A COMPARISON OF 3 COGNITIVE APPRAISAL STRATEGIES - THE ROLE OF THREAT DEVALUATION IN PROBLEM-FOCUSED COPING

Three studies are described which investigated the nature of three cognitive coping strategies whose function is largely to 'change the meaning' of the stressor. Threat devaluation, positive reappraisal and denial were all identified as independent constructs with differing relationships to other coping strategies and each contributed separately to the prediction of coping strategies. In particular, threat devaluation and positive reappraisal were associated with other problem-focussed strategies, whereas denial was primarily associated with problem avoidance or disengagement. Further analysis revealed that threat devaluation was likely to be used less often in situations that were perceived as intrinsically uncontrollable, and more likely to be used by individuals who believed they had good personal control over problems. In contrast, denial was found more frequently with individuals with poor problem-solving confidence and who believed they had poor personal control over problems. These findings are discussed in relation to the place of various reappraisal strategies in hierarchical coping structures.