Clinical implications
Dysfunctional coping behaviours are performed by everyone
to some degree (as are all coping behaviours). Coping
scales are not all-or-nothing but instead measure how much
of a coping style is used, and what implications this has for
carer mental health.
Our meta-analysis provides good evidence that the
greater use of dysfunctional coping and less use of coping
based on acceptance and support are associated with anxiety
and depression cross-sectionally; there is preliminary evidence
(from one or two studies) that they also predict this
morbidity from longitudinal studies. This suggests that
psychological interventions aimed at modifying coping style
carers use would be rational interventions. We are currently
recruiting participants for such a trial.