Multiple Styles of Coping
In the broad coping literature, reactions to stressful situations
and use of coping styles are multifaceted (Skinner et al.
2003). Extant research commonly dichotomizes these mul-
tiple ways of coping into problem-focused and emotion-fo-
cused coping (Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Problem-
focused coping, which encompasses goal-oriented strategies
where individuals generate alternative solutions to problems
and attempt to change stress-provoking situations, has been
associated with positive adaptation to stressors and improved
mental health and well-being (Lazarus and Folkman 1984;
´Mayordomo-Rodrıguez et al. 2014). Emotion-focused cop-
ing includes lessening emotional distress through strategies
such as minimization and tension reduction (Boals et al.
2011; Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Although emotionally-
laden reactions are often seen as a maladaptive response to
stress, certain forms of emotion-focused coping can help
promote positive solutions through processes such as cog-
nitive reappraisal, wherein individuals effectively change
the meaning of a situation (Lazarus and Folkman 1984).
An additional distinction frequently made in the literature
is between active and avoidant coping styles (Boals et al.
2011; Chao 2011; Wilkinson et al. 2000). Active types of
coping include responses that aim to change the stressor it-
self or how one thinks about it (Herman-Stahl et al. 1994),
and these methods of coping tend to produce more favorable
outcomes as individuals seek helpful information and direct
efforts to maintain control of challenging circumstances
(Curry and Russ 1985). One distinct form of active coping
involves the mobilization of social resources. Seeking social
support as a response to stress has been shown to significantly
predict overall life satisfaction among youth samples