Coping strategies: Relationship with integrity and despair in older adults

Background and objective
Adapting successfully to aging facilitates the achievement of integrity. Coping strategies are key in this adaptation process and, depending on the type of strategies applied, integrity or despair can be achieved. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between coping strategies and age with the dimensions of integrity and despair in a sample of older adults.

Materials and methods
Coping strategies, integrity and despair were assessed in a sample of 325 healthy older adults. Multiple linear regressions were performed to study which variables were related to integrity and despair.

Results
Integrity showed significant and positive relationships with positive reappraisal and focusing on the problem strategies and gender, and negative with seeking social support; despair showed positive relationships with negative self-focus and over emotional expression, and negative with age.

Conclusions
Problem-oriented strategies facilitate the achievement of integrity by facilitating the adaptive process, while some emotion-oriented strategies are maladaptive and encourage despair.