Coping strategy is usually called a variant of the conscious and purposeful behavior of a person in a difficult life situation. Literally it can be translated as “cope, cope, overcome.” Coping strategy involves a number of behavioral and cognitive actions of a person in response to changing external or internal conditions that require more expenses from the person than is possible.
History reference
The exact date of the beginning of the use of the terms “coping behavior”, “coping strategy” is not known:
- According to some sources, this phenomenon began to be considered within the framework of overcoming age crises by children, then the author was D. Murphy.
- According to other sources, the authorship belongs to A. Maslow and the term began to be used in relation to extreme situations.
One way or another, gradually the term began to be used in relation to any difficult life situations, and a little later in the framework of everyday psychology (overcoming everyday stress, conflicts, contradictory situations).
Thus, the coping strategy is a variant of a person’s conscious response to stress. The opposite of this behavior is unconscious psychological defense mechanisms. In psychology, coping behavior is considered within the framework of the resource approach.
Resource approach
This is a modern trend in psychology. The essence of the approach is that there is a concept and the possibility of distributing personal resources, which is why some people manage to maintain balance in difficult situations and adapt to new conditions. There is a complex of main resources that allows you to adequately distribute and direct all the rest.
Environment support was found to be the most useful external resource. However, there is a fine line between adequate support to facilitate the development of a strategy, and overprotection of loved ones, in conjunction with the acceptance of the victim’s role by the person himself.
The structure and essence of the coping strategy
Coping strategy is a complex of behavioral, emotional and cognitive strategies. By combining them in different ratios and relationships, a person copes with stress. Moreover, both in everyday everyday situations and in difficult, crisis conditions.
Despite the frequent identification of the concepts of “coping strategy” and “coping behavior”, there is some difference between them. And besides, the third concept is highlighted: “coping resources”.
Coping strategy
These are the reactions (thoughts, feelings and actions) of a person in a particular situation. Moreover, they can be arbitrary and involuntary, as well as combine these elements. Involuntary reactions include everything that is caused by the peculiarities of temperament and actions (attitudes) acquired in the course of socialization and brought to automatism.
Conscious strategies include everything related to self-regulation and meets a number of conditions:
- The difficulties that have arisen are fully realized by the personality.
- A person knows how to cope with just such a situation, this type of circumstance.
- A person knows how to apply this knowledge in time and correctly in practice.
Coping behavior
It is a person’s readiness to solve emerging life difficulties. It finds practical implementation through coping strategies and is based on coping resources.
Coping resources
These are features, characteristic features of the personality itself and the current situation, contributing to the adaptation of a person. Among external resources, the main one is support. Personally beneficial resources include:
- positive thinking;
- adequate self-concept and self-esteem;
- low neuroticism;
- internal locus of control;
- the ability to empathize and build social relationships;
- ability to be creative.
It is also very important to have an inner conviction of a person in their own coping abilities.
Types of coping strategies
Coping strategies are adaptive, non-adaptive and partially adaptive:
- adaptive strategies – a variant of active problem solving (cooperation, altruism);
- non-adaptive – complete avoidance of the problem (escape from reality, suppression, aggression, submission);
- partially adaptive – avoiding the problem under some pretext (masking avoidance, emotional release, distraction).
The main task of coping with the situation is to maintain the mental and emotional balance of a person in a critical situation or conditions of uncertainty.
Strategies can be aimed at transforming a person’s inner world, that is, internal conditions, or at changing external conditions. The third option is the simultaneous transformation of oneself and the situation. Accordingly, a person focuses either on a problem, or on his emotions, feelings, relationships, or both. In addition, coping strategies can be productive and unproductive.
It should be noted that optimism, resilience, positive thinking are not strategies, but personality traits. Strategies – a set of specific actions, algorithms and schemes. However, personality traits such as optimism help develop constructive and effective strategies.
Coping strategies are formed from coping actions (feelings, thoughts and actions) and form coping styles of behavior, or coping tactics (a set of strategies).
There is no unified classification of strategies. Therefore, I propose to consider the most popular.
By focus:
- Determination of the meaning of the situation for the individual.
- Focusing on coping with stress.
- Focusing on your emotions and maintaining balance.
By success:
- Use of constructive active strategies.
- The use of destructive strategies that delay the way out of a difficult situation.
By style:
- Problem orientation.
- Avoidance orientation.
- Emotion orientation.
By the degree of control:
- Situation planning.
- Antisocial behavior.
- Indirect actions.
- Direct active actions to resolve the situation.
According to the specifics of the situation:
- Self-control.
- Aggressive change in the situation.
- Help from outside.
- Avoiding the situation (reality).
- Revaluation.
- Systematic solution to the problem.
By openness:
- Hidden mental solution to the problem.
- Proactive decision through action.
Thus, 8 behavioral strategies can be distinguished, 10 cognitive and 8 emotional.
Among the adaptive responses, behavioral ones include all strategies where the person himself actively enters into social relations or offers ways to resolve the situation. Cognitive strategies involve analyzing the problem, increasing self-esteem, increasing faith in one’s own personal value, and developing self-control. Emotional reactions include protest and optimism.
Non-adaptive strategies include:
- among the behavioral ones: passivity, solitude, isolation, avoidance of problems even in thoughts, retreat, refusal to solve the problem (it will resolve itself);
- among the cognitive ones: disbelief in their own capabilities and potential, humility, confusion, deliberate underestimation of troubles;
- among the emotional: self-blame or blaming other people, suppression of emotions, depression, feelings of hopelessness and resignation.
Relatively adaptive strategies include:
- among behavioral ones: compensation, any temporary distraction from solving a problem (leaving for some business or hobby, alcohol, travel, fulfillment of desires);
- among the cognitive ones: comparing the situation with the problems of other people, searching for strength to overcome difficulties in turning to faith, giving the situation of overcoming a special meaning (this is a test that must be passed with dignity);
- among the emotional: transferring responsibility to other people, relieving emotional stress.
There are tests to determine the prevailing coping strategy in a person. With their help, you can predict how a person will behave in a stressful situation, at a time of conflict. This is actively used in practice. For example, when diagnosing adoptive parents, this is a required element.
What is interesting: knowing the psychological type of personality, one can assume without a test the coping strategies prevailing in him. This is due to the influence of both innate characteristics of a person and the result of social learning. One strategy may be based on several defense mechanisms and a complex of acquired attitudes.
