ABSTRACT
Competence, coping, and stress have been viewed as interrelated constructs that enhance our understanding of the genesis and maintenance of adaptive or disordered behavior. Nevertheless, the frequency of their copairings vary markedly in the psychological and psychiatric literature. Over the past decade, "stress and coping" have achieved almost a paired associate status in book, chapter, and journal titles (e.g., Antonovsky, 1979; Holroyd & Lazarus, 1982; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Milgram, 1986; Roth & Cohen, 1986). In contrast, the linkage of "stress and competence," or "competence and coping" is far less common, an infrequency that suggests competence is the odd construct out and presumably of limited power in predicting adaptation to challenging circumstances.
