Einleitung: Die α-Hydroxycarbonsäuren 2 sind nicht nur wichtige chirale Bausteine für die organische Synthese,[20–25] sondern ebenfalls für den Menschen von großer Bedeutung aufgrund ihrer vielfältigen Anwendungen in der Lebensmittelbranche, Kosmetikindustrie und Medizin.[13–15] Aus diesen Gründen ist ein effizienter Zugang auch zu enantiomenreinen Säuren 2 notwendig. Viele natürlich vorkommende Vertreter sind aus dem chiral pool isolierbar, doch gerade für wissenschaftliche Zwecke sind häufig spezielle Strukturen von Interesse, die nur synthetisch darstellbar sind. Deshalb wurden, basierend auf unterschiedlichen Ansätzen, zahlreiche stereoselektive Routen zu α-Hydroxycarbonsäuren 2 entwickelt.[26–79] Eine schnelle und zugleich breit anwendbare Methode, 2 durch Hydroxylierung unfunktionalisierter Carbonsäuren 20 zu synthetisieren, sucht man jedoch vergebens. Das Ziel des ersten Teils dieser Arbeit bestand in der Entwicklung einer stereoselektiven Eintopfsynthese zur α-Hydroxylierung α-unfunktionalisierter Carbonsäurederivate 20 ... Fazit: Mit der MHACU von chiralen O-acylierten Oxazolin-N-oxiden (S)-37 wurde eine schnelle und einfache Eintopf-Synthese für α-Acyloxyoxazoline (S,S)-39, α-Hydroxymethylester (S)-30 und -säuren (S)-2 ausgehend von unfunktionalisierten Orthoestern 29 erarbeitet, die exzellente Diastereomeren- und Enantiomerenüberschüsse erlaubt (94–98% de/ee). Einleitung zum zweiten Teil der Arbeit: L-Prolin [(S)-222] gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Organokatalysatoren überhaupt und besticht durch seine strukturelle Einfachheit und seine erstklassigen katalytischen Eigenschaften.[230–232] Zudem stehen bei keinem zweiten Katalysator die materielle Verfügbarkeit und die chemische Anwendbarkeit in einem so idealen Verhältnis. Für einen Grundlagenforscher ist es daher eine besonders interessante Aufgabe, strukturelle Merkmale von L-Prolin [(S)-222] mit Erkenntnissen aus mechanistischen Untersuchungen zu verschmelzen, um so neue, noch leistungsstärkere Katalysatoren zu entwickeln. Fazit: Die vorgelegten Konzepte zur Verbesserung der Reaktivität von Pyrrolidin-basierten Katalysatoren erschienen zwar aussichtsreich, jedoch lieferten die bisherigen Umsetzungen noch keine brauchbaren Ergebnisse. Die in diesem Rahmen synthetisierten Aminosäuren und Isoxazolidine besaßen nur sehr geringe katalytische Aktivitäten. Weitere Arbeiten, zum Beispiel Veränderungen an den Katalysatorstrukturen, sind nötig, um eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung dieser Konzepte noch zu realisieren. / Introduction: α-Hydroxy carboxylic acids 2 are not only important building blocks in organic chemistry,[20–25] they are also of high interest for humanity because of their manifold applications in food, cosmetic, and medical industry.[13–15] For these reasons, an efficient access to enantiomerically enriched acids 2 is necessary. Many naturally occurring α-hydroxy acids are accessible from the chiral pool, but more special structures have to be prepared by chemical synthesis. Hence, quite a number of stereoselective procedures has been developed for the preparation of α-hydroxy carboxylic acids 2,[26–79] but a quick and highly substrate tolerant method for the direct hydroxylation of α-unfunctionalized carboxylic acids does not yet exist. The aim of the first part of this work was the development of a stereoselective one-pot procedure for the α-hydroxylation of α-unfunctionalized carboxylic acid derivatives 20. This method had to be optimized in termes of yield and stereoselectivity, and also the substrate tolerance had to be studied. An extension to a variable α-functionalization of 20, giving, for example, α-amino acids 8, was planned. Conclusion: A fast and substrate tolerant one-pot procedure to oxazolines (S,S)-39 and α-hydroxy methyl esters (S)-30 and acids (S)-2 from unfunctionalized ortho esters 29 has been developed, using a highly stereoselective (94–98% de/ee) MHACU of O-acylated oxazoline-N-oxids (S)-37 as the key step. Introduction of the 2. part: L-Proline [(S)-222] is probably the most important organocatalyst known so far because of its structure simpleness and its brilliant catalytic qualities.[230–232] There is not any other catalyst that is so easily available and, at the same time, so broadly applicable. It is therefor a very interesting task for a scientist to combine the structural properties of L-proline [(S)-222] with the up-to-date knowlegde from mechanistic studies and to develop new, more powerful catalysts. Conclusion: The presented concepts, targeting an improvement of the reactivity of pyrrolidine-based catalysts, were promising, but any convincing results were not achieved so far, since the synthesized amino acids and isoxazolidines possessed an insufficient catalytic potential. Further attempts, in particular further modifications in the compounds' structures, are necessary to successfully realize this project.

