The moderating role of coping styles in the relationship between resilience and distress: A mixed-methods study (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Given the high incidence of mental disorders in populations exposed to traumatic events and ensuing detrimental consequences, it is apparent that a better understanding of the role of coping styles in resilience and distress is of paramount importance. The proposed mixed-methods exploratory study will present an empirical framework for the research by examining the relationship between resilience, coping styles (i.e., problem-focused, meaning-focused, and the two strategies of emotion-focused coping) and psychological distress. Further, this study aims to explore the moderating effects of different coping styles on the relationship between resilience and psychological distress. Seventy-five Tibetans currently residing in New York will be recruited for this study. An online battery of validated questionnaires comprising the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Brief COPE, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) will be administered via Qualtrics survey software to assess distress, coping styles, and resilience, respectively. Additionally, qualitative interviews will be conducted to explore the participants’ understandings of distress and resilience as well as to gain a fuller understanding of their utilization of coping styles. Based on the theoretical conceptualization of stress and coping, it is hypothesized that people who score high on problem-focused, meaning-focused, and emotion-focused (emotional support-seeking) coping will report higher resilience and lower levels of psychological distress. The researcher also hypothesizes that participants who identify emotion-focused coping (escapism-avoidance) as their primary coping style will report lower resilience and higher concurrent psychological distress. Path analysis with a series of multiple regression analyses will be used to evaluate the plausibility of those theoretical hypotheses.