Coping Styles and Aggregate Coping Styles: Responses of Older Adults to a Continuous Traumatic Situation

The current study examined the coping styles of older adults in a continuous traumatic situation. We explored subjective descriptions of coping behavior during wartime among three focus groups with 43 participants. The findings suggest that, when older adults face threat situations, they use a variety of coping styles simultaneously. Most of the participants used a combination of two coping styles. The use of multiple styles and the absence of a single dominant one are indicative of the flexibility of self in old age, and point to the potential of older persons as an important resource for the community and society at times of threat.