ABSTRACT
There is some confusion in the terminology that is frequently adopted with regard to coping. There are coping actions (for example, what an individual feels, thinks or does) which are often grouped into coping strategies (for instance, a related number of actions such as ‘worry about what will happen’, ‘worry about what I have done’) and these strategies can in turn be grouped according to associated usage into coping styles (such as a group of strategies that represent conceptually similar actions). However, sometimes the terms ‘coping actions’ and ‘coping strategies’ are used interchangeably, while ‘coping styles’ generally refers to the actions or strategies that are used consistently by an individual to manage stress. Other associated terms used include ‘coping tactics’ and ‘coping resources’. Coping tactics appear to be used interchangeably with coping strategies. Coping resources are typically construed as facets of personality. Coping resources operate to affect the coping situation (for example, type of
strategy adopted, range of responses considered, interpretation of the event or effort expended on coping). Coping resources seem to be akin to a trait construct or general coping.
