Page No: 211-220
Amira Basharat, Aisha Zubair and Arooj Mujeeb
Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Pakistan
The present research was designed to explore psychological distress and coping
strategies among families of missing persons in Pakistan. The sample (N = 225) included
both men (n = 108) and women (n = 117) with age range of 20-82 years. Psychological
distress and coping strategies of the respondents, were assessed with Urdu versions of
Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and Cope Questionnaire; respectively. Results of the
study showed that women experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress
as compared to men. Signifi cant difference was also found between men and women
with reference to coping strategies. Results showed that women were more inclined to
use emotion focused coping strategies to deal with distress, whereas non-signifi cant
difference was observed with reference to problem focus coping strategies. Signifi cant
differences were also observed across varying age groups, revealing older respondents
reporting more psychological distress and use of emotion focused coping. However,
non-signifi cant difference was observed among the three age groups on problem focus
coping. Results also indicated that psychological distress and practice of emotion focus
coping was directly proportional to shorter duration of missing; whereas problem focus
coping was inversely related with extended time period. Spouses expressed high level
of psychological distress and more inclination for emotion focus coping as compared to
other relationships. Future implications of the study were also discussed.