Abstract
The present study examined effects of flexibility in coping strategy upon posttraumatic stress responses. Undergraduate students (n =191) who had a traumatic memory responded to a questionnaire by recollecting it. After Kato (2001b, in Japanese), flexibility was defined by 2 criteria: giving up an unsuccessful strategy (criterion G.) and adopting a new strategy (criterion N). Participants were categorized into 4 groups: G-N (n= 41) , G-noN (n=36), noG-N (n= 49) , noG- noN (n= 65). Two-factor multivariate analysis of covariance showed a significant interaction of G and N. Also, significant simple main effects were found. Among the participants who adopted a new strategy, those who had given up the previous one (G-N group) showed significantly higher scores on avoidance symptoms in comparison to those who had retained it (noG-N group). On the other hand, among the participants who had not adopted a new strategy, those who had given up the previous one (G-noN group) showed significantly lower scores on avoidance symptoms than those who still retained it (noG-noN group). These results suggest that flexibility of coping strategy might aggravate posttraumatic stress responses.
