SECTION II Literature Review
53. Descriptions of the protective processes
53.2.1. Accessing social support
Perceived social support (the child's own appraisal of social support is critical) and social embeddedness in the form of informal and multi-generational networks of kin and friends enhances resilience. The number and quality of social relationships helps to buffer against adversity (Fantuzzo, Delguido Wiess, Atkins, Meyers & Noome, 1998; Masten et al., 1999; Rutter, 1987; Werner, 1995;
Werner & Smith, 2001). Resilient children seek and find emotional support, confident of their right to such support. They discuss difficulties with people whom they trust and respect (Aldwin, 1994;
Luthar & Zigler, 1992; Mailman, 2002; Masten et al., 1990; Saler & Skolnick, 1992; Smith &
Carlson, 1997). Furthermore, the ability to find and make use of social support outside of the family, utilising informal sources, improves communication skills and problem solving ability. The ability to access social support is significant in predicting resilience (Schrover, Ranchor & Sander, 2003).
For example, children who experience high levels of domestic violence and marital discord, show lower levels of psychopathology if they have the benefit of a close relationship with a sibling, or an
adult outside of the nuclear family, usually a grandparent (Jenkins & Smith, 1990). Interestingly, social support systems are especially protective for children from low socio-economic groups (Cicchetti & Nurcombe, 1997), so long as these connections are to prosocial and law-abiding individuals (Masten, 2002).
The mechanisms through which social support operates to lessen risk in children and adults is not entirely clear, although various theoretical explanations have been proposed (Aldwin, 1994; Jenkins,
1992). It is possible that the opportunity to talk about one's problems within a close and caring relationship enables one to externalise difficulties and develop a metacognitive understanding, which in turn creates different cognitive constructions of adverse events and minimises or controls the distress (Gottman, Fainsilber Katz & Hooven, 1996; Oatley & Jenkins, 1996; Ungar, 2003). This hypothesis is consistent with the basic axiomatic principles underlying all psychotherapeutic interventions.
In addition, accessing social support is one of the most frequently occurring secondary coping strategies used by children (Aldwin, 1994; Mailman, 2002; Masten et al., 1990; Smith & Carlson, 1997). The relationship between coping and social support at the time that one experiences major and traumatic life events has been well documented for adults (Horowitz, 1992; Lazarus, 1991). For instance, it has been shown that the likelihood of experiencing a depressive breakdown is significantly reduced if an individual has someone in whom they can confide (Brown & Harris, 1978; Brown et al., 1986). It is also clear that if children witness the adults in their lives coping, they are likely to follow suit. Children suffer distress when they observe their parents in distress.
Social support may also provide a social role that enables the construction and maintenance of an identity that is connected to others and creates a sense of being an integral part of a community. This predisposes one to engage in cooperative action (Scheff, 1997). For example, Gilligan (1998) showed that the progress and resilience of young people in public care is greatly enhanced if children are encouraged to engage in cultural events, sports and other constructive uses of leisure time.
Besides being enjoyable and satisfying, constructive activities lead to the establishment of social networks and establish routine and discipline. When children's environments are negative, feeling part of a community and being engaged in cooperative and meaningful activity, may be more difficult to achieve but may be extremely powerful in altering the developmental trajectory to a more adaptive outcome.
5.3.2.2. Adaptive coping in childhood:
The ability to cope in the presence of acute and/or chronic negative circumstances or stressors is clearly associated with resilience (Howard & Dryden, 1999). Coping is considered to be "constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of a person (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984, p. 141).
They also include emotional "acts" that are mobilised in response to the subjective experience of stress. In studying adaptive coping in children, the focus has largely been on investigating coping styles and behaviours that are associated with positive adaptation or poor outcomes.
Coping strategies are learned, deliberate and purposeful emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses that enable one to adapt to the environment or to change it (Ryan, 1988, in Smith &
Carlson, 1997). Coping begins when an individual faces a stressful event or set of circumstances.
It takes place in four stages: (i) A cognitive appraisal of an event to decide on the meaning and implications for one's well-being. If an event is judged to be stressful, the individual decides if it is controllable, (ii) The individual then selects a coping strategy, by considering the stock of one's coping resources, the stressor and an assessment of the likely effectiveness of the strategy, (iii) Implementation of the coping strategy, (iv) This is followed by an evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategy in terms of eliminating or reducing the stressor or managing one's response to the stressful event (Smith & Carlson, 1997).
