An analysis of coping processes in high-risk pregnant women.
Item
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Title
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An analysis of coping processes in high-risk pregnant women.
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Identifier
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AAI8914746
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identifier
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8914746
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Creator
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Feldman, Renee L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Suzanne Ouellette
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Date
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1988
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Personality | Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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This study examined the process of coping as one means by which personality and social support buffer the maladaptive impact of stressful life events. Two scales were developed to measure the theoretically-derived constructs of transformational and regressive coping in a sample of 61 pregnant women who experienced premature labor. Psychological adjustment of respondents was measured as their reported levels of anxiety and depression, and positive and negative affect.;The research explicates the coping processes used to deal with specific aspects of the premature labor experience, and the determinants of those processes. I examined the influence of the following variables on psychological adjustment during and after the high-risk pregnancy, and on self-reported postpartum complications: personality hardiness, social support from one's spouse, physician, co-workers, and boss, transformational and regressive coping, and the perceived impact of the situation.;The conceptual model which guided the research suggested that hardiness, coping, and social support would have a direct effect on the outcome of high-risk pregnancy. According to the theory, hardiness is the antecedent of coping processes, and is the most important variable in the process of stress-resistance.;As predicted, regressive coping was used most often by respondents low in hardiness, though one's general perception of social support had no influence on coping. The variables of regressive coping, physician support, and the perceived impact of the situation explained a significant amount of the variance in psychological symptoms during the premature labor experience. Postpartum psychological adjustment was significantly associated with personality hardiness, regressive coping, and the perceived impact of the premature labor experience. The failure of transformational coping to predict psychological symptoms is explained with reference to the context at hand.;The findings suggest that transformational and regressive coping should be examined in future research concerning the impact of stress-resistance resources. Furthermore, the research illustrates the complexity of the coping process, specifically, the importance of examining the context in which coping occurs.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
