Abnormal Psychology

"Coping can be defined as the cognitive and behavioral activities used to manage stressful events and the emotions generated by them,"(Ammerman, Lynch, Donovan, Martin, & Maisto, 2001). It is possible that substance abuse, drugs and alcohol, could be caused by the user's inability to cope with the world around them and the problems within it. This first article discusses adolescents with substance abuse problems and whether or not their lack of coping skills is the cause of the problem. The second article focuses specifically on cocaine abusers and if developing their coping skills prevents them from a relapse. These articles will try to determine how coping is involved in substance abuse.

According to the article, Constructive Thinking in Adolescents With Substance Use Disorders, substance use in adolescents has been strongly linked to an inability to manage the stress in their lives and the negative thinking that can go along with that. Substance abuse can be a maladaptive coping strategy. This is when the users feel as though there is no other way to deal with the stress, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness. The researchers used the Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI), which measures the processes that go along with the experimental system, to examine whether or not the current validity of the CTI for adolescents would go along with their findings. They hypothesized that a deficiency is constructive thinking more likely in those tested that were substance abusers.

The subjects in the study were 551 adolescents. They were between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. These adolescents were split up into groups: lifelong addicts and non-users. 91 percent of the members of the abusers group were clinically diagnosed and 17 percent were diagnosed within the next three years following the study. The abusers were brought in from juvenile justice facilities and substance abuse programs. The group of adolescents that were not in the abuser category volunteered through phone sampling and advertisements.

The participants were informed that the study was on substance abuse. The criterion for substance abuse from the DSM IV was used for the interview followed by other questions asked by a researcher. The CTI, which consisted of 108 questions graded on a five point Likert scale, was used to measure emotional coping, behavioral coping, categorical thinking, personal superstitious thinking, naive optimism, and esoteric thinking. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was also used in this study. This inventory consists of 21 questions, on a four point scale, that indicate how severe one's depression is.

The mothers of the subjects filled out a questionnaire of 118 questions, rated on a three-point scale, known as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). This rated the mothers' perception of emotional and behavioral problems in their children. The children were given a similar questionnaire, known as the Youth Self Report Form (YSRF). Another test used was the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). This test mostly focuses on emotional regulation. This consisted of positive affectivity, negative affectivity, and constraint. The final test that was done was the Drug Use Screening Inventory - Adolescents (DUSI-A). This measures, not only substance abuse, but the negative consequences the user must also deal with due to this usage.

Deficits in coping are usually viewed as a general risk factor for psychopathology and psychological maladjustment. The results of this study showed that, "examination of the relation between constructive thinking and psychosocial maladjustment provides information about the concurrent validity of the CTI and helps explicate the link between coping mechanisms and emotional and behavioral dysfunction," (Ammerman et al., 2001). Results also indicated that there were moderate to high correlations among emotional coping, behavioral coping, constructive thinking, and personal superstitious thinking and psychopathology.

The results of this study proved that, "poor constructive thinking, characterized by constricted thinking styles and immediate negative reactivity to stressors, may be an important contributor to the emergence or manifestation of psychological disturbance,"(Ammerman et al., 2001). Research also proved that constructive thinking is an essential foundation to more active and rational coping behaviors. If the adolescent does not develop this cognition, it may predispose the adolescent to maladjustment and possibly even a psychiatric disorder.

The second article involves using behavioral interventions in accordance with cocaine use. The specific type of behavioral intervention focused on in this article, Brief Coping Skills Treatment for Cocaine Abuse 12-month Substance Abuse Outcomes, was teaching recovering cocaine addicts to cope with stressful situations in their life that could cause a relapse. This coping strategy specifically designed specifically to help recovering drug addicts, assists patients in preparing their anticipatory and reactive coping skills for situations that pose as stressful. According to Rohsenow, Monti, Martin, Michalec, & Abrams (2000), "Interventions derived from social learning theory are designed to produce further improvements after formal treatment has ended".

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the effects of coping strategy training on longer term outcomes during the 9 months following the initial 3-month outcomes reported by previous studies. The two goals of the study are, to determine the persistence of the effects on cocaine use and to investigate delayed effects on other substances. According to the authors, "in addition, on the basis of previous patient-treatment matching results found for cocaine abusers and alcoholic individuals treatment matching effects for cocaine use outcomes were investigated as a function of depression, sociopathy, and drug use severity," (Rohsenow et al., 2000). The researchers also analyzed possible interactions with gender, education, and route of administration.

The subjects in the study consisted of 145 patients that were brought in from two private substance abuse treatment facilities. These facilities both had one to three week length stays. One of them was a residential rural partial-hospital program, and the other facility was an urban partial-hospital program. Both of the two facilities that were involved in the study were learning theory based. They both also provided group education, 12-step groups, family, and marital therapy. The criteria for the patient's stay was that they could not be psychotic at the time, must have met the DSM criteria for cocaine dependence, and they must have been able to stay for seven days in order to complete the study.

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