A set of studies centered around the reactions of the active methine compound 1-carbomethoxy-5-dicyanomethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene (the "ring-opened adduct"), obtained by base-induced ring-opening of the Diels-Alder adduct of 5,5-dicyanocyclopentadiene and methyl acrylate, has been carried out. A plan was devised for the anionic (at the dicyanomethyl carbon) ring-opened adduct whereby its reaction with electrophiles, for example Michael reactions with double-bond acceptors, would generate reactive intermediates that would undergo cyclization by tandem conjugate addition to the a,ß,?,d-unsaturated ring p-system to generate bicyclic compounds. In practice, reaction with di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate, methyl vinyl ketone, and cyclopentenone generated intermediates that exhibited greater tandem reactivity than was anticipated: the bicyclic enolates were found to cyclize further by Thorpe-Ziegler-like reaction with the proximal nitrile to generate, after facile acid hydrolysis, substituted known tricyclic skeleta termed homobrendanes, specifically, tricyclo[5. 2. 1. 0^4,8]decenes. An attempt was made to generalize the reaction to other substrates, among them singly-activated Michael acceptors and 1,2-heteroatom electrophiles, but the generalization of the homobrendane forming reaction did not meet with success. Attempted functional group manipulations to probe the conversion of the homobrendane derived from di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate to the homobrendane natural product 2-isocyanoallopupukeanane revealed the unreactivity of the skeletal double-bond toward electrophiles and the high reactivity of the ring ketone toward nucleophiles, among them mCPBA which brought about Baeyer-Villiger reaction, and chloride and hydroxide, which brought about addition/elimination reactions to cleave the last-formed homobrendane ring. <br /> The ring-opened adduct was also envisaged as a potential substrate in intramolecular Heck reactions. To this end, Heck substrates were generated from the ring-opened adduct anion and iodo- and bromo-benzyl halides. A key observation at this stage pertained to the unexpected acidity of the ring-opened adduct C5 proton, which could be deprotonated by DBU to bring about allylic isomerization, a finding that would provide a key insight to the pattern of reactivity later evidenced with alkyl propiolates. Optimization of the Heck substrate-generating reaction was followed by Heck reactions under Jeffery's conditions, which generated angular tricycles as intended, accompanied by aromatic compounds generated by base-induced HCN elimination/rearrangement and dehydrogenation. The Jeffery's conditions were optimized to limit the production of aromatics. <br /> The possibility of ring-opened adduct-derived vinyl silane intermediates undergoing cationic cyclizations led to a minor study based upon the bromination of allylsilanes and the elimination of TMSBr from 1,2-dibromo-3-trimethylsilyl compounds, accessible compounds unaccounted for in the review literature. It was determined that the combination of HBr and Br₂ (perhaps as HBr₃) was required to eliminate TMSBr, in contravention of the textbook account of electrophilic substitutions being the inherent reactions of allylsilanes and Br₂. <br /> Unexpected tandem reactivity was observed in the reactions of the anionic ring-opened adduct and alkyl propiolates under catalytic DBU conditions. Rather than tandem cyclization or simple adduct formation, the allenolate intermediates were determined to undergo extremely facile formal allenolate Cope rearrangements involving the ?,d-double-bond of the parent ring. Excess base intercepted the allenolate by deprotonating ring C5 and effecting 1,2-vinyl transfer by 3-<i>exo</i>-trig addition-elimination. The chemistry of the highly delocalized side-chain carbanion in the Cope product was studied in detail.

