Question

Which of the following coping behaviours are problem-focused? why?

• Discussing your problem with a friend.
• Feeling sorry for failing in an examination.
• Finding fault with classmates for poor marks in tests.
• Hiding examination results from parents.
• Blaming friends for bad habits.
• Reading essential books for the annual examination.
• Making efforts to improve one’s performance after a setback.
• Missing school when assignments not completed.

Discuss the answers with your classmates and teacher.

Answer 1

Problem-focused coping involves taking steps to understand or change the problem. Emotion-focused or avoidant responses mainly manage feelings, shift blame, or evade the problem.

Behaviour	Classification	Why
Discussing your problem with a friend	Problem-focused, if seeking advice or a plan	It can provide information and practical ways to address the problem.
Feeling sorry for failing an examination	Emotion-focused	It expresses distress but does not, by itself, address the cause or improve future performance.
Finding fault with classmates for poor test marks	Not problem-focused	Blaming others does not identify or correct one’s own learning difficulties.
Hiding examination results from parents	Avoidance-oriented	It avoids facing the situation and getting possible help.
Blaming friends for bad habits	Not problem-focused	It shifts responsibility instead of taking steps to change the habit.
Reading essential books for the annual examination	Problem-focused	It directly builds knowledge needed to prepare for the examination.
Making efforts to improve performance after a setback	Problem-focused	It takes action to address the setback and strengthen future performance.
Missing school when assignments are incomplete	Avoidance-oriented	It evades the task and may make the problem worse.

Discussing a problem can also provide emotional comfort; it is problem-focused when it helps you gain useful information or decide what to do.