Data from daily diaries were used to examine the relationships between daily pain appraisals (Catastrophizing, Self-Efficacy, and perceived control over pain) and coping strategy use (Distraction, Ignoring Pain, Praying and Hoping, and Reinterpreting Pain Sensation) and nighttime negative mood and pain intensity for 88 women (mean age 46.83 years, SD 11.90) with chronic low back pain who were not attending a specialized pain treatment program. These relationships were examined at two levels using the Hierarchical Linear Modeling program (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992). The first level of analyses examined whether pain appraisals and coping strategy use during the day predicted levels of nighttime depressed and anxious mood, and pain. This analysis was based on 30 days of monitoring for each participant. The second level of analyses examined whether these daily processes could be predicted by psychosocial and functional variables important to the experience of chronic pain. This analysis was based on the Mutidimensional Pain Inventory (Kerns, Turk, & Rudy, 1985) completed prior to participants beginning the daily monitoring. There were four major findings in this study. First, pain appraisals were more predictive of negative mood and pain intensity than coping strategy use, with Catastrophizing the strongest predictor of depressed and anxious mood, and control the strongest predictor of pain intensity. Second, general affective distress predicted higher levels of negative mood on a daily basis. Third, women who perceived their pain to be interfering a great deal in their lives were more anxious on a daily basis. Fourth, punishing spousal responses predicted nightly negative mood and pain more than solicitous or distracting spousal responses. These results are similar to findings based on patients attending pain treatment programs. This suggests that some of the same processes identified in clinical pain patients may apply to low back pain sufferers in the community who are comparable to study participants. The implications of these findings for pain research and treatment are discussed.

Data from daily diaries were used to examine the relationships between daily pain appraisals (Catastrophizing, Self-Efficacy, and perceived control over pain) and coping strategy use (Distraction, Ignoring Pain, Praying and Hoping, and Reinterpreting Pain Sensation) and nighttime negative mood and pain intensity for 88 women (mean age 46.83 years, SD 11.90) with chronic low back pain who were not attending a specialized pain treatment program. These relationships were examined at two levels using the Hierarchical Linear Modeling program (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992). The first level of analyses examined whether pain appraisals and coping strategy use during the day predicted levels of nighttime depressed and anxious mood, and pain. This analysis was based on 30 days of monitoring for each participant. The second level of analyses examined whether these daily processes could be predicted by psychosocial and functional variables important to the experience of chronic pain. This analysis was based on the Mutidimensional Pain Inventory (Kerns, Turk, & Rudy, 1985) completed prior to participants beginning the daily monitoring. There were four major findings in this study. First, pain appraisals were more predictive of negative mood and pain intensity than coping strategy use, with Catastrophizing the strongest predictor of depressed and anxious mood, and control the strongest predictor of pain intensity. Second, general affective distress predicted higher levels of negative mood on a daily basis. Third, women who perceived their pain to be interfering a great deal in their lives were more anxious on a daily basis. Fourth, punishing spousal responses predicted nightly negative mood and pain more than solicitous or distracting spousal responses. These results are similar to findings based on patients attending pain treatment programs. This suggests that some of the same processes identified in clinical pain patients may apply to low back pain sufferers in the community who are comparable to study participants. The implications of these findings for pain research and treatment are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to examine Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping theory in the context of workplace stress and coping with a focus on the influence of personal and cultural resources on cognitive appraisal, coping strategies, and the well-being of Chinese who are currently employed in professional occupations overseas. The data were collected from a volunteer sample of 228 overseas Chinese professionals (128 men, 100 women, M age = 32.6). Participants completed three sets of questionnaires over a six-week period (2 weeks apart). Specific variables of interest included cultural, social, and personal resources (Chinese collective values, perceived social support and work support, and general self-efficacy), situational appraisals (perceived situational control and self-efficacy), ways of coping (Engagement, Disengagement, and Collective strategies), and changes in short-term outcomes (job satisfaction, somatic symptoms, and depression symptoms). Items that assessed collective ways of coping were developed for this study. Significant differences were found between men and women in this sample. As such, path analysis (LISREL VIII) was used to test the hypothesized relationships in the model separately for men and women. Based on a zero-order correlation matrix, the results for the initial hypothesized path models indicated a moderate fitting model for men and an inadequate fitting model for women. However, modified models revealed a good model fit for both men and women, X 2 (29, N=128)=32.72, p=.29, Q=1.13, RMSR=.05, GFI=.96, and CFI=. 