The literature abounds with methods of categorising coping strategies: active/passive (Lazarus, 1991); approach/a\ oidant (Horowitz, 1992); or conscious/automatic (Aldwin, 1994). In terms of their functions, coping strategies may be either (i) passive or emotion-focussed: this form of coping usually occurs when one perceives the required adaptation to be beyond one's ability and control, and so attempts are made to express, regulate or modify the affective responses that were precipitated by the stressor; or, (ii) active or problem-focussed strategies: these consist of attempts to solve the problem and alter the stressful encounter that is considered to be at least partially controllable (Horowitz, 1992; Lazarus, 1991; Punamaki & Puhakka, 1997; Smith & Carlson, 1997). For example, when a parent becomes bedridden with terminal illness, active or problem-focussed strategies may be deployed to assist with washing, feeding and general care of the parent, chatting with the ill parent, and engaging in various activities that make one feel useful. These activities enable the child to feel more in control of the situation, harness emotional resources and allow active engagement with the stressful event. Upon the death of a parent, children may shift to emotion-focussed coping as they feel overwhelmed and are not given tasks and functions that could facilitate active coping
under such extreme distress. For long term successful resolution of extremely distressing events, it is important that there is space for both of these forms of coping strategies.
To understand coping strategies in children, one must take into account individual and societal variables (Brooks, 1998). There is little agreement on the types of coping strategies that children use, beyond recognising that they use a wide variety of strategies to cope with ordinary and significant life events (Aldwin, 1994; Smith & Carlson, 1997). It seems that as children grow, they develop the social and metacognitive skills that impact on the content and variety of coping, and in addition, the environment plays a critical role in terms of the form and structure of social and metacognitive skills (Punamaki & Puhakka. 1997; Vygotsky, 1986). Nevertheless, some of the action-focussed coping strategies appear to be associated with greater resilience (Grotberg, 1995, Lazarus, 1991; Richter et al., 1994). These are listed in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2: Action-focussed coping strategies that promote resilience:
Domain Cognitive
skills
Emotional skills
Social skills
Behavioural skills
Spiritual skills
Coping strategies identified as promoting resilience
* Ability to focus attention and maintain concentration
* An ability to anticipate and plan for the future
* Creative problem solving skills that include information gathering, generating options and being able to generate alternative solutions
* Emotional awareness and expressivity
* Adaptive use of fantasy
* Optimism combined with a tendency to positively reframe events and experiences
* Good social skills
* Access to social support and good role models
* High energy levels
* Impulse control that includes tolerance for delayed gratification
* Hobbies, interests, and adaptive use of leisure time
* Faith strong enough to promote active praying at times of adversity
* Being able to think about the meaning of life, beyond the here and now
* Access to support from faith-based organisations |
The similarities between the literature discussing coping strategies and protective processes are obvious. Adopting problem-focussed strategies could reflect a sense of self efficacy and self worth, autonomy and internal locus of control, a belief in the meaning of life, coupled with optimism about the outcome. It reflects problem solving skills and a coherent knowledge base. Active coping may also reflect social competence and trust in self, others and the future (Erikson, 1963). Secondary
coping reflects access to social support and perhaps also to economic resources so that entertainment, leisure activities and other distractions become possible (Smith & Carlson, 1997).
There are some difficulties associated with these theories in terms of their relevance to understanding children's coping. Some of the underlying assumptions do not readily apply to children. Firstly, these models of coping usually assume that one has the capacity to appraise an event, and then to select a coping strategy from a range of potential responses. However, children probably have a restricted range of coping strategies since some the cognitive and behavioural strategies only become functional with increased maturity and sophistication. Secondly, coping strategies are regarded as being relatively stable across time, situations and developmental stages, whereas this assumption has not been able to stand empirical scrutiny (Aldwin, 1994; Gilligan, 1998;
Howard & Dryden, 1999). Thirdly, there is a lack of clarity about whether the appraisal is made at a conscious, unconscious or even automatic neuronal level (Aldwin, 1994). Children have limited ability to conduct cognitive appraisals, to recognise inherent challenges and to assess their own capacity to adapt. They possibly use different coping strategies to adults. They are less able to control many of their stressors by virtue of their relative dependence and immaturity (Aldwin, 1994; Ryan- Wenger, 1992). Strategies that involve perspective taking or regulating one's emotions are acquired gradually with increasing age and maturity, and would be beyond the cognitive maturity of young children. Moreover, it seems that children emulate their primary caregivers (Rutter, 1994) whose capacity to cope adaptively is a significant predictor of children's coping (Gilligan, 1998; Howard
& Dryden, 1999). If children have access to good coping role models, they are more likely to cope, whereas when they witness their primary caregivers being unable to cope adaptively, their own levels of distress are exponentially increased. It is also logical to assume that an infinite range of potential coping strategies are used in a situation-specific manner by the many children who cope in a huge variety of circumstances.