Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det finns naturligt förekommande kombinationer av copingstrategier i ungdomsåren.Vårt andra mål med studien var att utröna om dessa olika kombinationer av copingstrategier är relaterade till ungdomars grad av depression, självkänsla och somatiska symptom. Med färdiginsamlad data från Youth & Sports Project, Örebro Universitet utfördes studien. Vårt urval bestod av 638 ungdomar boende i Sverige (Målder = 14.09, SD = 0.39; åldersspann: 13-17; 46 % flickor). Med klusteranalys fann vi 5 distinkta kluster innehållande olika nivåer av de tre copingstrategier, problemlösande coping, internaliserande coping och externaliserande coping som vi har med i denna studie. Våra resultat visar att olika kluster och nivåer av studiens copingstrategier har en inverkan på den enskildes grad av depression, självkänsla och somatiska symptom. Att identifiera kluster av copingstrategier kommer ge bättre förutsättningar att nå ungdomar som behöver stöttning under ungdomsåren in i vuxenlivet. / The aim of this study is to examine if there are naturally occurring combinations of coping strategies in adolescence. The second goal with the study was to find out if these different combinations of coping strategies are related to young people's degree of depression, self-esteem and somatic symptoms. With pre-collected data from Youth & Sports Project, Örebro University, we conducted the study. Our sample included 638 adolescence living in Sweden (Mage = 14.09, SD = 0.39; age range: 13-17; 46 % girls). With cluster analysis we found 5 distinctive cluster with different levels of our three coping strategies that our study investigated, problemsolving coping, internalizing coping and externalizing coping. Our result show that different cluster and levels of the studies coping strategies have an impact on the individual's degree of depression, self-esteem and somatic symptoms. Identifying clusters of coping strategies will provide better conditions for reaching young people who need support during adolescence into adulthood.

Members of the SAPS come into contact with violent crimes on a daily basis. They also have to deal with changes on an organisational level, as well as large amounts of administrative work. The Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Questionnaire (COPE) was completed by police members in the North West Province, and eight items focusing on emotion-focused coping were added. The objectives of this study were to assess the construct validity and internal consistency of the COPE in the SAPS, with added scales for emotional processing and emotional expression. Another objective was to conceptualise coping, and specifically coping within the policing context from the literature. Finally, analyses of the differences between the coping strategies of different demographic groups in the SAPS were conducted. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population (N=229) included samples of police personnel across the North West Province. In addition to the COPE, a biographical questionnaire compiled by the researcher, was administered. The dispositional version of the COPE was used, consisting of 53 items. Eight additional items which measure emotional processing and emotional expression were also used. Initial analysis revealed the COPE subscales to be unreliable. Subsequent analysis indicated that two coping mechanisms which reflected emotionality in broad terms were employed by SAPS members. These factors were termed Active Emotional Expression and Emotional Reappraisal, and showed acceptable Cronbach Alpha coefficients. Item bias analysis was conducted and two items indicated uniform bias, and another two non-uniform bias. Tucker's phi coefficients for Active Emotional Expression and Emotional Reappraisal were all acceptable, indicating equivalence for both the Afrikaans and "other" languages groups. With regard to the two coping factors, no significant differences were found between the created language categories, or gender. Differences between the coping strategies of police members with different ranks, marital states and salary categories were also not significant. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Atherosclerosis is one of the most recognized risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). It is therefore important for preventive work against CVD to target factors with impact on atherosclerosis. Previous research has shown a relationship between atherosclerosis and stress, between disengagement coping and higher levels of stress, and between engagement coping and lower levels of stress. One can therefore assume that coping would have an impact on atherosclerosis, but a relationship between coping and atherosclerosis have to our knowledge not yet been studied. The aim of this study was twofold; first to investigate if engagement or disengagement coping can be considered to have an impact on atherosclerosis, and second to investigate if engagement or disengagement coping statistically can predict previously known biological risk factors for atherosclerosis. This study was carried out within a cross sectional design, and to reach the aims ANCOVA and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The sample consisted of 1868 women and 1662 men in the age of 40, 50 or 60 years. Information on biological risk factors was collected by health care staff during health examinations. Atherosclerosis was tested by carotid ultrasound, and coping was measured by the self-reporting