Adaptive style and physiological reactivity during a laboratory stress paradigm in children with cancer and healthy controls

Natalie A. Williams, Michael T. Allen, Sean Phipps

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Repressive adaptation has been conceptualized as one pathway to psychological resilience in children with cancer, but the physiological costs of maintaining a repressive adaptive style are currently unknown. The goal of this study was to examine physiological functioning as a function of adaptive style in children with cancer (N = 120) and healthy controls (N = 120). Children completed self-report measures of state anxiety and defensiveness prior to participating in three verbal stress tasks while monitoring blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and electrodermal response, and rated their anxiety following each task. Findings indicated no consistent differences in baseline indices and physiological reactivity as a function of adaptive style or health status (cancer vs. control). In addition, children identified as having a repressive adaptive style did not exhibit greater verbal-autonomic discrepancy than low-anxious children. In contrast to findings with adults, children with a repressive adaptive style do not appear to experience adverse effects of this coping style in terms of physiological reactivity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)372-380
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Behavioral Medicine
Volume34
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adaptive style
  • Childhood cancer
  • Physiological reactivity
  • Repressive coping

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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