Coping with Perceived Chances and Risks Associated with Social Change
Title
Coping with Perceived Chances and Risks Associated with Social Change
Author
Silbereisen, Rainer K.
Research Area
Psychopathology
Topic
Risk‐Taking Behavior
Abstract
Social change in the form of political transformation in the context of globalization and individualization is prevalent worldwide. Such change can occur gradually or abruptly and not always as part of people's conscious experience. In such situations, features of the broader ecological contexts in which people live moderate the process of coping. Successfully coping affects well‐being and other psychosocial outcomes and in most, but not all instances, requires active engagement, development of a sense of control and capitalizing on proximate social and personal resources. Future research should emphasize cross‐national study of objective and subjective outcomes, and the relationships between demands (broadly defined), varieties of mechanisms for coping, and the full range of personal and social resources available for doing so. The aim of such research must be to inform social policies designed to empower people's sense of personal agency and aligned with relevant changes in opportunity structures.