instrument Brief COPE. The results revealed a significant (p<.05) negative relationship between engagement coping and atherosclerosis. The results did not show a relationship between disengagement coping and atherosclerosis, and coping only predicted a few biological risk factors. These results shows that engagement coping can be considered a protective factor against atherosclerosis. / Ateroskleros är en av de störstariskfaktorerna för hjärt-och kärlsjukdomar. Det är därför viktigt för preventivt arbete mot hjärt-och kärlsjukdomar att undersöka faktorer som påverkar ateroskleros. Tidigare forskning har visat ett samband mellan ateroskleros och stress, mellan disengagement coping och högre nivåer av stress, samt mellan engagement coping och lägre nivåer av stress. Det är därmed rimligt att anta att coping har en inverkan på ateroskleros, men en relation mellan coping och ateroskleros har enligt vår vetskap inte tidigare undersökts. Det första syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om engagement coping eller disengagement coping kan anses ha en inverkan på ateroskleros. Det andra syftet var att undersöka om engagement eller disengagement coping statistiskt kanprediceratidigare kända biologiska riskfaktorer för ateroskleros. Studien utfördes med en tvärsnittsdesign, och för att uppnå syftena har ANCOVA och hierarkiska regressionsanalyser utförts. Urvalet bestod av 1868 kvinnor och 1662 män i åldrarna 40, 50 eller 60år. Information om biologiska riskfaktorer samlades in vid hälsoundersökningar av vårdpersonal. Förekomst av ateroskleros mättes med vaskulärt ultraljud och coping mättes med självskattningsformuläret Brief COPE.Resultaten visade en signifikant negativ relation mellan engagement coping och ateroskleros. Resultaten visade inte någon relation mellan disengagement coping och ateroskleros, och coping prediceradeendast ett fåtal av de biologiska riskfaktorerna. Dessa resultat visar att engagement coping kan anses vara en skyddande faktor mot ateroskleros.

Members of the SAPS come into contact with violent crimes on a daily basis. They also have to deal with changes on an organisational level, as well as large amounts of administrative work. The Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Questionnaire (COPE) was completed by police members in the North West Province, and eight items focusing on emotion-focused coping were added. The objectives of this study were to assess the construct validity and internal consistency of the COPE in the SAPS, with added scales for emotional processing and emotional expression. Another objective was to conceptualise coping, and specifically coping within the policing context from the literature. Finally, analyses of the differences between the coping strategies of different demographic groups in the SAPS were conducted. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population (N=229) included samples of police personnel across the North West Province. In addition to the COPE, a biographical questionnaire compiled by the researcher, was administered. The dispositional version of the COPE was used, consisting of 53 items. Eight additional items which measure emotional processing and emotional expression were also used. Initial analysis revealed the COPE subscales to be unreliable. Subsequent analysis indicated that two coping mechanisms which reflected emotionality in broad terms were employed by SAPS members. These factors were termed Active Emotional Expression and Emotional Reappraisal, and showed acceptable Cronbach Alpha coefficients. Item bias analysis was conducted and two items indicated uniform bias, and another two non-uniform bias. Tucker's phi coefficients for Active Emotional Expression and Emotional Reappraisal were all acceptable, indicating equivalence for both the Afrikaans and "other" languages groups. With regard to the two coping factors, no significant differences were found between the created language categories, or gender. Differences between the coping strategies of police members with different ranks, marital states and salary categories were also not significant. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Background: Tanzania is a low-income country where many people struggle to afford health care. Previous research on emergency health care in Tanzania shows that there are limited resources when it comes to both education in emergency care and acute care equipment. Furthermore, there is limited information concerning experiences from nurses working with emergency care under these conditions. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the Tanzanian nurses’ experience of caring for patients with life threatening conditions at a hospital in a small community. Method: The study has a qualitative design with a semi-structured interview method where six registered nurses with experience of caring for patients who suffers from life threatening conditions at the Bagamoyo District Hospital in Tanzania were interviewed. The interview transcriptions where analyzed with a qualitative content analysis method described by Granheim and Lundman (2004). Results: The result shows that the nurses works in an environment where recourses are limited and how they have found alternative ways to provide care under the given circumstances. It reveals how the nurses’ cope with these situations, their emotional challenges and how they manage feelings that comes from caring for patients with life threatening conditions under the prevailing circumstances. Discussion: The result was discussed in relation to Roy’s adaption theory where the main focus was on the human being and its ability to adapt in order to maintain health and quality of life while interacting with a changing environment. / Bakgrund: Tanzania är ett utvecklingsland där många människor har svårt att bekosta sjukvård. Tidigare forskning rörande akutsjukvård i Tanzania visar att det finns en brist på utbildning och utrustning inom akutsjukvården. Det finns få studier som undersöker sjuksköterskans erfarenheter från att arbeta med akutsjukvård under de bristande förhållandena. Utifrån detta väcktes ett intresse för att utforska sjuksköterskans upplevelser utav att vårda patienter i livshotande tillstånd under dessa bristfälliga förhållanden. