Coping (psychology)

Psychological coping (or coping strategies) refers to the behavioural and cognitive efforts made by individuals in attempting to deal with stressful situations.

The most widely cited definition of coping is that it is “constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984 ).

A key theoretical perspective in this area is Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress and coping.