Coping Flexibility and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Older Adults: The Compensatory Effect of Co-rumination

Background: Coping flexibility, defined as a wide range of coping strategies, may be a promising construct in determining coping effectiveness, especially in conjunction with a person-centered approach. However, no studies have focused on these issues. The study aimed to identify the distinct, multidimensional patterns of strategies for coping with chronic health conditions and their association with changes in physical and psychological health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older adults over a one month period.Methods: Coping strategies (brooding, reflection, co-rumination, and positive reappraisal) and HRQoL psychological and physical domains were assessed twice (at the baseline and one month later) among 210 older adults (age 76.12 ± 9.09 years, 66% women).Findings: The parallel process analysis demonstrated the sample heterogeneity regarding coping. In multidimensional latent class growth analysis (MLCGA), four coping classes of overall strategies were identified: consistently low (46%), medium and decreasing (18%), medium and increasing (20%), and consistently high (16%). The last two can be considered the coping flexibility. Participants in the medium and increasing subgroup reported enhancement in HRQoL psychological domain, whereas members of the consistently high subgroup indicated its decrease. The favorable effects were related to an increase in co-rumination.Discussion: The findings shed light on the longitudinal patterns of coping in older adults, showing that coping flexibility is more adaptive when it relies on modifying coping efforts rather than coping complexity. Co-rumination played a key role, compensated by the effect of maladaptive strategies

Różnice płciowe w przystosowaniu do insulinoterapii u chorych na cukrzycę typu 2

Background: This study aims to investigate if there aregender differences in cognitive, behavioral and emotional response to switching over to insulin treatmentin adults with type 2 diabetes.Material and methods: Cognitive appraisal (questionnaire KOS), coping strategies (CHIP) and emotions (PANAS) were assessed among 278 patients (F = 148,M = 130) one month after conversion to insulin treatment.Results: Results showed that women reported morenegative appraisal, instrumental- and emotion-oriented behaviors than did men. There’s no differences inemotions. In addition, patients generally expressed stronger perception of their health condition in termsof challenge, more emotion-oriented coping strategies and higher levels of negative emotions.Conclusions: Gender differences play an important antrole in adjustment to insulin treatment.Wstęp: Celem badania było określenie istotnych różnic międzypłciowych w zakresie oceny poznawczej, strategii radzenia sobie oraz emocji pojawiających się w reakcji na wprowadzenie insulinoterapii u chorychz cukrzycą typu 2.Materiał i metody: Badaniami kwestionariuszowymi objęto 278 osób (K = 148, M = 130), które miesiąc wcześniej rozpoczęły insulinoterapię. Zastosowano kwestionariusze KOS (ocena poznawcza), CHIP (strategie radzenia sobie z chorobą) oraz PANAS (negatywne i pozytywne emocje).Wyniki: Wykazano istotne znaczenie płci dla oceny zmiany leczenia i zachowań podejmowanych w jej obliczu. Kobiety istotnie częściej postrzegały insulinoterapię w kategoriach zagrożenia, podejmowały działania ukierunkowane na poradzenie sobie z chorobą oraz regulujące emocje. Nie odnotowano różnic w zakresie odczuwanych emocji. Analizy wykazały, że pacjenci, bez względu na płeć, najczęściej oceniali swoją sytuację zdrowotną w kategoriach Wyzwania/aktywności, odczuwali negatywne emocje i radzili sobie poprzez koncentrowanie się na tych emocjach.Wnioski: Rezultaty badania wskazują, że w praktyce klinicznej przy wprowadzaniu insulinoterapii należałoby uwzględnić różnice międzypłciowe

A Growth Mixture Modeling Study of Learning Trajectories in an Extended Computerized Working Memory Training Programme Developed for Young Children Diagnosed With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study explored (1) whether growth mixture modeling (GMM) could identify different trajectories of learning efficiency during a working memory (WM) training programme for young children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), compared with a typically developing (TD) control group, and (2) if learning trajectories and outcomes were different for simple and complex training tasks. Children completed simple visuospatial short-term memory (VSSTM) and complex visuospatial WM (VSWM) tasks for 15 min a day, 5 days a week, and for 8 weeks. Parent-reported executive functioning, and children's WM and attention control, educational achievement, and IQ were measured prior to (T1), immediately following (T2) and 3 months after training (T3). GMM analysis showed that WM training was represented as one learning curve, and there was no difference for the trajectories of the ADHD and TD groups. The learning trajectory for the VSSTM tasks across groups was represented as one learning curve and for the VSWM tasks there were three learning curves. Learning for the VSSTM tasks and for most children in the VSWM tasks was characterized by an inverted-U shape, indicating that training was effective for up to 15 sessions, was stable and declined thereafter, highlighting an optimal training timeframe. For the VSWM tasks, the two remaining groups showed either a U-shaped or a high inverted U-shaped trajectory, with the latter group achieving the highest T1T2 change score (i.e., children showed a lower starting point and the most gain in terms of learning and post-training performance). There were no broader benefits of training at post-test or follow-up. Further research should explore who would benefit most from intensive cognitive training, as well as the potential benefits for mental health and well-being

Positive and negative adjustment in couples undergoing infertility treatment: The impact of support exchange.