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att utforska den Tanzanianska sjuksköterskans upplevelser av att vårda patienter i livshotande tillstånd på ett sjukhus i ett litet samhälle. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ utformning med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuer hölls med sex sjuksköterskor som arbetar på Bagamoyo District Hospital i Tanzania med erfarenhet av att vårda patienter i livshotande tillstånd. Intervjuerna transkriberades och bearbetades enligt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som beskriven utav Granheim och Lundman (2004). Resultat: Resultatet visade att sjuksköterskorna arbetar i en miljö där resurser saknas och hur de funnit alternativa vägar för att kunna ge omvårdnad trots detta. Resultatet visar också att sjuksköterskorna ställs inför känslomässiga utmaningar och hur de hanterar känslorna som uppkommer då de vårdar patienter i livshotande tillstånd under bristfälliga förhållanden. Diskussion: Resultatet diskuterades i relation till Roys adaptionsteori med tyngdpunkt på människan och dess förmåga att adaptera för att upprätthålla hälsa och livskvalitet i en föränderlig miljö.

In two studies, this thesis depicts the relationship between minority group status in the United States, perceived discrimination, and coping with stress. Past literature on coping and its types – problem-focused versus emotion-focused – is inconsistent in terms of differences between minority status groups and majority groups. It remains unknown whether or why Black Americans and lesbian or gay Americans may demonstrate coping patterns that differ from White Americans and heterosexual Americans, respectively. What is altogether absent from the literature is the possible mediating factor of perceived discrimination experienced by these minority groups. That is, differences in internal, stable coping processes that manage stress may have been molded by one’s experience with discrimination. Study 1 examines the relationship between race (Black versus White) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Study 2 examines the relationship between sexual orientation (lesbian or gay versus heterosexual) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Both studies confirm the thesis that minority group members exhibit maladaptive, emotion-focused coping more than majority group members – but that this difference is explained by the minority group members’ perceived discrimination. Historical and political relevance, social implications, and possible limitations in design and interpretation are discussed. / text

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (1999), between 10-15% of children and adolescents in the United States show some symptoms of depression that interfere with their functioning at home and school. This same report indicated that only 20-25% of these children get the treatment they need to cope with this significant debilitating condition. Adults often turn to spirituality in order to find comfort, hope and relief from distress. Spirituality refers to one's own beliefs, experiences and ideals concerning how to cope with a crisis (Elkins & Cavendish, 2004). However, most work in spirituality has been done with adults; little is known about the ways in which spirituality may be used or expressed by children who are facing difficulty in life, and especially among clinically children with depression (Elkins et al., 2004).The purpose of this study was to investigate experiences and views that promote well-being among school-age children (ages 9-12 years) who had been diagnosed with depression, and specifically what role spirituality has in this process. The goal was to better understand the process of how these children express and find purpose and meaning in their life in order to find a sense of hope, comfort and strength in order to cope during their experience with depression. The method used for this study was grounded theory, designed to examine an underlying social process (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The sample consisted of 7 English speaking children ages 9-12 that had been diagnosed with depression not otherwise specified or dysthymia. Children were patients at a counseling center in Arizona. A semi-structured interview schedule ensured that the research questions were answered. Data were analyzed using constant comparison of themes across and within data from the participants and other text-based sources.Self-regulation, which included spiritually-related approaches, was found to be a key underlying process of coping in this group of children. Understanding the process of spiritual self-regulation was useful in providing more definitive knowledge for theory-guided practice with clinically depressed school-aged children.