A set of studies centered around the reactions of the active methine compound 1-carbomethoxy-5-dicyanomethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene (the "ring-opened adduct"), obtained by base-induced ring-opening of the Diels-Alder adduct of 5,5-dicyanocyclopentadiene and methyl acrylate, has been carried out. A plan was devised for the anionic (at the dicyanomethyl carbon) ring-opened adduct whereby its reaction with electrophiles, for example Michael reactions with double-bond acceptors, would generate reactive intermediates that would undergo cyclization by tandem conjugate addition to the a,ß,?,d-unsaturated ring p-system to generate bicyclic compounds. In practice, reaction with di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate, methyl vinyl ketone, and cyclopentenone generated intermediates that exhibited greater tandem reactivity than was anticipated: the bicyclic enolates were found to cyclize further by Thorpe-Ziegler-like reaction with the proximal nitrile to generate, after facile acid hydrolysis, substituted known tricyclic skeleta termed homobrendanes, specifically, tricyclo[5. 2. 1. 0^4,8]decenes. An attempt was made to generalize the reaction to other substrates, among them singly-activated Michael acceptors and 1,2-heteroatom electrophiles, but the generalization of the homobrendane forming reaction did not meet with success. Attempted functional group manipulations to probe the conversion of the homobrendane derived from di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate to the homobrendane natural product 2-isocyanoallopupukeanane revealed the unreactivity of the skeletal double-bond toward electrophiles and the high reactivity of the ring ketone toward nucleophiles, among them mCPBA which brought about Baeyer-Villiger reaction, and chloride and hydroxide, which brought about addition/elimination reactions to cleave the last-formed homobrendane ring. <br /> The ring-opened adduct was also envisaged as a potential substrate in intramolecular Heck reactions. To this end, Heck substrates were generated from the ring-opened adduct anion and iodo- and bromo-benzyl halides. A key observation at this stage pertained to the unexpected acidity of the ring-opened adduct C5 proton, which could be deprotonated by DBU to bring about allylic isomerization, a finding that would provide a key insight to the pattern of reactivity later evidenced with alkyl propiolates. Optimization of the Heck substrate-generating reaction was followed by Heck reactions under Jeffery's conditions, which generated angular tricycles as intended, accompanied by aromatic compounds generated by base-induced HCN elimination/rearrangement and dehydrogenation. The Jeffery's conditions were optimized to limit the production of aromatics. <br /> The possibility of ring-opened adduct-derived vinyl silane intermediates undergoing cationic cyclizations led to a minor study based upon the bromination of allylsilanes and the elimination of TMSBr from 1,2-dibromo-3-trimethylsilyl compounds, accessible compounds unaccounted for in the review literature. It was determined that the combination of HBr and Br₂ (perhaps as HBr₃) was required to eliminate TMSBr, in contravention of the textbook account of electrophilic substitutions being the inherent reactions of allylsilanes and Br₂. <br /> Unexpected tandem reactivity was observed in the reactions of the anionic ring-opened adduct and alkyl propiolates under catalytic DBU conditions. Rather than tandem cyclization or simple adduct formation, the allenolate intermediates were determined to undergo extremely facile formal allenolate Cope rearrangements involving the ?,d-double-bond of the parent ring. Excess base intercepted the allenolate by deprotonating ring C5 and effecting 1,2-vinyl transfer by 3-<i>exo</i>-trig addition-elimination. The chemistry of the highly delocalized side-chain carbanion in the Cope product was studied in detail.