BACKGROUND:Perceived social support relates to infertility-related distress in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Studies examining the effect of other support types on both positive and negative adjustment among infertile couples are scarce or non-existent. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of support receipt, provision, invisibility (the discrepancy between one partner's received and the other partner's provided support), and equity (the discrepancy between each partner's received and provided support) on the positive (life purpose) and negative (depressive symptoms) indices of well-being in couples undergoing ART treatment. METHODS:Depressive symptoms (CES-D), life purpose (PIL), and social support (BSSS) were assessed among 31 married couples (mean age 32.67 years) undergoing ART treatment. Data were analyzed by applying the Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model (APIM) using multilevel modeling. FINDINGS:Both receiving and providing support had beneficial effects in women and men. However, sub-analysis showed differences according to gender and the support exchange effects. Women reported higher depression and lower life purpose but benefited more from support, and their well-being was more dependent on their own perception of support provision and receipt. Men demonstrated higher adjustment to infertility but benefited less from support, and their well-being was mostly correlated with supportive behaviors of their wives. DISCUSSION:Adjustment mechanisms of women and men undergoing ART treatment vary considerably; thus, gender should be taken into consideration in interventions. Future studies should focus on costs/benefits and gender differences of visible and invisible support in infertility settings

Data_HSCT

The recruitment occured in a single-centre after elective hospital admission for hematopeotic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The research procedure consisted of 2 stages: (1) baseline measurement (before conditioning regimen); and (2) a day-by-day measurement based on a daily evening measurement of physical symptoms for 28 days starting from the first day of hospital discharge. The study protocol was approved by the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities Ethics Committee. <br>Measures: daily somatic symptoms; demographic (age, gender, education, marital status, subjective economic status and employment) and clinical characteristics (diagnosis, time since diagnosis, comorbidities, type of transplant, condidioning).<br

Data_PTG and PTD following mastectomy.sav

Coping strategies, support effectiveness (SSE), posttraumatic growth (PTG), and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) were measured in 84 post-mastectomy women. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) history of mreast cancer, (2) history of radical or breast-conserving mastectomy, (3) no history of other major disibling medical or psychiatric conditions, and (4) age of above 18 years. This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Ethics Committee. All participants gave written informed conset in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.<br>Posttraumatic grwoth symptoms were assessed using the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Responses were provided on a 6-point scale, ranging from 0 (I did not experience this change) to 5 (I experienced this change to a very great degree). Higher scores reflected more PTG (Cronbachs' alfa was .86).<br>Posttraumatic depreciation symptoms were assessed with 21 negatively worded items from PTGI. A similar methodology was implemented by Backer et al. (2008). The participants used the same response scale as for PTGI. Higher scores indicated more PTD (Crongachs' alfa was .84).<br>Coping strategies were assessed with the abbreviated situational version of the COPE Inventory (Brief COPE). The participants rated their behavior regarding breast cancer and mastectomy ona 4-point scale ranging from 1 (I haven't been doing this at all) to 4 (I've been doing this a lot). In its original form, the Brief COPE consist of 14 subscales (with only 2 itmes per scale). Due to low item reliability, and as per the suggestion of Carver et al. (1998), a second-order exploratory ractor analysis was performed. Three higher-orger factors were identified and further analyzed: problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, use of instrumental support, alfa was .74); positive emotion-focused coping (use of emotional support, positive reframing, acceptance, religion, humor, alfa was .61); and negative emotion- and avoidance-focused coping (venting, denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement, self-distraction, self-blame, alfa was .62). Higher scores reflected greater coping strategies.<br>Effectiveness of social support attempts were assessed with the Social Support Effectiveness Questionnaire (SSE-Q; Rini and Dunkel-Schetter, 2010). The participants rated (a) whether the received amount matched the expected amount of support, (b) the ectent to which they wished for different support, (c) whether support was provided in a skillful way, (d) the difficulty associated with getting support, (e) whether support was offered without asking, and (f) whether the recieved support resulted in negtive effects (e.g. guilt). Points (a) to (e) were assessed on a 4-point scale from 0 (very poor, not et alll; or never; depending on the content) to a 4 (excellent; extremely; always; respectively), while negative effects were assessed on a two-point scale of 0 (yes) to 2 (no). Higher scores indicated greater SSE (alfa was .91). <br><br

Actor and partner effects of coping on adjustment in couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment

Background Infertility is a shared experience as it affects both partners. However, mutual dependencies between coping and adjustment at the couple level remain to be fully elucidated. The study attempted to address this issue using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to examine the actor effect (the extent to which an individual’s score on coping predicted their own level of depressive symptoms and life purpose) and the partner effect (the extent to which an individual’s score on coping predicted the level of adjustment in the partner) in couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ART). Participants and procedure Coping strategies, depressive symptoms, and life purpose were assessed among 31 married couples (aged 27-38 years) undergoing ART. The Brief COPE, CES-D, and PIL questionnaires were used. Data were analyzed by multilevel modeling (MLM). Results The results of MLM indicated that focus on positive and active coping had an actor effect with depressive symptoms and life purpose, respectively. The actor effect of evasive coping on depression was moderated by gender and significant only in women. The partner effect was demonstrated for evasive coping, social support seeking, and substance use – the first two were gender moderated and significant in men. Conclusions Coping efforts in the couple during infertility treatment are not only associated with the individual but also the partner’s adjustment to that situation. Although the focus on positive and active coping was associated with individual benefits, other coping strategies which have the function of a protective buffer may also result in the occurrence of side effects, especially in females