Proactive Coping in Youth and Old Age as an Indicator of Identity Formation in an Anormative Context

Keywords: proactivity, adolescence, aging, transition, identity, medical practice, education

Abstract

Objective: This paper provides a comprehensive investigation of coping with distress, with a focus on the proactive approach, which is of particular significance for individuals who manage identity transitions periods. Researchers discuss findings from two independent projects analyzing individual variation in strategies for coping with difficult situations at the extremes of life: adolescence and old age. Both studies were conducted between 2014 and 2016. Proactivity preferences were analyzed in a sample of 332 adolescents. Similarly, results collected among 1552 seniors were analyzed. The tools used in the analysis were the Proactive Coping Inventory for Adolescents (PCI-A) and the Proactive Coping Inventory for Adults (PCI).

Results: Our findings show that the strategies preferred by the adolescent group included: proactive coping, looking for emotional support and preventive coping. Whereas the results for the elderly group showed their preference for looking for emotional support, reflective and preventive coping. Nevertheless the proactive coping strategy was chosen by adolescents as well as the elderly. The analysis performed demonstrated no significant difference in the reflective coping strategy for the compared age groups.

Conclusions: The findings can be explained by theoretical accounts that question the classical developmental models with normative life trajectories and develop more person-oriented idiographic approach with decollectivisation of the life course thesis (Loos, 2012)  becoming increasingly evident.  

References

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Wiley.

Bauman, Z. (2008). Płynny lęk [Liquid Fear]. Wydawnictwo Literackie.

Baumeister, R. F.. (1998). The Self. In D. Gilbert, T. Fiske, & G. Lindzej (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology Vol. 1 (pp. 680–740). McGraw-Hill.

Błachnio, A. (2006). Anormativism of the Professional Life of Young People: Profit or Loss in the Post-Modern Era. In J. Mesjasz & A. Czapiga (Eds.), Psychopathologies of Modern Society (pp. 213–227). Wydawnictwo WSHE.

Błachnio, A. (2011). Człowiek autorski w erze globalizacji [Self-Authoring Person in the Era of Globalization]. Wydawnictwo UKW.

Błachnio, A. (2013). Subjective Perception of the Life-Course in Old Age and in Youth. Polish Journal of Social Science, 8(1), 103–111.

Błachnio, A. (2017). Jakość i strategie życia w starości [Quality of Life and Strategies of Life in Old Age]. In A. Błachnio, K. Kuryś-Szyncel, E. Martynowicz, & A. Molesztak (Eds.), Psychologia starzenia się i strategie dobrego życia [Psychology of Aging and Good Life Strategies] (pp. 61–80). Difin.

Boski, P., (2008). Tożsamość kulturowa [Cultural Identity]. In P. K. Oleś, A. Batory (Eds.), Tożsamość i jej przemiany a kultura [Identity and Its Changes Versus Culture] (pp. 85–146). Wydawnictwo KUL.

Brzezińska, M. (2011). Proaktywna starość. Strategie radzenia sobie ze stresem w okresie późnej dorosłości [Proactive Old Age: Strategies of Stress Management in the Aging Process]. Difin.

Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, M. F. (1989). Assessing Coping Strategies: A Theoretically Based Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267–283.

Cierzniewska, R. (2017). Właściwości charakteru społecznego i rozwój tożsamości adolescentów – nowe / stare wyzwania edukacji – logika znaczeń [Properties of the Social Character and Development of Adolescents’ Identity – New/Old Educational Challenges – The Logic of Meanings]. In R. Cierzniewska, M. Gackowska, & M. Lewicka (Eds.), Młodzież o sobie i codzienności szkolnej. Obok dyskursu jakości [The Youth on Themselves and Everyday School Life: Around the Quality Discourse] (pp. 64–107). Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek.

Cierzniewska, R., Gackowska, M., & Lewicka, M. (2017). Młodzież o sobie i codzienności szkolnej. Obok dyskursu jakości [The Youth on Themselves and Everyday School Life: Around the Quality Discourse]. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek.

Crocetti, E., Rubini, M., Luyckx, K., Meeus, W. (2008). Identity formation in early and middle adolescents from various ethnic groups: From three dimensions to five statuses. Journal of Adolescence, 37, 983-996.

Erikson, E. H. (1997). Dzieciństwo i społeczeństwo [Childhood and Society]. Dom Wydawniczy Rebis.

Erikson, E. H. (2002). Dopełniony cykl życia [Completed Life Cycle]. Dom Wydawniczy Rebis.

Ficková, E. (2009). Reactive and Proactive Coping With Stress in Relation to Personality Dimensions in Adolescents. Studia Psychologica, 51(2–3), 149–160.

Gamrowska, A. & Gałkowska-Bachanek, M. (2014). Aktywność zaradcza a postawy wobec własnej starości [Preventive Activeness and Attitudes Towards One’s Old Age]. Polskie Forum Psychologiczne, 19(4), 505–521.

Greenglass, E. (2002). Proactive Coping. In E. Frydenberg (Ed.), Beyond Coping: Meeting Goals, Vision, and Challenges (pp. 37–62). Oxford University Press.

Greenglass, E., Schwarzer, R., & Taubert, S. (1999). The Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI): A Multidimensional Research Instrument. Retrieved March 20, 2000 from http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~health/greenpci.htm.

Kłym, M. & Cieciuch, J. (2015). The Early Identity Exploration Scale – a measure of initial exploration in breadth during early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(533). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00533

Lee, R. L. M. (2005). Bauman, Liquid Modernity, and Dilemmas of Development. Thesis Eleven, 83, 61–77.

Luyckx, K., Schwartz, S., Berzonsky, M., Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M. & Smits, I., (2008). Capturing ruminative exploration: Extending the four dimensional model of identity formation in late adolescence. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 58-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2007. 04.004

Martin, M., Grünendahl, M., & Martin, P. (2001). Age Differences in Stress, Social Resources, and Well-Being in Middle and Older Age. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 56B(4), 214–222.

Matthieu, M. M., & Ivanoff, A. (2006). Using Stress, Appraisal, and Coping Theories in Clinical Practise: Assessments of Coping Strategies After Disasters. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 6(4), 337–348.

Obuchowski, K., & Błachnio, A. (2011). Teoria osobowości autorskiej i Kwestionariusz POA [Self-Author’s Personality Theory and the POA Questionnaire]. In W. Zeidler (Ed.), Kwestionariusze w psychologii. Postępy, zastosowania, problemy [Questionnaires in Psychology: Advances, Applications, and Problems]. Vizja Press & IT.

Ogińska-Bulik, N. (2009). Czy doświadczanie stresu może służyć zdrowiu [Can Experiencing Stress Be Healthy]? Polskie Forum Psychologiczne, 14(1), 33–45.

Olson, C. A., & Tooman, T. R. (2012). Didactic CME and Practice Change: Don’t Throw That Baby Out Quite Yet. Adv in Health Sci Educ, 17, 441–451.

Pasikowski, T., Sek, H., Greenglass, E. R., & Taubert, S. (2002). The Proactive Coping Inventory – Polish Adaptation. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 33, 41–46.

Puchalska-Wasyl, M., & Oleś, P. K. (2004). Teoria narracyjnej tożsamości Dana P. McAdamsa [The Theory of Narrative Identity by Dan P. McAdams]. In P. K. Oleś & A. Batory (Eds.), Tożsamość i jej przemiany a kultura [Identity and Its Changes Versus Culture] (pp. 247–278). Wydawnictwo KUL.

Ricoeur, P. (2005). O sobie samym jako o innym [On Oneself as the Other]. PWN.

Sedikides, C., & Skowronski, J. J. (2004). O ewolucyjnych funkcjach Ja symbolicznego: motyw samowartościowania [On the Evolutionary Functions of the Symbolic I: Self-Valuation Motive]. In A. Tesser, R. B. Felson, & J. M. Suls (Eds.), Ja i tożsamość. Perspektywa psychologiczna [Me and Identity: A Psychological Perspective]. GWP.

Tesser, A., Felson, R. B., & Suls, J. M. (2004). Ja i tożsamość. Perspektywa psychologiczna [Me and Identity: A Psychological Perspective]. GWP.

Walinga, J. (2008). Toward a Theory of Change Readiness: The Roles of Appraisal, Focus, and Perceived Control. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44(3), 315–347.

Wrosch, C., & Freund, A. M. (2001). Self-Regulation of Normative and Non-Normative Developmental Challenges. Human Development, 44, 264–283.

Published
2021-12-27
How to Cite
Cierzniewska, R., & Błachnio, A. (2021). Proactive Coping in Youth and Old Age as an Indicator of Identity Formation in an Anormative Context. Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 10(2 (20), 201-218. https://doi.org/10.35765/mjse.2021.1020.11