Which coping style is associated with improved adjustment according to the three coping styles?

• A. Active coping
• B. Disengaged coping
• C. Accommodative coping
• D. Adaptive coping

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how flexible coping supports staying well when a stressor can’t be fully controlled. Accommodative coping means adjusting your goals and expectations, reinterpreting the stressor in a less threatening way, and focusing on meaning, acceptance, and emotional balance. This approach helps maintain functioning and reduces distress when you can’t change the situation, which is why it’s linked to better adjustment. Active coping seeks to change the stressor and works best when the situation is controllable; disengaged coping relies on avoidance and usually worsens adjustment over time. Adaptive coping is a broad term, but in this three-style framework, accommodative coping specifically captures the form of adjustment that leads to better outcomes.