published_or_final_version / Social Work and Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

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Coping behaviour, perceived control, and the self concept of elementary school children with learning disabilities educated in regular and special education classrooms was examined using a comparative design. In addition, the influence of teachers' classroom management orientation on children's self-perceptions and coping behaviour was investigated. Children attending a special school for students with learning disabilities were found to be more adaptive copers than children in special education classes in regular schools, children receiving resource room assistance, and children mainstreamed in regular classes. Children with learning disabilities were found to have positive perceptions of their global self-worth regardless of the type of class they were in, although they indicated less confidence in their academic abilities compared to their self-perceptions of physical appearance and athletic competence. In general, most children believed that they were responsible for their academic successes and at the same time perceived academic failure as unavoidable. The students who coped most effectively demonstrated the most realistic appraisals of their academic situation. They recognized that they could not control academic failure, however, they believed that the best way to succeed in school was by continuing to exert effort. Additionally, successful copers held high expectations for future academic success and believed that they possessed the capacities needed to achieve this success. Children who coped most effectively strongly endorsed beliefs in their capacity to have a positive relationship with their teachers. Children who were rated as effective copers had teachers whose instructional orientation promoted autonomous functioning in their students.

Most demented individuals are now cared for at home by family members. The present study examined the coping strategies employed by family caregivers, their perception of burden, and the internal dialogues employed by caregivers to stressful events. Sixteen (13 females, 3 males) participants with an average age of 67.4 years were interviewed. Results indicate that caregivers who spend less hours per week caring for their care receiver perceived less overall burden and caregivers who subjectively felt that they were coping with their role tended to use more coping strategies. Caregivers' internal dialogues and comments concerning problems coping with Alzheimer's patients are included.

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Over the past two decades, Taylor (1983; Taylor & Brown, 1988) has explored the tendency of individuals to develop positive illusions in coping with stressful, or traumatic events. These illusions consist of unrealistic positive self evaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism. According to Taylor, illusions are important in accomplishing several tasks associated with successful adaptation, namely, search for meaning, regaining a sense of mastery, and restoring self-esteem through processes of social comparison. The purpose of the study was threefold: (a) to explore the construct of positive illusions (PI), (b) to explore employees' use of PI in coping with a stressful work event, and (c) to discover how PI, temporal distance, level of perceived stress, and a priming manipulation affect the type and frequency of inferences made while responding to items taken from a coping inventory. / The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I, 209 nurses responded to a questionnaire which identified their level of PI, perceptions of occupational climate, and job satisfaction. They were also asked to describe a stressful work situation, and their appraisals and coping strategies used to manage the event. Results demonstrated that the PI construct for this population was best identified by enhanced self-perception, high dispositional optimism, and low internal locus of control. PI were associated with high self-efficacy for resolving the stressful event, appraisals of challenge, positive reappraisal and self-controlling coping, and the nonuse of escape-avoidance coping. / In Phase II, 36 nurses "high" and "low" in PI were assigned to two priming conditions. Nurses participated in a think-aloud procedure during which time they rated 16 coping items in relation to their previously identified work event and gave reasons for their ratings. After protocol analysis, results demonstrated that, (a) the type of prime used affected the consistency of recall even after controlling for temporal distance, and (b) positive illusions, prime, and time interact to produce significantly different patterns of self-statements and contextual inferences for the four groups. The results demonstrate that measures which rely on the recall of coping strategies need to be treated with considerable caution.

The increasing incidence of adolescent depression calls for the study of individual difference factors that may impinge on psychosocial adjustment. Researchers have identified depressive personality styles, namely dependency and self-criticism, that represent distinct vulnerability orientations. A series of four studies was conducted to (1) examine the relation of the depressive styles to adolescent dysphoria and interpersonal functioning; (2) assess the Personality-Event Congruence Model of Depressive Vulnerability in youngsters; and (3) explore how dependency and self-criticism relate to the regulation of negative affect using an experience sampling methodology. Findings provide evidence for heightened vulnerability of adolescent self-criticism in terms of increased dysphoria and interpersonal problems, demonstrate the vulnerability of dependency during attachment-related transitions, and reveal the relation of depressive styles to distinctive patterns of poor mood management. Together, these studies highlight the need to help youngsters adopt strategies that may be effective in forestalling dysphoria, enabling healthy adaptation to developmental challenges.