Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-s22k5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-11T17:33:53.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coping: a genetic epidemiological investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Kenneth S. Kendler ,
Ronald C. Kessler ,
Andrew C. Heath ,
Michael C. Neale  and
Lindon J. Eaves
Kenneth S. Kendler*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Ronald C. Kessler
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Andrew C. Heath
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Michael C. Neale
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
Lindon J. Eaves
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Human Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Kenneth S. Kendler, Department of Psychiatry, MCV Box 710, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

This study examines data on self-report coping behaviour, life events and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a general population sample of 827 female twin pairs. Factor analysis identified three almost uncorrelated coping factors: turning to others; problem solving; and denial. Turning to others and problem solving were negatively and denial was positively related to levels of anxiety and depression. Turning to others and problem solving buffered the depressogenic and anxiogenic effects of stressful life events, while denial exacerbated the anxiogenic effects of life events. Structural equation model-fitting indicated that twin resemblance in turning to others and problem solving could be explained entirely by genetic factors with an estimated heritability of 30 and 31%, respectively. For denial, twin resemblance could be best explained by familial–environmental factors accounting for 19% of the total variation. Genes may affect the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders in part by influencing coping behaviour.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , May 1991 , pp. 337 - 346
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika 52, 317–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldwin, C., Folkman, S., Schaefer, C., Coyne, J. C. & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). Ways of coping: a process measure.Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association,Montreal.Google Scholar
Andrews, G., Tennant, C., Hewson, D. M. & Vaillant, G. E. (1978). Life event stress, social support, coping style, and risk of psychological impairment. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 166, 307–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bachrach, K. M. & Zautra, A. J. (1985). Coping with a community stressor: the threat of a hazardous waste facility. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 26, 127–141.Google Scholar
Billings, A. G. & Moos, R. H. (1981). The role of coping responses in attenuating the impact of stressful life events. Journal of Behavioural Medicine 4, 139–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Billings, A. G. & Moos, R. H. (1984). Coping, stress, and social resources among adults with unipolar depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 877–891.Google Scholar
Brown, B. B. (1978). Social and psychological correlates of help-seeking behavior among urban adults. American Journal of Community Psychology 6, 425–439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coyne, J. C., Aldwin, C. & Lazarus, R. S. (1981). Depression and coping in stressful situations. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 90, 439–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S. & Covi, L. (1973). SCL-90: an outpatient rating scale. Psychopharmacology Bulletin 9, 13–27.Google Scholar
Eaves, L. J., Eysenck, H. J. & Martin, N. G. (1989). Genes, Culture and Personality: An Empirical Approach. Academic Press: New York.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. R. & Cooper, C. L. (1988). Research in stress, coping and health: theoretical and methodological issues. Psychological Medicine 18, 15–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 21, 219–239.Google Scholar
Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: study of emotion and coping during three stages of college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48, 150–170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folkman, S., Lazarus, R. S., Dunkel-Schetter, C., DeLongis, A. & Gruen, R. J. (1986). Dynamics of a stressful encounter: college examination. Cognitive appraisal, coping and encounter outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50, 992–1003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haan, N. (1982). The assessment of coping, defense and stress. In Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and Clinical Aspects, (ed. Goldberger, L. and Breznitz, S.), pp. 254–269. Free Press: New York.Google Scholar
Hamburg, D. A. & Adams, J. E. (1967). A perspective on coping behavior: seeking and utilizing information in major transitions. Archives of General Psychiatry 17, 277–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heath, A. C., Neale, M. C., Hewitt, J. K., Eaves, L. J. & Fulker, D. W. (1989). Testing structural equation models for twin data using LISREL. Behavior Genetics 19, 9–35.Google Scholar
Holahan, C. J. & Moos, R. H. (1986). Personality, coping, and family resources in stress resistance: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51, 389–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horowitz, M. (1976). Stress Response Syndrome. Aronson: New York.Google Scholar
Joreskog, K. G. & Sorbom, D. (1989). LISREL 7. A Guide to the Program and Applications, 2nd ed.SPSS: Chicago.Google Scholar
Kendler, K. S. & Eaves, L. J. (1986). Models for the joint effect of genotype and environment on liability to psychiatric illness. American Journal of Psychiatry 143, 279–289.Google Scholar
Kendler, K. S., Heath, A. C., Martin, N. G. & Eaves, L. J. (1986). Symptoms of anxiety and symptoms of depression in a volunteer twin population: the etiologic role of genetic and environmental factors. Archives of General Psychiatry 43, 213–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, R. C., Price, R. H. & Wortman, C. B. (1985). Social factors in psychopathology: stress, social support, and coping processes. Annual Review of Psychology 36, 531–572.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lieberman, M. A. (1982). The effects of social supports on responses to stress. In Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and Clinical Aspects (ed. Goldberger, L. and Breznitz, S.), pp. 764–783. Free Press: New York.Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R. (1982). Age differences in the use of coping mechanisms. Journal of Gerontology 37, 454–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCrae, R. R. (1984). Situational determinants of coping responses: loss, threat, and challenge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 919–928.Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R. & Costa, P. T. (1986). Personality, coping, and coping effectiveness in an adult sample. Journal of Personality 54, 385–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, N. G., Eaves, L. J., Kearsey, M. J. & Davies, P. (1978). The power of the classical twin study. Heredity 40, 97–116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mattlin, J. A., Wethington, E. & Kessler, R. C. (1990). Situational determinants of coping and coping effectiveness. Journal of Health and Social Behavior (in the press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, J. K. & Weissman, M. M. (1980). Use of a self-report symptom scale to detect depression in a community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry 137, 1081–1084.Google Scholar
Neale, M. C., Heath, A. C., Hewitt, J. K., Eaves, L. J. & Fulker, D. W. (1989). Fitting genetic models with LISREL: hypothesis testing. Behavior Genetics 19, 37–49.Google Scholar
Parker, G. B. & Brown, L. B. (1982). Coping behaviors that mediate between life events and depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 39, 1386–1391.Google Scholar
Parkes, K. R. (1986). Coping in stressful episodes: the role of individual differences, environmental factors, and situational characteristics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51, 1277–1292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearlin, L. I. & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 19, 2–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement 1, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P. M., Tilson, M. & Seeley, J. R. (1990). Dimensionality of coping and its relation to depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58, 499–511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roth, S. & Cohen, L. J. (1986). Approach, avoidance, and coping with stress. American Psychologist 41, 813–819.Google Scholar
SAS Institute. (1985). SAS User's Guide: Statistics, Version 5 edition. SAS Institute: Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Scheffé, H. (1959). The Analysis of Variance. Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Stavrakaki, C. & Vargo, B. (1986). The relationship of anxiety and depression: a review of the literature. British Journal of Psychiatry 149, 7–16.Google Scholar
Suls, J. & Fletcher, B. (1985). The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: a meta-analysis. Health Psychology 4, 249–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thoits, P. A. (1983). Dimensions of life events that influence psychological distress: an evaluation and synthesis of the literature. In Psychosocial Stress: Trends in Theory and Research (ed. Kaplan, H. G.), pp. 33–103. Academic Press: New York.Google Scholar
Vaillant, G. (1977). Adaptation to Life. Little & Brown: Boston.Google Scholar
Wethington, E. & Kessler, R. C. (1986). Perceived support, received support, and adjustment to stressful life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 27, 78–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wheaton, B. (1983). Stress, personal coping resources, and psychiatric symptoms: an investigation of interactive models. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 24, 208–229.Google Scholar