The interacting effects of coping styles and situational variables in gynecologic settings: Implications for research and treatment
- 1 January 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Vol. 9 (1) , 23-34
- https://doi.org/10.3109/01674828809030946
Abstract
The present paper reviews the determinants of patients’ medical and psychological outcomes in gynecologic contexts. Traditionally, 2 main theoretical perspectives have been proposed to account for these effects: (1) the Situational approach and (2) the Trait approach. The problems and weaknesses of these approaches are documented. An alternative ‘Interactional’ model, the Person By Situation approach, is advanced and its fit to the data is examined. Results show that the interactional framework predicts particularly vulnerable populations when faced with aversive diagnostic procedures. Specifically, high monitors and low blunters (individuals who typically cope by scanning for or failing to distract from threatening cues) show greater physiologic, subjective, and behavioral distress than low monitors/high blunters (individuals who typically cope by ignoring or distracting themselves from threatening cues). Further, individuals generally fare better when the level of preparatory information they receive is consistent with their coping style: i.e., high blunters/low monitors fare better with minimal information and low blunters/high monitors tend to fare better with more voluminous information. Finally, the clinical and educational implications of the interactional approach are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Sensitizing effects of pretreatment measures on cancer chemotherapy nausea and vomiting.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1988
- Monitoring and blunting: Validation of a questionnaire to assess styles of information seeking under threat.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987
- Coping with Stress and FrustrationPublished by Springer Nature ,1985
- Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1984
- Interacting effects of information and coping style in adapting to gynecologic stress: Should the doctor tell all?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983
- Coping with Impending Stress: Psychophysiological and Cognitive Correlates of ChoicePsychophysiology, 1979
- Controllability and human stress: Method, evidence and theoryBehaviour Research and Therapy, 1979
- The social readjustment rating scaleJournal of Psychosomatic Research, 1967
- Coping style as a factor in psychophysiological response to a tension-arousing film.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1965
- The relationship between coping and avoiding behavior and response to fear-arousing propaganda.The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1959