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Association between habitual use of coping strategies and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample of college students: A Bayesian approach.

ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the influences of coping styles on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among a sample of non-clinical college students who were exposed to traumatic events. Ninety-nine college students participated in the study. However, the sample used in the analyses consisted of only 37 participants who fulfilled the DSM-IV criterion A for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and the Brief COPE were used to assess the participants' PTSS and habitual use of coping strategies, respectively. Bayesian and frequentist correlations showed that emotion-focused coping style was negatively associated with PTSS, while dysfunctional coping style was positively related to PTSS. In the subsequent linear regression on both statistical framework, dysfunctional coping was the only consistent variable predicting more PTSD symptoms. The findings presented here show that lower use of adaptive coping (emotion-focused) and higher use of dysfunctional coping styles on a daily basis are associated to PTSS severity in a non-clinical sample of college students. According to the Bayesian approach, which permits more generalization of data, dysfunctional coping style is determinant to higher levels of PTSS. These findings add new data to the body of research that highlight the critical role of distinct coping strategies in the severity of PTSS.

SUBMITTER: Viana Machado A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7004336 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association between habitual use of coping strategies and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample of college students: A Bayesian approach.

Viana Machado Arthur A Volchan Eliane E Figueira Ivan I Aguiar Carolina C Xavier Mariana M Souza Gabriela G L GGL Sobral Ana Paula AP de Oliveira Leticia L Mocaiber Izabela I

PloS one 20200206 2

The present study investigated the influences of coping styles on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among a sample of non-clinical college students who were exposed to traumatic events. Ninety-nine college students participated in the study. However, the sample used in the analyses consisted of only 37 participants who fulfilled the DSM-IV criterion A for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and the Brief COPE were used to assess the part ...[more]

PMID: 32027699

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Project description:In daily academic life, students are exposed to a wide range of potentially stressful situations which could negatively affect their academic achievement and their health. Among the factors that could be weakened by academic stress, attention has been paid to expectations of self-efficacy, which are considered one of the most important determinants for student engagement, persistence, and academic success. From a proactive perspective, research on academic stress has emphasized the importance of coping strategies in preventing harmful consequences. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in discovering the extent to which individuals are able to combine different coping strategies and the adaptive consequences this flexibility entails. However, studies using this person-centered approach are still scarce in the academic context. On that basis, this current study had two objectives: (a) to examine the existence of different profiles of university students based on how they combined different approach coping strategies (positive reappraisal, support seeking, and planning) and (b) to determine the existence of differences in general expectations of self-efficacy between those coping profiles. A total of 1,072 university students participated in the study. The coping profiles were determined by latent profile analysis (LPA). The differences in the self-efficacy variable were determined using ANCOVA, with gender, university year, and degree type as covariates. Four approach coping profiles were identified: (a) low generalized use of approach coping strategies; (b) predominance of social approach coping approaches; (c) predominance of cognitive approach coping approaches; and (d) high generalized use of approach coping strategies. The profile showed that a greater combination of the three strategies was related to higher general self-efficacy expectations and vice versa. These results suggest that encouraging flexibility in coping strategies would help to improve university students' self-efficacy.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Few studies have addressed the challenges that international medical students face and there is a dearth of information on the behavioural strategies these students adopt to successfully progress through their academic program in the face of substantial difficulties of language barrier, curriculum overload, financial constraints and assessment tasks that require high proficiency in communication skills. METHODS: This study was designed primarily with the aim of enhancing understanding of the coping strategies, skill perceptions and knowledge of assessment expectations of international students as they progress through the third and fourth years of their medical degree at the School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Australia. RESULTS: Survey, focus group discussion and individual interviews revealed that language barriers, communication skills, cultural differences, financial burdens, heavy workloads and discriminatory bottlenecks were key factors that hindered their adaptation to the Australian culture. Quantitative analyses of their examination results showed that there were highly significant (p < 0.001) variations between student performances in multiple choice questions, short answer questions and objective structured clinical examinations (70.3%, 49.7% & 61.7% respectively), indicating existence of communication issues. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the challenges, these students have adopted commendable coping strategies and progressed through the course largely due to their high sense of responsibility towards their family, their focus on the goal of graduating as medical doctors and their support networks. It was concluded that faculty needs to provide both academic and moral support to their international medical students at three major intervention points, namely point of entry, mid way through the course and at the end of the course to enhance their coping skills and academic progression. Finally, appropriate recommendations were made.

Dataset Information

Association between habitual use of coping strategies and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample of college students: A Bayesian approach.

Publications

Association between habitual use of coping strategies and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample of college students: A Bayesian approach.

Similar Datasets

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