Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T13:43:06.941Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Predictors of Coping for Mothers of Separated/Divorced Offspring*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Allison M. Krause
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Bonita C. Long
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia

Abstract

The relationship between family cohesion, perceived control, received social support types (emotional, informational, and tangible), and the coping strategies used by mothers of separated or divorced offspring was examined. Data were obtained from 84 mothers aged 45 to 78 (M age 61). Two multiple regression analyses were conducted with avoidant coping (focus on and venting emotion, behavioural disengagement, mental disengagement) and active coping (active coping, planning, positive reinterpretation and growth) serving as criterion variables. Greater use of avoidant coping was associated with low family cohesion, low perceived control, and high received emotional support. In addition, greater use of active coping was associated with high received emotional support.

Résumé

Cette étude examine la relation entre, d'une part, la cohésion familiale, le contrôle subjectif, et trois formes de soutien social (soutien émotionnel, apport d'information, aide concrète), et, d'autre part, les stratégies d'adaptation utilisées par les mères de personnes séparées ou divorcées. Les données ont été obtenues auprès de 84 mères âgées de 45 à 78 ans (moyenne: 61). Deux analyses de régression multiple ont été conduites en utilisant l'adaptation de type évitement (accent mis sur la ventilation des émotions, sur le désengagement mental et comportemental) et l'adaptation de type implication active (adaptation active, planification, réinterprétation positive et croissance) à titre de variables critères. Un recours plus fréquent à l'adaptation de type évitement s'est avéré être associé à une faible cohésion familiale, un bas niveau de contrôle subjectif, et à un haut niveau de soutien émotionnel. De plus, une utilisation plus importante de l'adaptation active était associé à un haut niveau de soutien émotionnel.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahrons, C.R., & Bowman, M.E. (1982). Changes in family relationships following divorce of adult child: Grandmother's perceptions. Journal of Divorce, 5, 4968.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrera, M. (1986). Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 413445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrera, M., Sandier, I., & Ramsay, T. (1981). Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 435447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, K.L., & Fleming, M.F. (1990). Family cohesion, expressiveness and conflict in alcoholic families. British Journal of Addiction, 85, 8187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belle, D. (1991). Gender differences in the social moderators of stress. In Monat, A. & Lazarus, R.S. (Eds.), Stress and coping (pp. 258274). New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Billings, A.G., & Moos, R.H. (1981). The role of coping responses and social resources in attenuating the stress of life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 139157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Billings, A.G., & Moos, R.H. (1982). Family environments and adaptation: A clinically applicable typology. American Journal of Family Therapy, 10, 2638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, E.M. (1982). Divorce and the extended family: A consideration of services. Journal of Divorce, 5, 159171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carver, C.S., Scheier, M.F., & Weintraub, J.K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cherlin, A.J., & Furstenberg, F.F. (1986). The new American grandparent. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Compas, B.E., Malcarne, V.L., & Fondacaro, K.M. (1988). Coping with stressful events in older children and young adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 405411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coyne, J.C., & DeLongis, A. (1986). Going beyond social support: The role of social relationships in adaptation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 454460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coyne, J.C., Wortman, C.B., & Lehman, D.R. (1988). The other side of support: Emotional overinvolvement and miscarried helping. In Gottlieb, B.H. (Ed.), Marshaling social support (pp. 305329). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Cronkite, R.C., & Moos, R.H. (1984). The role of predisposing and moderating factors in the stress-illness relationship. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 25, 372393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cutrona, C.E. (1990). Stress and social support - In search of optimal matching. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunkel-Schetter, C., Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1987). Correlates of social support receipt. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 7180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fischer, L.R. (1983). Transition to grandmotherhood. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 16(1), 6778.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleishman, J.A. (1984). Personality characteristics and coping patterns. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 25, 229244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 150170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forsythe, C.J., & Compas, B.E. (1987). Interaction of cognitive appraisals of stressful events and coping: Testing the goodness of fit hypothesis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 473–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, L. (1990). Why can't I sleep at Nona's any more? Death, divorce and the grandparents. South Melbourne: Matchbooks.Google Scholar
