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Supportive and unsupportive processes within the stress and coping context

University of British Columbia

This dissertation comprises three studies, and includes interview and questionnaire data from 446 people coping with different stressful life events, and 87 providers. Data were gathered from a community sample, undergraduates, and people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) and their close others. The primary aims were to document exchanges between providers and recipients, and develop a framework within which to understand supportive and unsupportive behaviors. Five sets of antecedents were studied, including personality dimensions, need for assistance, symptoms, perceived causes of chronic illness, and constraints (attributions for unhelpful actions and factors that prevented more supportive exchanges). Three sets of consequences (number and type of responses, and awareness of unhelpful actions) and two moderating variables (stressor characteristics and source of support) were also investigated. Consistent with the traditional model of social support, different forms of emotional assistance were regarded as helpful across the three studies. Avoidance, provision of unwanted information, and minimization and maximization were considered to be universally unhelpful. In line with the specificity model, other forms of support, such as tangible and informational assistance, were mentioned as especially helpful or unhelpful depending upon characteristics of the stressor (such as physical incapacitation, controllability, or trajectory). Across the three studies, respondents mentioned attributions for unsupportive behaviors that emphasized causes that were benign such as ignorance/lack of knowledge or understanding, emotional difficulties, additional stressors, and overprotectiveness. Such benign attributions were offered to close others and relatives more often than to distant others, and were not specific to situations with which providers had little familiarity. Approximately half of recipients reported that they did not say or do anything in response to unwanted actions by providers, which is consistent with the notion that many people coping with stressful life events may be reluctant to share their negative feelings with others. When they were not reticent, participants' responses were consistent with maintenance of harmony or conflict avoidance perspectives. Thus, recipients said that they discussed the issue rationally, downplayed the problem, blocked communication, or agreed with providers. Few recipients indicated that they attempted to maintain freedom and autonomy through screaming or acting in a hostile manner toward providers. Limitations, practical implications, and areas for future research were discussed.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-03-16

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6105

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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