Men’s perceptions of the impact of coping strategies activated or taught during workshops on their psychological well-being

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating men’s perceptions of the impact of coping strategies activated or taught during the workshops on their psychological well-being. This project took into account workshops for divorcees and for relationship enhancement. The Norwegian government is investing large sums of money on relationship education workshops such as the ones considered in this study. Nevertheless, little information exists on the specific coping strategies taught or being activated during the workshops. The value of this study lies among others in giving the chance to men to talk about their experience of coping during the workshops. This project focused on men’s perceptions since men tend to be more vulnerable in the face of divorce and separation than women are. The methods used are semi-structured interviews and the findings indicated that the coping strategies prevalent in the workshops are active coping, focus on and venting of emotions, seeking social support, and positive reinterpretation and growth. The analysis showed that seeking social support and positive reinterpretation and growth are associated with an increase in psychological well-being of the men. On the other hand, active coping and focus on and venting of emotions are beneficial in some situations but not in others.