Psychological Adjustment Strategies Essay

Psychological Adjustment and Coping Strategies in Drug Addicts

Behavioral process by which humans and other animals maintain equilibrium among their various needs or between their needs and the obstacles of their environments is adjustment. A sequence of adjustment begins when a need is felt and ends when it is satisfied. In general, the adjustment process involves four parts: (1) a need or motive in the form of a strong persistent stimulus, (2) the thwarting or no fulfillment of this need, (3) varied activity, or exploratory behavior accompanied by problem solving, and (4) some response that removes or at least reduces the initiating stimulus and completes the adjustment. “Adjustment is the process of finding and adopting modes of behavior

Types of coping strategies:

Problem-solving strategies:

“This strategy relies on using active ways to directly tackle the situation that caused the problem: you must concentrate on the problem.” In this type of coping strategy the individual’s efforts are active. Their focuses on the problem and changes their emotional responses towards the stressor (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). The individual try to reduce the negative emotional responses that he might they experience because of stressors. They use this strategy when they think that their action has no effect on stressor so they alter their responses to the stressor.

Emotion-focused coping:

“Emotion-focused coping strategies are used to handle feelings of distress, rather than the actual problem situation.” In emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to regulate the emotional consequences of stressful or potentially stressful events (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). In this strategy the individual deal with the stressor itself because he thinks that his actions affect the stressor. This emotion coping strategy involves finding practical ways to overcome with the problems.

Appraisal-focused

Hypothesis:

1. There is a significant positive relationship between coping strategies and psychological adjustment in drug addicts.

2. High level of coping strategies leads high level of psychological adjustment in drug addicts.

3. Coping strategies would be a positive predictor of psychological adjustment.

4. Coping strategies will be positively related to psychological adjustment in students.

Methodology:

Research Design:

Correlational research design will be used to conduct and examine the relationship between the independent variable (coping strategies) and dependent variable( psychological adjustment).

Sample:

200 young substance use individuals (125=males, 62.5%, & 75= females,37.5%) will be included in the sample. The age range of the sample is 18 to 22 years. The education of the participant will be at least intermediate.

Inclusion criteria:

Educate and urban living addicts.

Exclusion Criteria:

Uneducated or below the intermediate level rural living addicts.

Instruments:

following two instruments are used:

1. Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI)

2. Social adjustment Scale-Self Report (SAS-SR)

The proactive coping Inventory