rating Scales	p. 141
Summary	p. 144
Appendix 8.1 Bibliography of Coping Scales	p. 145
Chapter 9 Statistical Issues in Coping Research	p. 161
Mechanisms of Coping Effects	p. 161
Statistical Analyses for Testing Mediating and Moderating Effects	p. 166
Longitudinal Analysis of Stress and Coping Data	p. 175
Summary	p. 180
Chapter 10 Coping and Mental Health	p. 181
Confounds between Assessment and Outcome	p. 182
Situational Modifiers of Coping Effects	p. 183
Patterns of Coping	p. 186
Coping Effort	p. 187
Causal Directionality and Coping Interventions	p. 189
Individual Differences in Coping Effectiveness	p. 191
What Is the Appropriate Outcome of Coping Strategies?	p. 192
Summary	p. 193
Chapter 11 Coping and Physical Health	p. 195
Adaptation to Illness	p. 197
Coping and Illness Outcomes	p. 202
Summary	p. 207
Chapter 12 Coping with Traumatic Stress	p. 210
Defining Trauma	p. 211
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder	p. 212
Coping with Trauma	p. 220
Summary	p. 238
Chapter 13 Sociocultural Aspects of Coping	p. 239
Social Aspects of Coping	p. 239
Culture and Stress	p. 245
Culture and Coping	p. 257
Institutions as Coping Mechanisms	p. 266
Summary	p. 270
Chapter 14 Developmental Studies of Coping	p. 271
Coping in Infancy and Childhood	p. 272
Developmental Changes in Stress and Coping in Adulthood	p. 292
Summary	p. 304
Chapter 15 Stress-Related Growth and Transformational Coping	p. 305
Arguments for the Developmental Implications of Stress	p. 308
Stress as an Impetus for Psychosocial Development	p. 315
Stress as an Impetus for Physiological Development	p. 332
Models of Positive and Negative Stress Outcomes	p. 336
Summary	p. 340
Chapter 16 Self-Regulation, Self-Development and Wisdom	p. 341
Transactionism and Coping	p. 342
Free Will versus Deterministic Models of Adaptation	p. 345
Mindful Coping and Wisdom	p. 354
Summary	p. 357
Reference	p. 359
Index	p. 419

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