This study investigated whether attendance at the Children Cope With Divorce program for divorcing parents was associated with differences in the litigation behavior of the parents consistent with a lowered level of conflict between the parties. 130 cases from Morgan County, Indiana, in which the parents attended the program were randomly selected and compared with 130 cases from the same county in which the parents did not attend the program. As a control, 130 cases from before, and 130 cases from after the date on which program attendance became a requirement in Morgan County, were randomly selected from Tipton County, Indiana, where divorcing parents do not attend a program.Measures of mean time in litigation (MTL) and of the numbers of 4 types of court petition were obtained for each of the 4 groups from court records. Four hypotheses predicting an association between program attendance and shorter MTLs and lower mean numbers of court petitions filed were tested. Hypotheses One and Two were tested by one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Hypothesis Three was tested by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Hypothesis Four was tested by 2 X 2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). All test results were nonsignificant. None of the hypotheses was supported.Possible reasons for the nonsignificant results are presented, as are limitations of the design and methodology. Other possible dependent variables which might be measured are described. The importance of collecting demographic data is mentioned. Limitations of the program studied in this project are discussed at length. In the absence of clear evidence of the effectiveness of any type of such program for divorcing parents, the courts must weigh the possible value of such a program against its cost. However, given our present state of knowledge about such programs, sponsors should select a program which presents a broad range of information. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

University rugby players often pursue academic and semi-professional sporting careers simultaneously which is demanding, stressful and highly competitive. This situation gives rise to individual needs and how they cope with these needs will have an impact on their overall well-being. The needs and coping mechanisms of the senior first and second team rugby players of the North-West University PUK Rugby Institute (NWU-PRT) were determined by means of a focus-group interview, essays and individual interviews. The focus-group interview was conducted with seven senior university rugby players and the essays were completed by 28 senior university rugby players. The individual interviews were conducted with the coach of the senior first team and the sport psychology consultant of the u/19 team. The results identified themes regarding time-management, motivation, injuries, character, coping, and goal-setting. A programme (founded on the experiential learning theory) which focuses on these themes and aimed at facilitating coping and well-being of university rugby players, was developed. The Experiential Learning Programme (ELP) consists of six sessions of one hour duration conducted over two consecutive weeks. The themes of the sessions are; Motivation, Goal-Setting, Time-Management, Coping with Injuries, Emotion-Focused Coping and Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning. A two group (experimental and control) pre-test and post-test design was used and the sample group was drawn from 41 rugby players from the u/19 A training squad of the NWU-PRI. The experimental (n=20) and control (n=21) groups both underwent pre- and post-testing, whereas the ELP was only presented to the experimental group. Post-testing took place one month after the ELP was presented. The battery of tests used to determine the effectiveness of the ELP were, the Affectometer (Kammann & Flett, 1983), Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (Chesney, Folkman & Chambers, 1996), Proactive Attitude Scale (Schwarzer, 1997), Fortitude Questionnaire (Pretorius, 1998) and Cognitive Appraisal Questionnaire (Botha & Wissing, 2005). The results obtained proved the ELP to be effective in facilitating coping and well-being in university rugby players. The experimental group's coping abilities showed great improvement in dealing with life difficulties. They are able to make better use of coping strategies lik, problem-focused coping (d=0.73), the ability to stop unpleasant emotions and thoughts (d=0.73) and to seek out social support from family and friends (d=1.07). They also showed marked improvements in the evaluation (appraisal) of good and/or bad events (d=0.63) and their ability to move towards action (proactive attitude) (d-0.73). The extent of positive emotions (d-0.75) they experienced increased, whereas the extent of negative emotions (d=-0.55) experienced decreased. It can be concluded that the experimental group's sense of well-being was enhanced. The control group showed no improvements in their coping ability or well-being. The improvements in the experimental group's results can, thus, be attributed to the effectiveness of the ELP. A limitation of this study is that these results cannot be generalised to provincial or national rugby players at all levels of competition or to other team sports. The ELP should be presented to small groups for it to be effective. This may limit the number of participants in accordance with the time presenters and participants have available and the number of presenters trained in presenting the ELP. It is recommended that the effectiveness of the ELP should be evaluated at provincial and national level and that the ELP should also be adapted to and evaluated in other team sports. It can be concluded that the ELP programme is ideal for first year university rugby players who may find the transition from high school academics and rugby, to university studies and semi-professional rugby stressful, as it may assist them in coping with personal and sport related stressors and can facilitate their sense of well-being. