Suitable coping strategies (Health factor for workers with an MSD)

Interpretation of the “Suitable coping strategies” factor

Use of suitable coping strategies positively influences RTW or sickness absence duration.

Definition of the “Suitable coping strategies” factor

Short definition: Coping refers to the ways in which individuals manage situations and problems at work and at home (Devereux, Hastings, Noone, Firth et Totsika, 2009; Garrosa, Rainho, Moreno-Jimenez et Monteiro, 2010). More specifically, it designates all the processes people use to control, tolerate or reduce the impact of an event perceived as threatening to their physical or psychological well-being (Lazarus et Folkman, 1984).

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Suitable coping strategies positively influences RTW in workers with an MSD (Koopman et al., 2004; Rashid, Kristofferzon et Nilsson, 2021; Truchon et Côté, 2005). Coping strategies can mean all the cognitive and behavioural efforts that individuals make to manage the internal and external demands that threaten or exceed their resources (Lazarus et Folkman, 1984).  However, coping is a difficult factor to define/assess as there are over 100 coping taxonomies and 400 ways of coping (Skinner, Edge, Altman et Sherwood, 2003). To summarize, Skinner et al. (2003) clustered these ways of coping in 13 potential core families: (1) Problem solving (e.g. planning and active coping), (2) Support seeking (e.g. instrumental support, emotional support and religion), (3) Avoidance (e.g. behavioral disengagement, self-blame, denial and substance use), (4) Distraction (e.g. self-distraction and venting), (5) Positive cognitive restructuring (e.g. acceptance, humor and positive reframing), (6) Rumination, (7) Helplessness, (8) Social withdrawal, (9) Emotional regulation, (10) Information seeking, (11) Negotiation, (12) Opposition and (13) Delegation.

Coping strategies can also be classified in two broader categories: passive and active (Lazarus et Folkman, 1984; Montgomery et Rupp, 2005). When individuals adopt a passive strategy, they try to avoid, flee or distract themselves from the source of the stress (e.g. ignore a conflict) in the hope that it will disappear. Conversely, individuals who use active strategies try to resolve the problem by focusing their attention on the source of the stress in order to prevent, control or resolve it.  Studies have tended to show that passive strategies have a negative impact on general health, whereas active (or suitable) strategies are positively linked to well-being (Penley, Tomaka et Wiebe, 2002). Following the main tools that were used in the prognostic studies related to RTW (e.g., Utrecht Coping List – UCL, Coping Strategies Questionnaire – CSQ, Chronic Pain Coping Inventory – CPCI), coping was separated in three factors: 1. Coping (style) using the UCL, 2. Coping (cognitive strategies) and 3. Coping (behavioural strategies), the latter two being measured in the different subscales of the CSQ and CPCI.

 Devereux, J. M., Hastings, R. P., Noone, S. J., Firth, A. et Totsika, V. (2009). Social support and coping as mediators or moderators of the impact of work stressors on burnout in intellectual disability support staff. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(2), 367-377.

Garrosa, E., Rainho, C., Moreno-Jimenez, B. et Monteiro, M. J. (2010). The relationship between job stressors, hardy personality, coping resources and burnout in a sample of nurses: A correlational study at two time points. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(2), 205-215.

Koopman, F. S., Edelaar, M., Slikker, R., Reynders, K., van der Woude, L. H. et Hoozemans, M. J. (2004). Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary occupational training program for chronic low back pain: a prospective cohort study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 83(2), 94-103. doi: 10.1097/01.PHM.0000107482.35803.11

Lazarus, R. S. et Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping : Springer publishing company.

Montgomery, C. et Rupp, A. A. (2005). A meta-analysis for exploring the diverse causes and effects of stress in teachers. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l’éducation 458-486.

Penley, J. A., Tomaka, J. et Wiebe, J. S. (2002). The association of coping to physical and psychological health outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Journal of behavioral medicine, 25(6), 551-603.

Rashid, M., Kristofferzon, M. L. et Nilsson, A. (2021). Predictors of return to work among women with long-term neck/shoulder and/or back pain: A 1-year prospective study. PLoS One, 16(11), e0260490. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260490

Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J. et Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: a review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychol Bull, 129(2), 216-269. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.216

Truchon, M. et Côté, D. (2005). Predictive validity of the Chronic Pain Coping Inventory in subacute low back pain. Pain, 116(3), 205-212.

Tools for measuring the “Suitable coping strategies” factor