Habitual use of psychological coping strategies is associated with physiological stress responding during negative memory recollection in humans

Figures & data

Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and correlations among variables.

	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.	10.	11.	12.
1. White	–	–	–	–
2. Female	−0.16*	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
3. Subjective SES	0.08	0.05	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
4. Baseline SCL	0.13	−0.12	0.05	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
5. Acceptance	−0.06	0.08	−0.09	0.13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
6. Active	0.03	0.10	−0.06	0.13	0.51***	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
7. Denial	−0.04	0.12	0.07	0.01	0.09	0.23**	–	–	–	–	–	–
8. Distract	0.09	0.15	−0.04	0.04	0.55***	0.43***	0.24**	–		–	–	–
9. Emotional support	0.01	0.12	0.09	0.02	0.39***	0.57***	0.23**	0.41***	–	–	–	–
10. Instrumental support	−0.02	0.11	0.15*	0.09	0.29***	0.55***	0.33***	0.41***	0.71***	–	–	–
11. Planning	0.08	0.06	−0.03	0.10	0.50***	0.85***	0.22**	0.46***	0.46***	0.49***	–	–
12. Reframing	−0.04	0.23**	0.02	0.09	0.62***	0.68***	0.25**	0.55***	0.57***	0.53***	0.68***	–
13. Religion	−0.12	0.20*	0.22**	−0.06	0.24**	0.28***	0.25**	0.15	0.45***	0.42***	0.26**	0.40***
14. Coping flexibility	−0.04	0.14	0.06	−0.01	0.37***	0.56***	0.49***	0.53***	0.51***	0.54***	0.61***	0.59***
15. Interview Epoch 1	0.09	−0.03	0.04	0.78***	0.07	0.02	0.01	−0.01	−0.03	0.04	−0.01	0.07
16. Interview Epoch 2	0.09	−0.02	0.05	0.81***	0.08	0.04	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.07	0.02	0.09
17. Interview Epoch 3	0.09	0.01	0.04	0.81***	0.11	0.06	0.01	0.05	0.03	0.09	0.03	0.11
18. Interview Epoch 4	0.09	0.02	0.04	0.80***	0.11	0.06	−0.01	0.06	0.02	0.09	0.03	0.10
19. Interview Epoch 5	0.10	−0.01	0.04	0.82***	0.14	0.08	0.01	0.08	0.04	0.10	0.04	0.12
20. Interview Epoch 6	0.09	−0.03	0.04	0.83***	0.13	0.09	0.00	0.07	0.04	0.09	0.05	0.12
21. Interview Epoch 7	0.09	−0.03	0.05	0.83***	0.12	0.08	0.01	0.06	0.03	0.09	0.04	0.12
22. Interview Epoch 8	0.09	−0.04	0.05	0.83***	0.12	0.06	0.01	0.05	0.04	0.09	0.03	0.10
23. Interview Epoch 9	0.10	−0.03	0.04	0.83***	0.13	0.06	−0.02	0.04	0.04	0.08	0.02	0.10
24. Interview Epoch 10	0.11	−0.03	0.04	0.82***	0.13	0.06	−0.01	0.04	0.04	0.08	0.03	0.10
M	0.86	0.78	3.27	5.82	4.38	3.69	0.62	3.98	3.58	3.07	3.85	4.34
SD	0.35	0.40	0.97	3.25	1.68	1.71	1.17	1.75	1.89	2.00	1.83	1.69
Variables	13.	14.	15.	16.	17.	18.	19.	20.	21.	22.	23.	24.
13.	–
14.	0.37***	–
15.	–0.08	–0.05	–
16.	–0.05	–0.02	0.98***	–
17.	–0.04	0.01	0.96***	0.98***	–
18.	–0.05	0.00	0.94***	0.96***	0.99***	–
19.	–0.04	0.02	0.95***	0.96***	0.98***	0.99***	–
20.	–0.05	0.01	0.95***	0.97***	0.98***	0.97***	0.99***	–
21.	–0.05	0.01	0.95***	0.97***	0.97***	0.97***	0.98***	0.99***	–
22.	–0.05	0.00	0.95***	0.97***	0.97***	0.96***	0.98***	0.99***	0.99***	–
23.	–0.05	0.01	0.95***	0.96***	0.97***	0.96***	0.97***	0.98***	0.99***	0.96***	–
24.	–0.05	0.00	0.95***	0.96***	0.96***	0.95***	0.97***	0.98***	0.99***	0.99***	0.99***	–
M	3.01	10.13	9.33	9.25	9.27	9.10	9.03	9.03	9.04	9.07	9.12	9.18
SD	2.30	2.82	4.52	4.37	4.28	4.21	4.20	4.20	4.24	4.30	4.32	4.35

White and Female are dichotomous variables scored 1 if the participant is in the category and 0 if the participant is not in the category.

SCL: skin conductance level and is reported in microSiemens. *p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.

Table 2. Results from unconditional multilevel models of SCL.

	UCM	UCG1	UCG2	UCG3
Initial status
Intercept	9.14***	9.24***	9.36***	9.34***
Var (Residual)	17.84***	18.18***	18.20***	18.20***
Time
Intercept		–0.02^τ	–0.12**	–0.07
Var (Residual)		0.02***	0.02***	0.02***
Time^2
Intercept			0.01**	0.00
Var (Residual)			6.7 × 10^–5*	6.7 × 10^–5*
Time^3
Intercept				0.00
Var (Residual)				^A
Var (Level 1 Res.)	0.56***	0.39***	0.37***	0.37***
Deviance	4742.80	4457.50	4425.40	4424.20
ΔDeviance		285.30***	32.10***	1.20

Var (residual) = variance of the residuals; UCM: unconditional means model; UCG: unconditional growth model; Deviance: model fit index that is minimized by the estimation procedure; ΔDeviance = difference in deviance between two nested models, which follows a chi-square distribution with df equal to the difference in coefficients estimated between the two models.

^τp<.10, *p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.

^AUCG3 would not converge with Time³ as both a fixed and random effect.

Figure 1. Mean trajectory of SCL during the interview.

Figure 2. Trajectories of SCL for participants higher (+1SD) and lower (–1SD) in coping variables.

Table 3. Emotion-focused coping tendencies and trajectories of SCL.

	Emotional support	Reframing	Acceptance	Denial	Religion
Initial status of SCL
Intercept	9.36***	9.36***	9.36***	9.36***	9.36***
Coping	–0.09	0.02	–0.09	0.00	–0.05
Baseline SCL	1.07***	1.07***	1.07***	1.07***	1.07***
Var (Residual)	6.15***	6.15***	6.15***	6.16***	6.16***
Time
Intercept	–0.12**	–0.12**	–0.12**	–0.12**	–0.12**
Coping	0.05*	0.03	0.04^τ	0.00	0.02
Var (Residual)	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***
Time^2
Intercept	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**
Coping	–0.004^τ	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Var (Residual)	6.8 × 10^–-5**	6.7 × 10^–5*	6.7 × 10^–5**	6.6 × 10^–5*	6.7 × 10^–5*
Var (Level 1 Res.)	0.37***	0.37***	0.37***	0.37***	0.37***
Deviance^A	4229.60	4239.60	4235.00	4246.00	4241.00
ΔDeviance	17.00***	7.00	11.60**	0.60	5.60

Var(residual) = variance of the residuals; Coping = Effect of coping variable on level 1 term (initial status of SCL, effect of time on SCL, or effect of Time² on SCL), with the specific coping variable being indicated in the column title; Deviance = Model fit index that is minimized by the estimation procedure; ΔDeviance = difference in deviance between two nested models, which follows a chi-square distribution with df equal to the difference in coefficients estimated between the two models.

^τp<.10, *p<.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.

^ADeviance compared to the final covariate model deviance (4246.60).

Table 4. Problem-focused coping tendency, coping flexibility, and SCL trajectories.

	Active	Planning	Instrumental support	Self-distraction	Flexibility
Initial status of SCL
Intercept	9.36***	9.36***	9.36***	9.36	9.36***
Coping	−0.21^τ	−0.21^τ	−0.05	−0.10	−0.05
Baseline SCL	1.08***	1.08***	1.07***	1.07***	1.07***
Var (Residual)	6.10***	6.09***	6.16***	6.16***	6.16***
Time
Intercept	−0.12**	−0.12**	−0.12**	−0.12**	−0.12**
Coping	0.05*	0.04*	0.04^τ	0.08***	0.03*
Var (Residual)	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***	0.02***
Time^2
Intercept	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**	0.01**
Coping	−0.005*	−0.004*	−0.003^τ	−0.007***	−0.003*
Var (Residual)	6.8 × 10^−5**	6.7 × 10^−5**	6.7 × 10^−5**	6.8 × 10^−5**	6.7 × 10^−5**
Var (Level 1 Res.)	0.37***	0.37***	0.37***	0.36***	0.37***
Deviance^A	4228.60	4230.20	4235.30	4206.60	4230.50
ΔDeviance	18.00***	16.40***	11.30*	40.00***	16.10**

Var (residual) = variance of the residuals; Coping = Effect of coping variable on level 1 term (initial status of SCL, effect of time on SCL, or effect of Time² on SCL), with the specific coping variable being indicated in the column title; Deviance = Model fit index that is minimized by the estimation procedure; ΔDeviance = difference in deviance between two nested models, which follows a chi-square distribution with df equal to the difference in coefficients estimated between the two models.

^τp<.10, *p <.05; **p<.01; ***p<.001.

^ADeviance compared to the final covariate model deviance (4246.60).

Data availability statement

Study Materials, Such As The Consent Document Or The Autobiographical Task Instructions, And/Or Study Data, May Be Obtained Through Correspondence With The First Author.