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study focuses on investigating the psychological needs of orphans affected by HIV/AIDS and how these learners can be supported in order to cope effectively with the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The study needed to understand the psychological well being of learners affected or orphaned by HIV/AIDS, their general performance at school, the nature and extent of social support they get from their families, communities and societies and their physical well being. Suggestions for an ecosystemic theoretical framework to be infused in all psycho-social support programmes geared to strengthen the psycho-social well-being of AIDS orphans were made. Orphans are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. Affected learners have fewer opportunities for schooling and education, may suffer from malnutrition. They are themselves often highly vulnerable to HIV infection and are at higher risk of developing psychological problems. In this study, a case study design was followed. Interviews were conducted with a sample of participants including orphaned learners living in a child-headed household, class-educator, an aunt and a health worker in Soweto. The researcher recruited participants by means of snowball sampling. Results revealed that learners orphaned by HIV/AIDS suffer emotional trauma and grief, illness and stress. They have scholastic problems, suffer stigmatization and discrimination, miss out on educational opportunities and experience poverty. This is an indication of a need for social support. It is for this reason that an ecosystemic support programme which schools can adopt and adapt in order to develop the psychological and social resilience of learners affected and orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic is proposed. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

This study focuses on investigating the psychological needs of orphans affected by HIV/AIDS and how these learners can be supported in order to cope effectively with the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The study needed to understand the psychological well being of learners affected or orphaned by HIV/AIDS, their general performance at school, the nature and extent of social support they get from their families, communities and societies and their physical well being. Suggestions for an ecosystemic theoretical framework to be infused in all psycho-social support programmes geared to strengthen the psycho-social well-being of AIDS orphans were made. Orphans are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. Affected learners have fewer opportunities for schooling and education, may suffer from malnutrition. They are themselves often highly vulnerable to HIV infection and are at higher risk of developing psychological problems. In this study, a case study design was followed. Interviews were conducted with a sample of participants including orphaned learners living in a child-headed household, class-educator, an aunt and a health worker in Soweto. The researcher recruited participants by means of snowball sampling. Results revealed that learners orphaned by HIV/AIDS suffer emotional trauma and grief, illness and stress. They have scholastic problems, suffer stigmatization and discrimination, miss out on educational opportunities and experience poverty. This is an indication of a need for social support. It is for this reason that an ecosystemic support programme which schools can adopt and adapt in order to develop the psychological and social resilience of learners affected and orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic is proposed. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

University rugby players often pursue academic and semi-professional sporting careers simultaneously which is demanding, stressful and highly competitive. This situation gives rise to individual needs and how they cope with these needs will have an impact on their overall well-being. The needs and coping mechanisms of the senior first and second team rugby players of the North-West University PUK Rugby Institute (NWU-PRT) were determined by means of a focus-group interview, essays and individual interviews. The focus-group interview was conducted with seven senior university rugby players and the essays were completed by 28 senior university rugby players. The individual interviews were conducted with the coach of the senior first team and the sport psychology consultant of the u/19 team. The results identified themes regarding time-management, motivation, injuries, character, coping, and goal-setting. A programme (founded on the experiential learning theory) which focuses on these themes and aimed at facilitating coping and well-being of university rugby players, was developed. The Experiential Learning Programme (ELP) consists of six sessions of one hour duration conducted over two consecutive weeks. The themes of the sessions are; Motivation, Goal-Setting, Time-Management, Coping with Injuries, Emotion-Focused Coping and Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning. A two group (experimental and control) pre-test and post-test design was used and the sample group was drawn from 41 rugby players from the u/19 A training squad of the NWU-PRI. The experimental (n=20) and control (n=21) groups both underwent pre- and post-testing, whereas the ELP was only presented to the experimental group. Post-testing took place one month after the ELP was presented. The battery of tests used to determine the effectiveness of the ELP were, the Affectometer (Kammann & Flett, 1983), Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (Chesney, Folkman & Chambers, 1996), Proactive Attitude Scale (Schwarzer, 1997), Fortitude Questionnaire (Pretorius, 1998) and Cognitive Appraisal Questionnaire (Botha & Wissing, 2005). The results obtained proved the ELP to be effective in facilitating coping and well-being in university rugby players. The experimental group's coping abilities showed great improvement in dealing with life difficulties. They are able to make better use of coping strategies lik, problem-focused coping (d=0.73), the ability to stop unpleasant emotions and thoughts (d=0.73) and to seek out social support