Earlier Anticipated Future Coping Efficacy Predicts Present Coping Efficacy at a 1-Year Follow-up

1. Earlier Anticipated Future Coping Efficacy • Predicts Present Coping Efficacy at a 1-Year Follow-up Knepp, Michael M., Immel, Chris S., Moore, Rachel M., Jones, Russell, T., & Ollendick, Thomas H. INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY RESULTS (cont.) • During a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Jones and Ollendick (2002) conduced approximately 160 interviews with children and families exposed to residential fires. • One of the specific areas of the study examined was the extent to which children’s anticipated coping efficacy predicted their later ability to cope • A specific aim of this poster was to measure the change in the degree to which a child’s anticipated efficacy immediately post-trauma could predict their coping efficacies at various time points up to one year post-trauma • To define efficacy in this study: • Anticipated future coping- How well will you be at handling your problems, feelings, and making things better in the future. • Present coping: How well do you think the things you did, made the situation better, you feel better, as well as how you have handled your problems yourself and compared with other kids Amount of Variance in Present Coping Efficacyat Time 3 Accounted for by Anticipated Future Coping Efficacyat Times 1 through 3 • Of the 167 children examined in this study, only 45 were administered the coping efficacy scale due to logistical constraints. Interviews were conducted 1, 6, and 12 months after the fire (times 1, 2, and 3; respectively). • Pearson correlations were obtained to determine the extent to which present coping efficacy at time 3 correlated with anticipated future coping efficacy at times 1, 2, and 3. • To determine the extent to which the amount of variance in children’s present coping efficacy at time 3 could be accounted for by their anticipated future coping efficacy at times 1, 2, and 3, three basic models were created and tested in which the anticipated future coping efficacy at time 1 was entered into model 1, time 2 coping efficacy was entered into model 2, and time 3 coping efficacy was entered into model 3. Model 3 Specifics DISCUSSION RESULTS • For both hypotheses, we found the predicted result: • Anticipated future coping efficacy at all time points was able to predict present coping efficacy at 12-months post-trauma • The closer the anticipated coping efficacy, the better the prediction (as noted in the model 3 results) Correlations Between Present Coping Efficacy at Time 3 and the Anticipated Future Coping Efficacy across Times 1 through 3 HYPOTHESES • The predicted result is that anticipated future coping post-trauma would be able to predict present coping at 12-months post-trauma • Also, anticipated coping efficacy immediately post-trauma would be mediated by later anticipated coping when predicting the present coping efficacy at 12-months post-trauma REFERENCES Jones, R. T., & Ollendick, T. H. (2002). Residential fires. In A.M. La Greca, W.K. Silverman, E. Vernberg, & M.C. Roberts, (Eds.), Helping children cope with disasters and terrorism (pp. 175-199). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, Baltimore, MD, Nov 2007 Address correspondence to kneppy@vt.edu