Coping and resilience
- Concept
Coping is what people think and do to handle stress. Resilience is the ability to adapt well and recover after hard times.
What it is
In the transactional model of Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman, stress depends on appraisal: primary appraisal asks whether an event is a threat, a loss or a challenge, and secondary appraisal asks what resources and options are available. Coping is the effort, in thought or action, to manage that demand. Resilience is the capacity to keep or regain healthy functioning after adversity; it is common, not exceptional, and can be strengthened.
Key facts
- Resilience factors: supportive relationships, a sense of purpose, flexible coping, self-efficacy, optimism and good physical health.
- Learned helplessness (Seligman) shows the opposite: the belief that nothing one does matters leads to passivity and depression.
- Defense mechanisms are mostly unconscious; coping strategies are mostly conscious and deliberate.
- Coping can be taught: problem-solving training, cognitive reappraisal, relaxation and mindfulness.
Coping styles with a patient example
| Style | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Problem-focused | Changes the situation | A newly diagnosed diabetic patient joins an education group and plans meals |
| Emotion-focused: reappraisal | Changes the meaning of the event | A surgeon sees a complication as a chance to improve a protocol |
| Emotion-focused: acceptance | Stops fighting what cannot change | A woman with an incurable illness focuses on time with her family |
| Seeking support | Uses other people's help and comfort | A student talks with classmates before an exam |
| Avoidance | Escapes the problem or the feeling | A patient misses follow-up visits so as not to hear results |
Clinical notes
- Asking ‘What has helped you get through hard times before?’ reveals coping resources and builds on them.
- When stress exceeds coping and causes marked distress or impairment within months of a stressor, think of adjustment disorder.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What do primary and secondary appraisal ask in Lazarus and Folkman's model?
Primary: is the event a threat, harm or challenge? Secondary: what resources and options do I have to cope with it?
When is emotion-focused coping more useful than problem-focused coping?
When the stressor cannot be changed, for example a death or an incurable diagnosis.
What is the main difference between coping and defense mechanisms?
Coping is mostly conscious and deliberate; defense mechanisms are mostly unconscious.
What is resilience?
The capacity to keep or regain healthy functioning after adversity; it is common and can be strengthened.
Elsewhere in DurgiPedia
Connections
Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.
Sources: Stress and Coping with Discrimination and Stigmatization (Frontiers in Psychology, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), 2011); Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives (European Journal of Psychotraumatology, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), 2014).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.