Syftet med studien var att jämföra grad av coping samt grad av livstillfredsställelse mellan religiösa personer och de som anser sig vara icke troende. För att testa skillnaderna mellan religiösa och ateister gjordes stickprov med data från 30 religiösa och 103 ateister. Mätinstrumentet REI skapades för att mäta graden av tro eller icke tro i avseende att jämföra resultatet mot den trosuppfattning som deltagarna själva hade angivit. Ett Mann–Whitney U test visade att det inte fanns en signifikant skillnad mellan deltagarnas självskattning av tro och resultatet från REI. Resultat från oberoende t-test avseende livstillfredsställelse visar att religiösa och ateister inte signifikant skilde sig åt. Signfikanta skillnader återfanns i oberoende t-test avseende emotionsbaserad, problemfokuserad och dysfunktionell coping. De religiösa och ateistiska grupperna skiljde sig mest i emotionsbaserad coping som hade högst effektstyrka enligt Cohens d (d = 1,39) i jämförelse med effektstyrkan för problemfokuserad och dysfunktionell coping. / The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of coping and the level of life satisfaction between religious people and those who consider themselves non-believers. To test the differences atheists, two sets of data from 30 religious and 103 atheists were used. The instrument REI was created to measure the degree of belief or non-belief in order to compare the results against the belief that the participants themselves had stated. A Mann–Whitney U test confirmed that there is no significant difference between participants' self-assessment of belief and the results from REI. Results from independent t-tests on the life satisfaction show that the religious and the atheists do not significantly differ. Significant differences were however found in independent t-test for emotion-based, problem-based and dysfunctional coping. The religious and atheist groups differed the most on the emotion-based coping with the highest effect size of Cohen's d (d = 1.39) in comparison with the effect size of problem-based and dysfunctional coping.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate if children to parent/parents who abuse alcohol have found ways to strengthen themselves, and how they deal with their everyday life and their own feelings and health. To get answers to our study, we have read seven biographies which we have analyzed by using coping theory. Our study shows that the children in our empiricism are keeping their parents abuse as a secret. Our study shows that children have found strategies to cope and manage to live with parents with alcohol abuse, even though their childhood conditions have been difficult and they had few people around to support them.

Bakgrund: HIV är ett globalt problem och 30-35 miljoner människor lever som HIV-positiva. Trots att det finns effektiv behandling som gör risken mindre för att sprida viruset vidare, utsätts många personer med HIV av diskriminering på grund av stigmatisering i samhället och inom sjukvården. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att beskriva hur personer med HIV upplever och hanterar sin livssituation. Samt att granska undersökningsgrupperna i studierna. Metod: Litteraturstudien bygger på en deskriptiv design där resultatet grundar sig på 13 artiklar med kvalitativ ansats, sökta i Cinahl och PubMed. Resultat: Att bli diagnostiserad med HIV var förödande och livet förändras för många till följd av egna känslor och uppfattningar, men också på grund av stigmatisering från familj och samhället. För att orka med dessa stora omvälvningar använder sig deltagarna av olika hanteringsstrategier, både för att kunna acceptera sjukdomen från början och för att lära sig att leva under de nya förhållandena. En stor del av att leva med HIV innebär att hålla sjukdomen hemlig, eller att våga berätta för att kunna få stöd och hjälp. Att avslöja sin diagnos togs emot på varierande sätt, vissa fick mycket stöd medan andra blev utestängda. Slutsats: Okunskap och fördomar leder till stigmatisering vilket ger ett ökat lidande för personer med HIV i en redan svår situation. Detta kan ta sig uttryck som att personer med HIV isolerar sig eller diskrimineras. / Background: HIV is a global problem and 30-35 million people are living with the disease. Although there is effective treatment that makes the risk of spreading the disease very small, people are still discriminated because of the stigmatisation in society and in healthcare. Aim: The aim of this literature study is to describe how people living with HIV experience and handling their life situation. And to review the study groups in the articles. Method: The literature review is based on a descriptive design where the result is based on 13 articles with a qualitative approach that is sought from Cinahl and PubMed. Results: To be diagnosed with HIV was devastating and life changed because of their own emotions and perceptions, but also because of stigmatisation in the family and in society. To be able to manage these hard times the participants used different coping strategies, to accept and learn to live with their new condition. A big part of living with HIV was to keep the disease a secret, or to manage to disclose it to get support and help. The disclosing was received in different ways, some got a lot of support and some had to manage on their own. Conclusion: Ignorance and stereotypes leads to stigmatisation which increases the suffering for HIV-diagnosed people in an already difficult time. The stigmatisation leads to discrimination and that people living with HIV isolates themselves.