from family and friends (d=1.07). They also showed marked improvements in the evaluation (appraisal) of good and/or bad events (d=0.63) and their ability to move towards action (proactive attitude) (d-0.73). The extent of positive emotions (d-0.75) they experienced increased, whereas the extent of negative emotions (d=-0.55) experienced decreased. It can be concluded that the experimental group's sense of well-being was enhanced. The control group showed no improvements in their coping ability or well-being. The improvements in the experimental group's results can, thus, be attributed to the effectiveness of the ELP. A limitation of this study is that these results cannot be generalised to provincial or national rugby players at all levels of competition or to other team sports. The ELP should be presented to small groups for it to be effective. This may limit the number of participants in accordance with the time presenters and participants have available and the number of presenters trained in presenting the ELP. It is recommended that the effectiveness of the ELP should be evaluated at provincial and national level and that the ELP should also be adapted to and evaluated in other team sports. It can be concluded that the ELP programme is ideal for first year university rugby players who may find the transition from high school academics and rugby, to university studies and semi-professional rugby stressful, as it may assist them in coping with personal and sport related stressors and can facilitate their sense of well-being. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Introdução: Pacientes com Transtorno Bipolar (TB) e seus familiares apresentam níveis de estresse significativamente mais elevados que a população geral. Coping, utilizado para gerenciar situações estressantes, tem sido alvo de investigação e intervenções psicossociais em pacientes bipolares, auxiliando-os no manejo destes fatores e melhorando desfechos clínicos no tratamento. Objetivos: O presente estudo tem por objetivo primário comparar pacientes com TB, seus familiares de primeiro grau e um grupo de controles saudáveis quanto ao uso de estratégias de coping adaptativas e desadaptativas. Como objetivos secundários, serão feitas análises explorando diferenças de tipos específicos de coping utilizados pelos indivíduos dos diferentes grupos (pacientes, familiares e controles), através da escala Brief COPE. Outras correlações com variáveis clínicas serão exploradas, como fatores sociodemográficos e clínicos, buscando encontrar relações com as estratégias de coping na amostra de pacientes com TB. Método: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com amostragem por conveniência. O estudo incluiu 36 pacientes eutímicos com TB, 39 familiares de primeiro grau destes pacientes e 44 controles. As estratégias de coping foram avaliadas através da Escala Brief COPE. Resultados: Diferenças significativas foram encontradas quanto ao uso de estratégias adaptativas e desadaptativas entre pacientes, familiares e controles. Pacientes utilizam em menor grau estratégias adaptativas, quando comparados aos controles. Por outro lado, os familiares demonstram maior uso de estratégias desadaptativas, semelhante ao que é observado nos pacientes, diferindo do grupo controle. Limitações: O tamanho amostral é um importante limitador para as conclusões do estudo. Ainda, as conclusões foram baseadas em dados transversais. A utilização de avaliações psicológicas e clínicas em estudos longitudinais permitiriam um melhor mapeamento das mudanças ou manutenção nos padrões psicológicos dos participantes. Conclusões: O grupo de familiares encontra-se em um nível intermediário entre pacientes e controles, ou seja, familiares fazem uso de estratégias desadaptativas em níveis semelhantes ao grupo de pacientes, mas apresentam maior uso de estratégias adaptativas, assim como o grupo controle. Intervenções psicossociais com este grupo são justificadas, favorecendo o uso das estratégias adaptativas em detrimento das estratégias desadaptativas. / Background: Patients with Bipolar disorder (BD) and their relatives exhibit significantly higher stress levels than the general population. Coping strategies, used to manage stressful situations, have been the subject of research and have also been used in psychosocial interventions with bipolar patients in order to help them manage stress factors and improve the clinical outcome of treatment. Objectives: This study has the objective to compare BD patients, their first-degree relatives and a group of healthy controls on the use of adaptive strategies and maladaptive coping. The specific objectives, analyzes will be made by exploiting differences in specific types of coping used by individuals from different groups (patients, relatives and controls) through the Brief COPE scale. Other correlations with clinical variables will be explored, such as demographic and clinical factors, trying to find relations with coping strategies in the sample of patients with BD. Method: This was a cross-sectional study with sampling by convenience, enrolling 36 patients with BD, 39 of their first-degree relatives and 44 controls. Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief COPE scale. Results: Significant differences were detected between use of adaptive and maladaptive strategies by patients, patients' relatives and controls. Patients used adaptive strategies less often than the patients' relatives and controls. In contrast, the patients' relatives reported greater use of maladaptive strategies than the controls and were similar to the patients in this respect. Limitations: The sample size is an important factor limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Furthermore, these conclusions are based on cross-sectional data. Conclusions: The group of patients' relatives were at an intermediate level between the patients and the healthy controls, i.e. family make use of maladaptive strategies at similar levels to the group of patients, but greater use of adaptive strategies, as well as the control group. This group merits psychosocial interventions to encourage use of adaptive strategies rather than maladaptive strategies.

