“It’s Been a Bit of a Rollercoaster”: Australian Women’s Difficulties and Coping Strategies

Abstract

Women’s coping strategies may be affected by many factors, including their health and wellbeing, their social roles, and the broader environment. While the coping strategies of vulnerable women have been studied, little qualitative research has focussed on how women from the general population cope with their difficulties. The aim of this paper is to explore difficulties and coping strategies among Australian women. Women’s perspectives on their ways of coping with the difficulties they had faced in their lives were thematically analysed from semi-structured telephone interviews with 36 women purposively sampled from over 7,000 women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Difficulties were identified with health, relationships, finances, and work/study. Coping strategies included using resources, support from others, lifestyle strategies, and cognitive strategies. It is helpful for psychiatric mental health nurses and other health professionals to understand women’s coping strategies in order to better support women experiencing difficulties.

Acknowledgments

The research on which this paper is based was conducted as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health by the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle. We are grateful to the Australian Government Department of Health for funding and to the women who provided the survey data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).