Coping Strategies as a Predictors of Psychological Distress and Post Traumatic Growth among Flood Affected Individuals

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to see the predictive role of coping strategies in psychological distress and Post Traumatic Growth among 1862 individuals exposed to floods 2010 in Pakistan. The age range of the participants was 15 to 66 years (M = 28.25, SD = 9.59), with participation of both men and women. Data was collected during midmarch 2013 to May 2013. Brief Cope inventory, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) Scale and Post Traumatic Growth Inventory were used to measure the Coping Strategies, Psychological Distress and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG), respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression demonstrated that after controlling the effect of gender, age, education, and marital status; coping strategies such as, self-distraction, denial, substance use coping, behavioural disengagement, venting, humour and self-blame coping accounted for 33 % of the variance in psychological distress. While, active coping, use instrumental support coping, positive reframing, planning, religious coping, and acceptance coping accounted for 31% of the variance in PTG. Moreover, psychological distress and Post Traumatic Growth were marginally correlated. Findings have implications for clinical interventions. Interventions for flood affected individuals ought to be planned while keeping in mind coping strategies. Cross sectional nature of the study, use of self-report measures and non-probability sampling are the limitations of the study.