Predictive value of age for coping: the role of self-efficacy, social support satisfaction and perceived stress.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was prompted by the lack of agreement on how coping changes with age. We postulate that the effect of age on coping is mediated by coping resources, such as self-efficacy, perceived stress and social support satisfaction.


METHODS
The participants in the study were community dwelling and aged between 22 and 88 years old. Data were collected using the General Self Efficacy Scale, the Social Support Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (life-events) and the Way of Coping Checklist.


RESULTS
We performed path analyses for two competitive structural models: M1 (age does not directly affect coping processes) and M2 (age directly affects coping processes). Our results supported a modified version of M2. Age was not found to predict either of two coping strategies: problem-focused coping is predicted by self-efficacy and social support satisfaction; emotion-focused coping is predicted by social support satisfaction and perceived stress.


CONCLUSIONS
Changes in coping over the lifespan reflect the effectiveness with which a person's adaptive processes deal with age-associated changes in self-referred beliefs and environment perception.
Trouillet
Raphaël
R
Department of psychology, University of Montpellier 3, France. raphael.trouillet@univ-montp3.fr
Gana
Kamel
K
Lourel
Marcel
M
Fort
Isabelle
I
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008961:Models, Structural; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult