The Development of Coping (eBook)

Ellen A. Skinner, Ph.D., is a leading expert on the development of children’s motivation, coping, and academic identity in school. She is a Professor in the Psychology Department at Portland State University, in Portland Oregon. As part of Psychology’s concentration in Developmental Science and Education, her research explores ways to promote students’ constructive coping, ongoing classroom engagement (marked by hard work, interest, and enthusiasm), and perseverance in the face of obstacles and setbacks. She is especially focused on two ingredients that shape motivational resilience: (1) close relationships with teachers, parents, and peers, and (2) academic work that is authentic and intrinsically motivating. Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck, Ph.D., is a leading expert on social relationships, stress and coping, and autonomy and identity during adolescence. She is a Professor in the School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. She also directs The Family Interaction Program, a center that develops, pilots, evaluates and disseminates innovative programs for children, adolescents, and families, focusing especially on building family supports for children aged 1 to 12. Her broad range of research interests and funded projects include parent-infant attachment, stress and other important family issues, adolescent development as associated with couple (dating), peer and family relationships, adolescent sexual behavior and sexuality, the development of emotional, cognitive and behavioral regulation, interpersonal rejection and sensitivity to rejection, and appearance-related concerns.

Preface 6
Stress, Risk, and Resilience 6
The Study of Coping 7
Development and Coping 8
Purpose of this Book 10
Contents 12
About the Authors 18
Constructing “Developmentally-Friendly” Conceptualizations of Coping 19
1 Coping as Action Regulation under Stress 20
1.1 Coping as a Fundamental Adaptive Process 21
1.1.1 Overview of Conceptualizations of Coping and a Focus on Individual Differences 22
1.1.2 Multi-level Integrative Systems Frameworks: Coping, Regulation, and Resilience 25
1.2 Developmentally-Friendly Conceptualizations of Coping 29
1.2.1 Coping as Regulation under Stress 29
1.2.2 Coping and Emotion Regulation 31
1.2.3 Action and Action Theories 32
1.2.4 The Nature of Regulation 34
1.2.5 Coping Is Built on Action Tendencies 36
1.2.6 Stress and Regulation 38
1.3 Summary of Developmental Conceptualizations of Coping 41
2 Ways and Families of Coping as Adaptive Processes 43
2.1 The Structure of Coping 44
2.1.1 Lower-Order Ways of Coping 46
2.1.2 Higher-Order Dimensions and Categories of Coping 47
2.1.3 Families of Coping as Serving Adaptive Functions 50
2.2 “Good News” and “Bad News” Ways of Coping 57
2.2.1 Developmentally Adaptive Families of Coping 58
2.2.2 The Balance Between Challenge and Threat 60
2.2.3 Good News Families of Coping 62
2.3 Summary of Ways and Families of Coping 64
Review of Research on the Development of Stress Reactivity and Ways of Coping 66
3 Age Differences and Changes in Ways of Coping across Childhood and Adolescence 67
3.1 Looking for Qualitative Shifts in Coping across Childhood and Adolescence 68
3.2 Age Differences and Changes in Each of the Coping Families 70
3.3 Beyond Quantitative Changes in Mean Levels of Individual Ways of Coping 74
3.4 Summary of Age Differences and Changes in Ways of Coping 76
4 Neurophysiological Developments that underlie Age-related Changes in Coping 77
4.1 Neuroanatomical Systems involved in Stress Reactivity, Regulation, and Coping 77
4.1.1 Neurophysiology of Stressful Encounters 78
4.1.2 Stress Reactivity and Regulation as Complex Dynamic Systems 86
4.2 The Assessment of Neurophysiological Structure and Function 88
4.3 The Development of the Multi-level Neurophysiological Systems that Underlie Coping 91
4.3.1 Development of the Neurophysiology of Stress Reactivity, Threat Detection, and Coping 93
4.3.2 Development of the Neurophysiology of Regulation and Coping 100
4.4 Summary of the Development of the Neurophysiological Systems Underlying Coping 105
Normative Development of Adaptive Coping within the Context of Relationships with Caregivers 108
5 Development of “Coping” in Newborns: Neurophysiological Stress Reactivity and “External Coping” via the Caregiver 116
5.1 Threat Detection and Stress Reactivity: Development of Neurophysiological Subsystems 117
5.2 Attachment, the Development of “External” Coping, and the Omnibus Coping Strategy of “Proximity Seeking” 120
5.3 Development of a Neurophysiological System that Responds to “External Coping” by the Caregiver 121
5.4 Social Tuning of the Neurophysiological Stress Reactivity and Recovery System 123
5.5 The Emergence of a Hierarchy of Reactivity, Regulatory, and Coping Processes 125
5.6 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during the Neonatal Period 126
6 Development of Coping during Infancy: Implicit Appraisals, Intentional Action Regulation, and Co-regulated Coping Systems 128
6.1 Threat Detection and Stress Reactivity: Emergence of Appraisal Systems that Increasingly Guide Action Readiness 129
6.2 Action Regulation: Development of Intentionality and Goal-Directed Coping 132
