Read the text and answer the following questions
A person P stays stressed all the time. Whenever P is asked how is he doing? his most common response is either showing worry on ‘what am I going to do’, ‘this isn’t happening to me’ or just saying ‘let it be, let us go out for dinner’. His friends and family are really concerned because he is not able to do the activities like he wanted to and even misses out deadlines at workplace very frequently. His friends and family supported him throughout and helped him seek professional help. The therapist helped him in deciding his priorities, and dealing directly with stressful situation. In addition to this, he was also taught strategies to relax through deep breathing and muscle relaxation, and practice creative visualization. After 10 sessions, finally he has learnt how to manage stress better, he is able to complete the task on deadlines, his health and social life has also improved. He has moved out of the city with his wife and his newborn child. This time he is much happier and stress free.
According to Endler and Parker, statements made by the person P before the sessions of therapy, such as ‘let it be, let us go out for dinner’ indicate what type of coping?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Avoidance-oriented strategy
Option (1) Problem-focussed coping — Incorrect. This is a type from Lazarus and Folkman, not Endler and Parker: strategies that attack the problem itself by gaining information or altering the event. ‘Let it be’ does the opposite.
Option (2) Avoidance-oriented strategy — Correct. It involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation and replacing stressful thoughts with self-protective ones, for example watching TV, phoning a friend or trying to be with other people. ‘Let it be’ minimises the problem, and ‘let us go out for dinner’ turns to other people and away from it.
Option (3) Task-oriented strategy — Incorrect. It means getting information and deciding priorities so as to deal directly with the stressful situation, for example scheduling one’s time better. This is what P learnt later in therapy, not what he said before it.
Option (4) Emotion-oriented strategy — Incorrect. It means efforts to control one’s emotions, venting anger and frustration, or deciding that nothing can be done. P’s other lines (‘worry about what am I going to do’) belong here; going out for dinner to escape the problem does not.
NCERT (2025-26): “Coping with Stress … The three coping strategies given by Endler and Parker are: Task-oriented Strategy : This involves obtaining information about the stressful situation and about alternative courses of action and their probable outcome; it also involves deciding priorities and acting so as to deal directly with the stressful situation. For example, schedule my time better, or think about how I have solved similar problems.…” “Emotion-oriented Strategy : … This can involve efforts to maintain hope and to control one’s emotions; it can also involve venting feelings of anger and frustration, or deciding that nothing can be done to change things. For example, tell myself that it is not really happening to me, or worry about what I am going to do.…” “Avoidance-oriented Strategy : … This involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation; … Examples of this are watching TV, phone up a friend, or try to be with other people.…” “… Problem-focused strategies attack the problem itself, with behaviours designed to gain information, to alter the event, and to alter belief and commitments.…” |