Communal coping (CC: Lyons, Mickelson, Sullivan & Coyne, 1998) is an approach to dealing with problems characterized by a sense that the problem and responsibility for solving it are shared. CC has been shown to relate to relationship duration and health outcomes, but its role in couple therapy has not been examined. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether pre-treatment, observer-rated CC would predict or moderate retention and drinking outcome in 2 types of couple therapy for alcoholism. Seventy heterosexual couples in which 1 partner was alcoholic attended up to 20 sessions of conjoint cognitive-behavioral (CBT) or family systems (FST) therapy. Regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between CC and retention in therapy (number of sessions attended and treatment completion), and between CC and abstinence from alcohol at last contact with the study. Due to differential attrition from measurement, analyses of drinking outcome were exploratory. Results indicated that couples low in baseline CC attended fewer sessions of CBT, while CC was not associated with attendance of FST. CC therefore functioned as a moderator of retention in treatment rather than a general predictor of response. Exploratory analyses of drinking outcome did not reveal a relationship between CC and abstinence from alcohol. Moreover, CC did not increase in the course of either therapy, and within-couple changes in CC were not associated with retention. Preliminary evidence for discriminant validity of CC was found: results suggest our measure of CC is distinct from indices of relationship quality. Pending replication, results suggest that baseline CC may moderate the relationship between the type of treatment and treatment retention.

Communal coping—a process in which romantic partners view a problem or stressor as "ours" rather than "yours" or "mine" and engage in collaborative problem solving to address it —has emerged as an important predictor of health and treatment outcomes. This study investigated communal coping as a theoretically derived and empirically supported intervention target within two couple-focused interventions for health problems: Family Systems Therapy for problematic alcohol use and Family Consultation for health-compromised smoking. With a combined sample of 56 couples (37 alcohol, 21 smoking), this study investigated within-session changes in communal coping—indexed via observable, communal coping behaviors and first-person plural pronoun use (we-talk)—prior to and following therapist implementation of specific solution-focused therapy techniques that aimed to promote communal coping in the couples during a target therapy session. Teams of trained raters observed the target therapy sessions and made independent ratings of couple communal coping behaviors and therapist adherence. Pronoun measures for each partner were obtained via computerized text analysis from transcripts of partners' speech during the target therapy sessions. Both patients and spouses showed increases in communal coping behavior and we-talk from a "baseline" problem-focused therapy block to the "active" solution-focused therapy block. In addition, exploratory analyses revealed that several couple and therapist characteristics, as well as specific solution-focused techniques were associated with within-session changes in communal coping. Findings from this study identify communal coping as a client change process and solution-focused therapy techniques as a therapist change process within the two interventions, and demonstrate successful engagement of communal coping as a therapeutic target.

abstract: Chronic illness can be a stressful experience that requires coping and support. In the last twenty years, Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) were developed in U.S. healthcare as a response to the rising rates and challenges of chronic disease management. Due to the infancy of the SMA model, however, little is known or understood about the benefits of group medical care for patients. To date, scholars have not explored or systematically observed the communicative aspects of the SMA model. Communal coping, a theoretical framework that foregrounds group interaction and communication, offers a pragmatic lens for exploring how patients collectively cope with the stressors of chronic illness in the context of SMAs. Using qualitative methods, I conducted participant observation of SMAs at a Veterans Affairs hospital to analyze the communicative, transactional nature of communal coping as it unfolded among heart failure patients, family members, and providers in context. I also conducted interviews with SMA attendees. Analysis is based on 56 hours of fieldwork and 14 hours of interviews. Findings of this dissertation revealed group members who attended heart failure SMAs engaged in communal coping to manage the stressors of chronic illness. Group members moved through four primary phases of the communal coping process: (1) establish a communal coping orientation; (2) discuss shared stressors; (3) engage in cooperative action; and (4) practice communal reflexivity. Findings suggest patients become empowered by group interaction during SMAs as they move through each phase of the communal coping process. This dissertation also highlights various communicative strategies providers' use during SMAs to facilitate communal coping and group interaction. Theoretically, this dissertation expands upon existing knowledge of communal coping by exploring how individuals embody and socially construct the communal coping process. Specifically, this dissertation extends past models of communal coping with the addition of the communal reflexivity phase and through conceptualizing communal coping as a facilitated process of empowerment. Pragmatically, this research also offers insight to the benefits patients derive from attending SMAs, such as reduced feelings of stigma and isolation and improved motivation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication Studies 2015

Challenging experiences abound in everyday life. Research on relational transgressions predominately favors investigating the nature and outcomes of the experience and how the victim and transgressor respond following the experience. However, individuals are embedded within social networks that provide perceived and enacted support during relational challenges. Research on supportive communication documents the social support process within various contexts by highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of seeking and providing particular kinds of supportive messages. It is likely that social network members play an influential role in an individual's coping process following an experience of feeling wronged by something someone said or did. Literature on coping processes describes coping occurring on levels from individual to communal. If social network members feel wronged or hurt by what happened to the transgressed individual, then coping might occur at the network level. Little research to date has investigated the communicative coping processes within social networks following relational transgressions experiences. In the present study I argue that conversations about coping with relational transgressions influence transgressed individuals' and social network members' perceived stress, feelings about the transgression, forgiveness, and perceived ownership and responsibility of the transgression. Fifty pairs of transgressed individuals and their social network members came to a communication research laboratory and completed a pre-interaction questionnaire, talked with each other about the transgression experience, and completed a post-interaction questionnaire. Participants and third-party observers evaluated the quantity and quality of supportive behaviors during the interaction. Results suggest that participants' perceptions of stress, negative emotions, and motivations for avoidance and revenge related to the transgression experience decreased from pre to post-interaction. Although many of my predictions about the associations between the amount of types of support and quality of support were not supported, results revealed several insightful findings. The amount of emotion support had a negative indirect effect on primary participants' perceptions of stress related to the transgression because of quality of support. I discuss the theoretical and research implication for this and other findings. The communicative coping processes within social networks following relational transgression experiences work in complex and layered ways to influence individual and relational well-being. The present study opens avenues for extending research on communicative coping and repair processes following challenging life experiences.

This thesis explores the role of social media in communal coping. Specifically, it explores the role of Twitter in the communal coping with stressors affecting a global population due to the COVID-19 pandemic disease, with the purpose of answering the main research question: How is Twitter being used as a platform for online coping with the common stressor of involuntary teleworking from home during a pandemic? Through a mixed methods analysis of Twitter content collected from two weeks in April 2020, this thesis examines how Tweeters are connecting with each other through the hashtag #workfromhome in order to cope with stressors involved with working remotely from their homes. Using sensitized concepts from theoretical frameworks and prior studies of coping, a hermeneutic approach to social science was adopted in the research. Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was performed in several rounds of iterative process coding. The results of this thesis suggest that in the context of COVID-19 Tweeting is itself part of the coping process. Further, online coping strategies can first and foremost be recognized as communal. In answer to the main research question, Twitter is being used as a platform for communal coping orientation, communication about the stressor, and cooperative action. With the changing nature of work and the ongoing uncertainty concerning the long-term implications of COVID-19, the direction of this thesis and its findings may assist organizations and stakeholders alike in understanding the impact of involuntary remote work on individuals. Lastly, the findings open up new opportunities for research within the field of studying online coping efforts.