6.3 Changing Role of Social Partners: Development of a Co-regulatory Coping System 135
6.4 Development of Stress Resistance and Stress Resilience 137
6.5 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during Infancy 141
7 Development of Coping during Toddlerhood: Explicit Appraisals, Emotional Action Regulation, and Cooperative Coping Systems 142
7.1 Threat Detection and Stress Reactivity: Explicit Appraisals of Threat and Challenge 143
7.2 Action Regulation: From Emotional Action Regulation to Self-awareness in Coping 146
7.3 Changing Role of Social Partners: Emotion Socialization and Coping “Coaching” 149
7.4 Shared Intentionality and the Emergence of a Cooperative Coping System 151
7.5 Reorganization of the Coping System during Toddlerhood 152
7.6 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during Toddlerhood 154
8 Development of Coping during Early Childhood: Inferential Appraisals, Voluntary Action Regulation, and Individual Coping Systems 156
8.1 Threat Detection and Appraisal: Incorporating Emotion Understanding and Theory of Mind 157
8.2 Regulatory Subsystems: Development of Attention Networks and Coping 160
8.3 Emergence of Voluntary Self-regulation and Coping 164
8.4 Integration of Appraisal and Regulation: Development of Understanding and Control 167
8.5 Development of Voluntary Action Regulation and the Emergence of Intrapersonal Coping 168
8.6 Development of Conscience and the Emergence of Autonomous Coping 169
8.7 Changing Role of Social Partners: Development of Intrapersonal Coping 171
8.8 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during Early Childhood 173
9 Development of Coping during Middle Childhood: Cognitive Reappraisal, Mental Modes of Coping, and Coordination with Demands 175
9.1 Threat Detection and Appraisal: Emotional Understanding and Intentional Regulation of Stressful Experiences 176
9.2 Reappraisal as an Emotion Regulation and Coping Strategy 180
9.3 Development of Problem-Focused Coping and Executive Functions 183
9.4 Action Regulation and the Emergence of Mental Means of Coping 188
9.5 Expanding Repertoire of Coping Strategies and Better Coordination with Demands 191
9.6 “Mental” Participation of Social Partners and Coping Coaching 193
9.7 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during Middle Childhood 194
10 Development of Coping during Adolescence: Heightened Reactivity, Pro-active Regulation, and Increased Coping Flexibility 196
10.1 Enhanced Threat Detection and Stress Reactivity: Recalibrating Neurophysiological Systems 198
10.2 Development of Appraisals: Affective Theory of Mind and a Two-Level Emotion Theory 200
10.3 Development of Regulatory Capacity: Changing Balance among Multiple Subsystems 203
10.4 Emergence and Integration of Meta-capacities in Coping 211
10.5 Changing Role of Social Partners as Proactive Monitoring and Dependable Backup Systems 214
10.6 Summary of Transformations of the Coping System during Adolescence 216
Foundations of Coping and Its Differential Development 221
11 Early Adversity, Temperament, Attachment, and the Differential Development of Coping 225
11.1 Early Adversity and the Differential Development of Coping 226
11.1.1 Possible Mechanisms through which Adversity Shapes Stress Reactivity 228
11.1.2 Developmentally-Graded Effects of Adversity on Coping 232
11.1.3 Intervention Implications of Neuroplasticity and Experience-Dependent Effects 235
11.2 Temperament and the Differential Development of Coping 236
11.2.1 Differential Patterns of Temperamental Dimensions 237
11.2.2 Balance and Regulation of the Defensive and Appetitive Systems 241
11.3 Attachment Relationships and the Differential Development of Coping 242
11.3.1 Caregiving and the Development of Coping 242
11.3.2 Qualities of Attachment and the Differential Development of Coping 244
12 Parenting, Family Stress, Developmental Cascades, and the Differential Development of Coping 249
12.1 Parent–Child Relationships and the Differential Development of Coping 249
12.1.1 Dimensions of Parenting and Children’s Coping 252
12.1.2 A Systems View on Parenting and Children’s Coping 254
12.1.3 Goals of Parenting and the Differential Development of Coping 259
12.2 The Stress of Caregiving: Stressful Family Systems and the Differential Development of Coping 260
12.2.1 Stressful Family Systems 263
12.3 Cascades in the Differential Development of Coping 265
12.3.1 Maladaptive Coping as a Marker of Developmental Difficulties 267
12.3.2 Internal Dynamics Can Amplify Maladaptive Patterns of Coping 268
12.3.3 Maladaptive Coping as an Active “Trouble Maker” in Developmental Cascades 270
12.3.4 Self-righting Tendencies in Developmental Cascades 270
13 Conclusion: Goals and Strategies for Studying the Development of Coping 272
13.1 Surfacing and Consolidating Key Themes in the Development of Coping 273
13.1.1 Qualitative Shifts in the Development of the Coping System 274
13.1.2 Multiple Pathways in the Development of Coping 277
13.2 Future Study of the Development of Coping 280
13.3 Three Closing Ideas about Lines of Sight into the Development of Coping 282
13.3.1 The Dangers and Safeguards in Developing a System of Coping 283
13.3.2 The Origami of Coping’s Development 287
13.3.3 The Place and Purpose of the Study of Coping 291
13.4 Conclusion 294
References 296
Index 337