98, and X 2 (29, N=100)=44.10, p=.04, Q=1.52, GFI=.93, RMSR-.07, and CFI=.92, respectively. The pattern of relationships (path coefficients) provide partial supports for the hypothesized model and Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theoretical assumptions. The results of this study were consistent with those obtained by other researchers who found that coping resources are associated with coping strategies and short-term outcomes (e.g., Long, Kahn, & Schutz, 1992; Terry, Tonge, & Callan, 1995). For the men, personal resources of General Self-efficacy were positively related to control appraisal, Work Support predicted Collective coping, and Social Support was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms. As expected, Disengagement coping was found to have a significant effect on depressive symptoms for the men. For the women, General Self-efficacy and Social Support were associated with perceived self-efficacy, and predicted an increase in job satisfaction and a decrease in depressive symptoms. Self-efficacy appraisal had negative effects on Disengagement coping. As hypothesized, Engagement coping was negatively associated with changes in somatic symptoms, and Disengagement coping predicted changes in both somatic and depressive symptoms. The results Of factor analysis supported the development of a Collective coping subscale. Implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping theory in the context of workplace stress and coping with a focus on the influence of personal and cultural resources on cognitive appraisal, coping strategies, and the well-being of Chinese who are currently employed in professional occupations overseas. The data were collected from a volunteer sample of 228 overseas Chinese professionals (128 men, 100 women, M age = 32.6). Participants completed three sets of questionnaires over a six-week period (2 weeks apart). Specific variables of interest included cultural, social, and personal resources (Chinese collective values, perceived social support and work support, and general self-efficacy), situational appraisals (perceived situational control and self-efficacy), ways of coping (Engagement, Disengagement, and Collective strategies), and changes in short-term outcomes (job satisfaction, somatic symptoms, and depression symptoms). Items that assessed collective ways of coping were developed for this study. Significant differences were found between men and women in this sample. As such, path analysis (LISREL VIII) was used to test the hypothesized relationships in the model separately for men and women. Based on a zero-order correlation matrix, the results for the initial hypothesized path models indicated a moderate fitting model for men and an inadequate fitting model for women. However, modified models revealed a good model fit for both men and women, X 2 (29, N=128)=32.72, p=.29, Q=1.13, RMSR=.05, GFI=.96, and CFI=. 98, and X 2 (29, N=100)=44.10, p=.04, Q=1.52, GFI=.93, RMSR-.07, and CFI=.92, respectively. The pattern of relationships (path coefficients) provide partial supports for the hypothesized model and Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theoretical assumptions. The results of this study were consistent with those obtained by other researchers who found that coping resources are associated with coping strategies and short-term outcomes (e.g., Long, Kahn, & Schutz, 1992; Terry, Tonge, & Callan, 1995). For the men, personal resources of General Self-efficacy were positively related to control appraisal, Work Support predicted Collective coping, and Social Support was associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms. As expected, Disengagement coping was found to have a significant effect on depressive symptoms for the men. For the women, General Self-efficacy and Social Support were associated with perceived self-efficacy, and predicted an increase in job satisfaction and a decrease in depressive symptoms. Self-efficacy appraisal had negative effects on Disengagement coping. As hypothesized, Engagement coping was negatively associated with changes in somatic symptoms, and Disengagement coping predicted changes in both somatic and depressive symptoms. The results Of factor analysis supported the development of a Collective coping subscale. Implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Dating violence is a serious social problem that impacts on substantial numbers of young people and has the potential for short and long term destructive consequences. This study had two purposes. One purpose was to develop a detailed description of the coping processes of young women who experienced violence in their dating relationships. A second purpose was to develop a theoretical understanding of this process by systematically linking the concepts that emerged. A multiple-case study qualitative research design was selected to accomplish these purposes because it allowed the researcher to capture the complexity of the coping process. A contextual stress and coping theoretical framework guided this inquiry. Participants were recruited through community and college newspaper advertisements, flyers posted on a college campus, and through informal requests for referrals from colleagues in the counseling profession. A pool of 10 eligible young women between the ages of 18 and 33 was accumulated from which a theoretical sample of 5 women was selected to study in depth. Interviews with 10 women, focusing on the 5 studied in depth, were the main data sources for this study. Selection of the theoretical sample and data analysis was based on the tenets of the grounded theory approach developed by Glaser and Strauss. This study identified a number of intrapersonal, interpersonal and contextual factors affecting how these women coped with dating violence. The major constructs that emerged were: women's vulnerabilities, couple imbalances, seductive processes, disentanglement processes and paradigmatic shifts. In essence, it was discovered that vulnerable young women who formed fused, imbalanced relationships with vulnerable men tended to use system-maintaining coping strategies to deal with the violence and were subject to powerful seductive processes until they began to disentangle themselves from their relationships. The disentanglement process was sparked by internal or external events that led women to reappraise their relationships and to take self reclaiming steps. Paradigmatic shifts, i.e., shifts from relationship commitment to self commitment, were the culmination of the disentanglement process and the impetus to women leaving their relationships. / Ed. D.