Gottlieb, D.W., Gottlieb, I.B., & Slavin, M.A. (1988). What to do when your son or daughter divorces. Toronto: Bantam Books.Google Scholar
Hagestad, G.O. (1985). Continuity and connectedness. In Bengtson, V.L. & Robertson, J.F. (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 3148). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hanson, C.L., Cigrang, J.A., Harris, M.A., Carle, D.L., Relyea, G., & Burghen, G.A. (1989). Coping styles in youths with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 644651.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herth, K. (1990). Relationship of hope, coping styles, concurrent losses, and setting to grief resolution in the elderly widow(er). Research in Nursing & Health, 13(2), 109117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holahan, C.J., & Moos, R.H. (1985). Life stress and health: Personality, coping, and family support in stress resistance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 739747.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hyatt, R., & Kaslow, F. (1985). The impact of children's divorce on parents: And some contributing factors. Journal of Divorce, 9, 7992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, C.L. (1988). Ex Familia. London, UK: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, E.S. (1981). Older mothers' perceptions of their child's divorce. Gerontologist, 21, 395401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, E.S., & Vinick, B.H. (1982). Support of the parent when an adult son or daughter divorces. Journal of Divorce, 5, 6977.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, N. (1986). Social support, stress, and well-being among older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 41, 512519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krause, N. (1987a). Chronic financial strain, social support, and depressive symptoms among older adults. Psychology and Aging, 2, 185192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krause, N. (1987b). Life stress, social support, and self-esteem in an elderly population. Psychology and Aging, 2, 349356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, N. (1987c). Satisfaction with social support and self-rated health in older adults. The Gerontologist, 27, 301308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krause, N., & Markides, K. (1990). Measuring social support among older adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 30(1), 3753.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R.S., & Launier, R. (1978). Stress-related transactions between person and environment. In Pervin, L.A. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), Perspectives in interactional psychology (pp. 287327). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, G.R. (1985). Kinship and social support of the elderly: The case of the United States. Ageing and Society, 5, 1938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, B.C. (1990). Relation between coping strategies, sex-typed traits, and environmental characteristics: A comparison of male and female managers. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 37, 185194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manne, S.L., & Zautra, A.J. (1989). Spouse criticism and support: Their association with coping and psychological adjustment among women with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 608617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, S.H., & Sprey, J. (1984). The impact of divorce on grandparenthood: An exploratory study. Gerontologist, 24, 4147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maynard, P., Maynard, N., McCubbin, H.I., & Shao, D. (1980). Family life and the police profession: Coping patterns wives employ in managing job stress and the family environment. Family Relations, 29, 495501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moos, R.H., & Moos, B.S. (1986). Family Environment Scale manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Parkes, K.R. (1986). Coping in stressful episodes: The role of individual differences, environmental factors, and situational characteristics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 12771292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearlin, J.L., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearson, J.L. (1988). Older parents' reactions and adjustment to their child's marital separation. (Doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1987). Dissertation Abstracts International, 49, 548B.Google Scholar
Scheier, M.F., Weintraub, J.K., & Carver, C.S. (1986). Coping with stress: Divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 12571264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwarzer, R., & Weiner, B. (1991). Stigma controllability and coping as predictors of emotions and social support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 8, 133140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shavelson, R.J. (1988). Statistical reasoning for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Shin, M., Lehmann, S., & Wong, N.W. (1984). Social interaction and social support. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 5576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starbuck, R.P. (1989). The loss of a grandchild through divorce. (Doctoral dissertation, Texas Woman's University, 1988). Dissertation Abstracts International, 50, 1104A.Google Scholar
Stone, A.A., & Neale, J.M. (1984). New measure of daily coping: Development and preliminary results. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 892906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Troll, L., Miller, L., & Atchley, R. (1979). Families in later life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Wohlgemuth, E., & Betz, N.E. (1991). Gender as a moderator of the relationships of stress and social support to physical health in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 367374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar