Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T00:15:15.528Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coping strategies and distress reduction in psychological well-being? A structural equation modelling analysis using a national population sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2015

X. Meng  and
C. D'Arcy
X. Meng*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
C. D'Arcy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr X. Meng, McGill University and Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Boulevard LaSalle, Montreal, Canada. (Email: xiangfei.meng@mcgill.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background.

Little is understood about of the role of coping strategies in psychological well-being (PWB) and distress for the general population and different physical and psychiatric disease groups. A thorough examination of these relationships may provide evidence for the implementation of public mental health promotion and psychiatric disease prevention strategies aimed at improving the use of positive coping approaches or addressing the causes and maintainers of distress. The present study using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach and nationally representative data on the Canadian population investigates the relationships among PWB, distress and coping strategies and identifies major factors related to PWB for both the general population and diverse-specific disease groups.

Methods.

Data examined were from the Canadian Community Health Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS 1.2), a large national survey (n = 36 984). We applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis and SEM to build structural relationships among PWB, distress and coping strategies in the general population.

Results.

Both SEM measurement and structure models provided a good fit. Distress was positively related to negative coping and negatively related to positive coping. Positive coping indicated a higher level of PWB, whereas negative coping was associated with a lower level of PWB. PWB was negatively related to distress. These same relationships were also found in the population subgroups. For the population with diseases (both physical and psychiatric diseases, except agoraphobia), distress was the more important factor determining subjective PWB than the person's coping strategies, whereas, negative coping had a major impact on distress in the general population. Strengths and limitations were also discussed.

Conclusions.

Our findings have practical implications for public psychiatric disease intervention and mental health promotion. As previously noted positive/adaptive coping increased the level of PWB, whereas negative/maladaptive coping was positively related to distress and negatively related to PWB. Distress decreased the level of PWB. Our findings identified major correlates of PWB in both the general population and population subgroups. Our results provide evidence for the differential use of intervention tactics among different target audiences. In order to improve the mental health of the general population public mental health promotion should focus on strategies that reduce negative coping at a population level, whereas clinicians treating individual clients should make the reduction of distress their primary target to maintain or improve patients’ PWB.

Keywords

Epidemiologyfactor analysismental healthpsychiatric servicesstress
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 370 - 383
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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

Alexander, CN, Rainforth, MV, Gelderloos, P (1991). Transcendental meditation, self-actualization, and psychological health: a conceptual overview and statistical meta-analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6, 189–247.Google Scholar
Amirkhan, JH (1990). A factor analytically derived measure of coping: the coping strategy indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59, 1066–1074.Google Scholar
Arbuckle, JL (2006). Amos (Version 7.0) [Computer Program]. Chicago: SPSS patent application.Google Scholar
Bentler, PM (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin 107, 238–246.Google Scholar
Billings, DW, Folkman, S, Acree, M, Moskowitz, JT (2000). Coping and physical health during caregiving: the roles of positive and negative effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79, 131–142.Google Scholar
Blalock, SJ, Devellis, BM, Giorgino, KB (1995). The relationship between coping and psychological well-being among people with osteoarthritis: a problem-specific approach. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 17, 107–115.Google Scholar
Borren, I, Tambs, K, Idstad, M, Ask, H, Sundet, JM (2012). Psychological distress and subjective well-being in partners of somatically ill or physically disabled: the Nord-Trondelag Health Study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 475–482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brooks, RT, Beard, J, Steel, Z (2006). Factor structure and interpretation of the K10. Psychological Assessment 18, 62–70.Google Scholar
Carver, CS, Scheier, MF, Weintraub, JK (1989). Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 56, 267–283.Google Scholar
Cavers, D, Hacking, B, Erridge, SE, Kendall, M, Morris, PG, Murray, SA (2012). Social, psychological and existential well-being in patients with glioma and their caregivers: a qualitative study. Canadian Medical Association Journal 184, E373–E382.Google Scholar
Child, D (1990). The Essentials of Factor Analysis, 2nd edn. Cassel Educational Limited: London.Google Scholar
Christensen, H, Petrie, K (2013). Information technology as the key to accelerating advances in mental health care. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 47, 114–116.Google Scholar
Churchill, R (2010). No health without mental health: a role for The Cochrane Collaboration [editoral]. Retrieved 3 November 2014 from http://www.thecochranelibrary.com/details/editorial/859307/No-health-without-mental-health-a-role-for-the-Cochrane-Collaboration-by-Rachel-.html CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, KK, Bormann, CA, Cropanzano, RS, James, K (1995). Validation evidence for three coping measures. Journal of Personality Assessment 65, 434–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cronbach, LJ (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16, 297–334.Google Scholar
Dewa, CS, Lin, E, Kooehoorn, M, Goldner, E (2007). Association of chronic work stress, psychiatric disorders, and chronic physical conditions with disability among workers. Psychiatric Services 58, 652–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diong, SM, Bishop, GD (1999). Anger expression, coping styles, and well-being. Journal of Health Psychology 4, 81–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folkman, S, Lazarus, RS (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, 150–170.Google Scholar
Folkman, S, Moskowitz, JT (2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping. American Psychologist 55, 647–654.Google Scholar
Frattaroli, J, Weidner, G, Dnistrian, AM, Kemp, C, Daubenmier, JJ, Marlin, RO, Crutchfield, L, Yglecias, L, Carroll, PR, Ornish, D (2008). Clinical events in prostate cancer lifestyle trial: results from two years of follow-up. Urology 72, 1319–1323.Google Scholar
Frydenberg, E, Lewis, R (2009). Relations among well-being, avoidant coping, and active coping in a large sample of Australian adolescents. Psychological Reports 104, 745–758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gravel, R, Béland, Y (2005). The Canadian Community Health Survey: mental health and well-being. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 50, 573–579.Google Scholar
Gun, SY, Titov, N, Andrews, G (2011). Acceptability of internet treatment of anxiety and depression among older adults. Australasian Psychiatry 19, 250–264.Google Scholar
Gustems-Carnicer, J, Calderon, C (2013). Coping strategies and psychological well-being among teacher education students. European Journal of Psychology Education 28, 1127–1140.Google Scholar
Hebert, R, Zdaniuk, B, Schulz, R, Scheier, M (2009). Positive and negative religious coping and well-being in women with breast cancer. Journal of Palliative Medicine 12, 537–545.Google Scholar
Houlihan, B, Fitzgerald, M, O'Regan, M (1994). Self-esteem, depression and hostility in Irish adolescents. Journal of Adolescence 17, 565–577.Google Scholar
Hu, LT, Bentler, PM (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling 6, 1–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, RC, Andrews, G, Colpe, LJ, Hiripi, E, Mroczek, DK, Normand, SL, Walters, EE, Zaslavsky, AM (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine 32, 959–976.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lamers, SM, Westerhof, GJ, Bohlmeijer, ET, ten Klooster, PM, Keyes, CL (2011). Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF). Journal of Clinical Psychology 67, 99–110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lei, PW, Wu, Q (2007). An NCME instructional module on introduction to structural equation modeling: issues and practical considerations. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 26, 33–44.Google Scholar
Lemaire, JB, Wallace, JE (2010). Not all coping strategies are created equal: a mixed methods study exploring physicians’ self reported coping strategies. BMC Health Services Research 10, 208.Google Scholar
MacCallum, RC, Browne, MW, Sugawara, HM (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods 1, 130–149.Google Scholar
Major, B, Richards, C, Cooper, ML, Cozzarelli, C, Zubek, J (1998). Personal resilience, cognitive appraisals, and coping: an integrative model of adjustment to abortion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74, 735–752.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masse, R, Poulin, C, Dassa, C, Lambert, J, Belair, S, Battaglini, A (1998). The structure of mental health: higher-order confirmatory factor analyses of psychological distress and well-being measures. Social Indicators Research 45, 475–504.Google Scholar
Meng, X, D'Arcy, C (2013). The projected effect of increasing physical activity on reducing the prevalence of common mental disorders among Canadian men and women: a national population-based community study. Preventive Medicine 56, 59–63.Google Scholar
Nelson, NG, Dell'Oliver, C, Koch, C, Buckler, R (2002). Stress, coping, and success among graduate students in clinical psychology. Psychological Reports 88, 759–767.Google Scholar
Park, H, Heppner, P, Lee, D (2010). Maladaptive coping and self-esteem as mediators between perfectionism and psychological distress. Personality and Individual Differences 48, 469–474.Google Scholar
Patten, SB, Wang, JL, Williams, JV, Currie, S, Beck, CA, Maxwell, CJ, El-Guebaly, N (2006). Descriptive epidemiology of major depression in Canada. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 51, 84–90.Google Scholar
Pottie, CG, Ingram, KM (2008). Daily stress, coping, and well-being in parents of children with autism: a multilevel modeling approach. Journal of Family Psychology 22, 855–864.Google Scholar
Prince, M, Patel, V, Saxena, S, Maj, M, Maselko, J, Phillips, MR, Rahman, A (2007). No health without mental health. Lancet 370, 859–877.Google Scholar
Rexrode, K, Petersen, S, O'Toole, S (2008). The ways of coping scale a reliability generalization study. Educational and Psychological Measurement 68, 262–280.Google Scholar
Ryff, CD, Keyes, CL (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69, 719–727.Google Scholar
Salmon, P (2001). Effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: a unifying theory. Clinical Psychology Review 21, 33–61.Google Scholar
Schreiber, JB (2008). Core reporting practices in structural equation modeling. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy 4, 83–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schreiber, JB, Nora, A, Stage, FK, Barlow, EA, King, J (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: a review. Journal of Educational Research 99, 323–337.Google Scholar
Shiota, MN (2006). Silver linings and candles in the dark: differences among positive coping strategies in predicting subjective well-being. Emotion 6, 335–339.Google Scholar
Smedema, SM, McKenzie, AR (2010). The relationship among frequency and type of internet use, perceived social support, and sense of well-being in individuals with visual impairments. Disability and Rehabilitation 32, 317–325.Google Scholar
Smith, DM, Damschroder, LJ, Kim, SY, Ubel, PA (2012). What's it worth? Public willingness to pay to avoid mental illnesses compared with general medical illnesses. Psychiatric Services 63, 319–324.Google Scholar
Sohl, SJ, Schnur, JB, Sucala, M, David, D, Winkel, G, Montgomery, GH (2012). Distress and emotional well-being in breast cancer patients prior to radiotherapy: an expectancy-based model. Psychology Health 27, 347–361.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2004). Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.2 – mental health and well-being. Retrieved 24 April 2015 from http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SurvId=1632&InstaId=5285.Google Scholar
Steiger, JH (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification. Multivariate Behavioral Research 25, 173–180.Google Scholar
Sung, KM, Puskar, KR, Sereika, S (2006). Psychosocial factors and coping strategies of adolescents in a rural Pennsylvania high school. Public Health Nursing 23, 523–530.Google Scholar
Tanaka, JS (1987). “How big is big enough?”: sample size and goodness of fit in structural equation modes with latent variables. Child Development 58, 134–146.Google Scholar
Ullman, JB (2001). Structural equation modeling. In Using Multivariate Statistics (ed. Tabachnick, BG and Fidell, LS), pp. 653–771. Allyn&Bacon: Boston, MA.Google Scholar
Walsh, R (2011). Lifestyle and mental health. American Psychologist 66, 579–592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (2001). Mental Health: strengthening mental health promotion (Fact Sheet No. 202). Geneva. Retrieved 6 March 2014 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs220/en/ Google Scholar
WHO (2004). Prevention of mental disorders – effective interventions and policy options. World Health Organization: Geneva. Retrieved 6 March 2015 from http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/prevention_of_mental_disorders_sr.pdf Google Scholar
WHO (2010). Mental health and development: targeting people with mental health conditions as a vulnerable group. World Health Organization: Geneva. Retrieved 6 March 2014 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241563949_eng.pdf Google Scholar
WHO Executive Board (2011). Global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level. Retrieved 3 November 2014 from http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB130/B130_9-en.pdf Google Scholar
Wittchen, HU, Knappe, S, Andersson, G, Araya, R, Banos Rivera, RM, Barkham, M, Bech, P, Beckers, T, Berger, T, Berking, M, Berrocal, C, Botella, C, Carlbring, P, Chouinard, G, Colom, F, Csillag, C, Cujipers, P, David, D, Emmelkamp, PM, Essau, CA, Fava, GA, Goschke, T, Hermans, D, Hofmann, SG, Lutz, W, Muris, P, Ollendick, TH, Raes, F, Rief, W, Riper, H, Tossani, E, van der Oord, S, Vervliet, B, Haro, JM, Schumann, G (2014). The need for a behavioural science focus in research on mental health and mental disorders. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research 23, 28–40.Google Scholar