Coping across the lifespan

Abstract

Coping, a basic process integral to adaptation and survival, depicts how people detect, appraise, deal with, and learn from stressful encounters. Decades of research in the social and medical sciences have examined coping in many domains across the life span. Mainstream research, focusing on measurement of individual differences and correlates of coping, suggests that coping can buffer or exacerbate the effects of stress on mental and physical health and functioning, as well as directly shape the development of psychopathology and resilience. New directions include construction of developmental theories, measurement schemes that augment self-report questionnaires, and designs that capture coping processes.