Research indicates that mental health social workers risk being confronted with fatal and nonfatal client suicidal behaviors during professional practice. Although reactions to client suicidal behavior have been documented, there is little empirical evidence about coping behaviors and available supports following client suicidal behavior. This…

Children six, nine, and 12 years of age were asked to recall stressful episodes to describe how they responded in each instance. Responses were coded as primary coping, secondary coping, or relinquished control. Findings indicated that children report that they cope with everyday stress and that their coping approaches are influenced by…

While most lifespan developmental theories of personality predict age-related changes in coping, little direct evidence exists for determining whether age differences in coping style are due to intrinsic developmental processes or to age differences in the kinds of stresses encountered. To evaluate age differences in coping strategies and whether…

This exploratory study assessed whether mental disability stigma can be usefully investigated by looking at parental (n=131) stress and (1) deviating characteristics of the child and (2) distressing reactions of others. Stress was found to be significantly associated with parents exhibiting either controlled affect or dissociation modes of coping.…

Research has demonstrated that perceived health, while related to objective determinants of health, is a separate determination of individuals using different information than others. To investigate the relationship of ego development to perceptions of health, 192 subjects (64 college students, 64 adult community residents, and 64 retired older…

This 7-year study examined effects of the stigma of disability in terms of manifestations of stress, stressors, and stress mediators in 131 parents of children with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities at 3 age levels: children, teenagers, and adults. Parental stress was associated with "controlled affect" and "disassociation." Verbal…

This brief report summarizes what is known about pediatric traumatic brain injury, including the following: risk factors (e.g., males especially those ages 5 to 25, youth with preexisting problems including previous head injury victims, and children receiving inadequate supervision); life after injury; physical and neurological consequences (e.g.,…