A child is going through a tough time and is facing problems in school. He decides to discuss the same with the school counsellor so that he can vent out his feelings. Identify the type of coping response in this.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Emotion oriented
Option (1) Avoidance oriented — Incorrect. This strategy involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation and consciously suppressing stressful thoughts. The child does the opposite: he faces his feelings and talks about them.
Option (2) Emotion oriented — Correct. This strategy involves efforts to maintain hope and to control one’s emotions, and it can also involve venting feelings of anger and frustration. Talking to the counsellor so that he can vent out his feelings is this response.
Option (3) Task oriented — Incorrect. This strategy involves obtaining information about the stressful situation and the courses of action open, deciding priorities and dealing directly with the problem. The child’s aim is to relieve his feelings, not to work on the school problem itself.
Option (4) Relaxation — Incorrect. Relaxation is a stress management technique, an active skill in which the muscles from the lower body up to the face are relaxed, with deep breathing to calm the mind. It is not one of the coping responses, and the child is not doing it.
NCERT (2025-26): “Coping with Stress … 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.…” “…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.…” “…Avoidance-oriented Strategy : This involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation;…” |