Introdução: Pacientes com Transtorno Bipolar (TB) e seus familiares apresentam níveis de estresse significativamente mais elevados que a população geral. Coping, utilizado para gerenciar situações estressantes, tem sido alvo de investigação e intervenções psicossociais em pacientes bipolares, auxiliando-os no manejo destes fatores e melhorando desfechos clínicos no tratamento. Objetivos: O presente estudo tem por objetivo primário comparar pacientes com TB, seus familiares de primeiro grau e um grupo de controles saudáveis quanto ao uso de estratégias de coping adaptativas e desadaptativas. Como objetivos secundários, serão feitas análises explorando diferenças de tipos específicos de coping utilizados pelos indivíduos dos diferentes grupos (pacientes, familiares e controles), através da escala Brief COPE. Outras correlações com variáveis clínicas serão exploradas, como fatores sociodemográficos e clínicos, buscando encontrar relações com as estratégias de coping na amostra de pacientes com TB. Método: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com amostragem por conveniência. O estudo incluiu 36 pacientes eutímicos com TB, 39 familiares de primeiro grau destes pacientes e 44 controles. As estratégias de coping foram avaliadas através da Escala Brief COPE. Resultados: Diferenças significativas foram encontradas quanto ao uso de estratégias adaptativas e desadaptativas entre pacientes, familiares e controles. Pacientes utilizam em menor grau estratégias adaptativas, quando comparados aos controles. Por outro lado, os familiares demonstram maior uso de estratégias desadaptativas, semelhante ao que é observado nos pacientes, diferindo do grupo controle. Limitações: O tamanho amostral é um importante limitador para as conclusões do estudo. Ainda, as conclusões foram baseadas em dados transversais. A utilização de avaliações psicológicas e clínicas em estudos longitudinais permitiriam um melhor mapeamento das mudanças ou manutenção nos padrões psicológicos dos participantes. Conclusões: O grupo de familiares encontra-se em um nível intermediário entre pacientes e controles, ou seja, familiares fazem uso de estratégias desadaptativas em níveis semelhantes ao grupo de pacientes, mas apresentam maior uso de estratégias adaptativas, assim como o grupo controle. Intervenções psicossociais com este grupo são justificadas, favorecendo o uso das estratégias adaptativas em detrimento das estratégias desadaptativas. / Background: Patients with Bipolar disorder (BD) and their relatives exhibit significantly higher stress levels than the general population. Coping strategies, used to manage stressful situations, have been the subject of research and have also been used in psychosocial interventions with bipolar patients in order to help them manage stress factors and improve the clinical outcome of treatment. Objectives: This study has the objective to compare BD patients, their first-degree relatives and a group of healthy controls on the use of adaptive strategies and maladaptive coping. The specific objectives, analyzes will be made by exploiting differences in specific types of coping used by individuals from different groups (patients, relatives and controls) through the Brief COPE scale. Other correlations with clinical variables will be explored, such as demographic and clinical factors, trying to find relations with coping strategies in the sample of patients with BD. Method: This was a cross-sectional study with sampling by convenience, enrolling 36 patients with BD, 39 of their first-degree relatives and 44 controls. Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief COPE scale. Results: Significant differences were detected between use of adaptive and maladaptive strategies by patients, patients' relatives and controls. Patients used adaptive strategies less often than the patients' relatives and controls. In contrast, the patients' relatives reported greater use of maladaptive strategies than the controls and were similar to the patients in this respect. Limitations: The sample size is an important factor limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Furthermore, these conclusions are based on cross-sectional data. Conclusions: The group of patients' relatives were at an intermediate level between the patients and the healthy controls, i.e. family make use of maladaptive strategies at similar levels to the group of patients, but greater use of adaptive strategies, as well as the control group. This group merits psychosocial interventions to encourage use of adaptive strategies rather than maladaptive strategies.