Alicia is a new student at a particular school. On her first day, she does not talk to any of the other students and sees them making fun of her behind her back. Alicia decides she can either develop a strategy for making friends or she can take the other students at face value and accept that they are jealous of her and ignore them. In this case, Alicia has control of which coping technique she will use and she is better off choosing

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Problem-focused coping involves taking steps to solve or manage the problem causing stress, which in Alicia's case would involve developing a strategy for making friends to improve her social situation at the new school. This approach directly addresses the source of stress (difficulty in making friends and feeling isolated) rather than just managing the emotions arising from it.

Alicia Is a New Student at a Particular School