What Is Maladaptive Coping?
“Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem,” says Virginia Satir, a prominent clinical therapist (Thompson et al., 2010).
We are all experts in avoidance to some degree; we put off tasks and get out of situations that risk being stressful.
Rather than writing the email, we empty the dishwasher, check the news on our phone, or stare at our screensaver, daydreaming.
Wasting time can be annoying; we are often delaying the inevitable. But when magnified, such behavior, known as maladaptive coping, can be harmful. We avoid situations, events, and people, damaging our development, restricting our growth, and failing to meet our psychological needs.
Maladaptive coping strategies are not only unhelpful, they negatively impact our mental wellbeing. Such behavior prevents us from engaging in stressful situations – mentally, physically, or emotionally – and can lead to social isolation (Thompson et al., 2010; Enns, Eldridge, Montgomery, & Gonzalez, 2018).
So, where does it come from?
Learning to cope
Coping strategies begin in early childhood with psychological and physiological responses to stress. Research using psychobiological models suggests that our sensitivity to input from the environment in our early life contributes to both our physical and mental health problems as adults (Wadsworth, 2015).
In the first year of life, we begin using coping strategies as we adapt to our interactions with caregivers. Sucking our thumb and looking away provide early examples of self-soothing and regulation behaviors. In the decades that follow, we become more independent and develop a toolkit of coping skills – more or less appropriate – to handle stress.
After all, stressful situations are a part of life. They are natural and essential, and encourage us to learn how to develop and respond to them, forming a balanced approach to life.
Toddlers move on from crying and looking for physical comfort to seeking help and ways of avoiding stress. Elementary school years begin with the development of more emotional awareness and higher cognitive functions (metacognition) and showing increasing signs of engaging in problem solving and cognitive reframing – looking at situations differently.
As these approaches continue to develop, by late adolescence, most of us have a repertoire of healthy coping strategies, including ones that are (Wadsworth, 2015):
- Active – solving problems, looking for appropriate support, planning, and reframing
- Accommodative – adjusting expectations and preferences to suit the situation and reduce stress (e.g., forgiveness and compromise)
- Emotional – regulating emotional responses to stress and difficult situations
- Behavioral – using behavior to manage stress (e.g., going for a walk, taking a deep breath, or talking to a friend)
- Cognitive – mental activities that help manage stress (e.g., thinking about the bigger picture, pleasant images, or the potential benefits of the situation)
How and when each strategy gets implemented depend on the context and answers to questions such as:
How stressful is the situation?
How urgent is it?
Do I have control?
Being too rigid in the tactics we use can be detrimental. Typically, we develop and use a combination of strategies, depending on the situation and our state of mind.
Maladaptive coping origins
Maladaptive strategies can arise from a disruption to the typical coping development sequence in response to (Wadsworth, 2015):
- Overwhelming stress – conflict within the family, financial hardship, death of a loved one, etc.
- Poor treatment – growing up in a violent environment or not being given love and parental support, etc.
- Emotional invalidation – being told your emotions are not reasonable, rational, or valid, etc.
Research shows that children placed in such situations are less likely to develop coping skills involving managing emotions and solving problems.
In response to stressful situations or not experiencing adaptive behavior, older children and adolescents may continue with less mature coping strategies such as avoidance and denial.
Development in later life
While maladaptive coping strategies can develop in childhood, they can also appear later in life in response to life events such as loneliness, abuse, and trauma.
What our readers think
Amazing article! Extremely helpful for group therapy with my patient base of recovering adults’ (SUD) as it has given me a few more key concepts to introduce.
Thanks for this great work concerning your findings on Maladaptive behaviors. Nimejifunza mengi.
How are intrusive thoughts maladaptive coping >>technique<< ?
Hi Robert,
That’s a great question. Intrusive thoughts can sometimes take the form of obsessively thinking about a particular topic. This persistent way of thinking can give us the illusion of having control over a situation, but in reality, we’re just cycling unproductively through the same thoughts. An example would be if you were to agonize over your partner’s fidelity or commitment to you by attempting to overanalyze their words of behaviors.
Again, this way of thinking can give us the illusion of control, thereby helping us feel like we’re coping, but when it’s spurred by underlying OCD, it’s likely to do more psychological harm than good.
Hope this answers your question!
– Nicole | Community Manager
Dear Doctor Sutton,
Thank you very much for your articles and work. They are helpful beyond words. Please pray for us and keep up your great much needed work.
sincerely, Thomas
amen God bless you