idant coping, and less avoidant coping and adjustment problems. The subjects of the study were 223 mothers and their children, aged 9 to 12 years, who were the subjects of divorce. The study showed that temperament related to threat appraisal and coping for divorce stressors, and had direct effects on the subjectsÆ symptoms. This gives clues to identifying children at risk for developing such symptoms. Like the study of Adyuk et al (2002), it showed the effects of how people cope with stress on their symptomatology.
Muraven et al (1999) looked at the effect of practice on the reinforcing of self-regulatory mechanisms. They hypothesized that just like there are two ways to improve muscle strength - increasing power and increasing endurance - there should be two ways of increasing self-control with practice - increasing self-regulatory capacity, and reducing vulnerability to fatigue. They tested their hypothesis on 69 graduate students, and found that practicing self-control repeatedly led to an improvement in self-control capacity over time, and that building self-control can reduce the tendency of self-control to deteriorate rapidly in response to immediate demands. However, they caution that this was done in a laboratory setting and may not apply to real-world experiences.
In a study looking at parental reports of childrenÆs coping with levels of pain, somatic complaints, and symptoms of anxiety/depression, Thomsen et al (2002) hypothesized that primary and secondary control engagement coping would be related to lower levels of pain, somatic complaints, and emotional distress, and that disengagement coping strategies would be related to increased levels of pain, somatic complaints, and emotional distress. They also hypothesized that involuntary engagement and disengagement responses would be correlated with increased pain, somatic complaints, and emotional distress. They tested these hypotheses in 190 children and ...